8B • THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
PHOTO ESSAY
WEDNESDAY, MAY7, 2003
aroline Smith stares in the distance, and it
is as if fate is scoping straight back
It's 10:30 a.m. on a regular weekday, but Smith is all alone in Anschutz Pavilion with just her thoughts and 108,000 square feet of cushy artificial carpet waiting to be called to action by an athlete's calf.
Maybe the Edina, Minn., native's mind is wondering what's next in this rollercoaster year that has seemed more like a surprise on a standout first season for the freshman forward.
But one thing is certain, Smith is again in control of her goals on and off the field.
That's the way last fall started for Smith, when she quickly became the lahawks' top scorer.
"I didn't really know what to expect coming in my first year." Smith said, whispering wisdom as if she were a senior and ready to walk down the hill next weekend.
How could Minnesota's Player of the Year at this time last year have known how the black and white spotted ball that she's been enamored with since she was 3-years-old would bounce at the collegiate level?
But through her first 14 games in crimson and blue, Smith had already set a Kansas record for goals scored in a single season with 11.
Not only that, but the 5-foot-2, blonde haired, bluish-green eyed
goblie bobbler was leading the Big 12 Conference in scoring to boot.
"Anybody that comes in and is good enough is going to play." Kansas coach Mark Francis said. "I knew she would be very successful, I just didn't know how long it would take her to adjust to the Division 1 level."
It certainly didn't take long.
But it took even less time for Smith's world to be turned upside down, and her dream of playing professional soccer perhaps stopped like a squib shot on goal.
The day was October 13.
A dandy fall day with sunny skies over SuperTarget Field.
Unless you were a lavihawk.
Down 2-1 to Oklahoma,whom the Jayhawks needed to beat to solidify their place among the Big 12's top teams.
Add a 9-0 unbeaten streak at home in jeopardy, and it couldn't get much worse for Kansas.
Then again, most unimaginable events don't.
But with less than 10 minutes to go and Kansas in need of an equalizing goal, Smith was trying to save the day.
She'd already had four game-winners on the year—another layhawk record.
As Smith streaked for a
ball in front of the Oklahoma net, so did Sooner goalie Catherine Wet
so did Sooner goalie Catherine Wade
Wade won, getting to the bait line with a diving stop. In the process, Smith collided with Wade, her right knee buckling under the goaltender's body.
"I felt my kneeceps slip when I went under her to the ground." Smith said.
Having never sustained a major injury in her life, but knowing the struggles a serious shot on the knees could bring, Smith stayed on hers praying.
"I just prayed that it wasn't my ACL," Smith said of the most damaging and common tear of the anterior cruciate ligament.
Smith limped off the field under the arms of trainer Kumiko Yamamoto, who told Smith minutes later she had indeed ripped her medial collateral ligament (MCL).
No surgery would be required.
Still Smith was uncomfortable with her new seat on the sideline. Even after doctors cleared her for the last regular season game at Missouri, Francis found it against Smith's best interest to play.
Smith would suit up in the Big 12 Tournament, though, and even tallied her 12th goal of the year in a 2-1 season-ending loss to Nebraska. But Smith said she knew the off-season would be her key to returning to top form.
"It definitely motivated me to work harder than ever." Smith said. "Sometimes when you're playing you might get a little burnt out with everything that's going on. But having to sit out those games really made me want to get back out there more than ever."
It showed in her tri-weekly workouts.
"She works out as hard as anyone I train with," said Whitney Rodden, Smith's trainer. "I'm not surprised that she's came back even stronger. She has a goal and wants to reach it and does so by chasing it each and every time she's in the gym."
Evidence?
Smith's last workouts this spring running, circuit and weight training all resulted in career bests.
She ran a 40-yard dash in 5.1 seconds.Her vertical leap increased to 26 inches.And maybe most amazing of all her awes inspiring achievements was that her 295-pound squat represented nearly three times her body weight.
"Yeah," she said simply of reaching soccer's highest level.
She might get that next shot later this month, when the U.S. under 21 national team is announced.
But through her successful start to this season and the lessons learned throughout the "most difficult experience" of her life. Smith is still shooting for her biggest goal yet.
TOP LEFT: Kansas freshman soccer player Caroline Smith sprints during a recent 40-yard time trial at Anschutz Pavilion. Despite having torn the medial collateral ligament in her right knee in October, Smith is faster than ever — recording a 5.1-second time in the 40-yard dash. LEFT: The pain has all but vanished from her MCL injury, but slight tightness and the fear of reinjury has made Smith devoted to staying stretched. ABOVE: With the help of her training coach Whitney Rodden, Smith has not only increased her strength, but set personal bests in every measurable mark this spring. Smith's 295-pound squat is nearly three times her body weight. TOP (PHOTO ILLUSTRATION): Goals were easy to come by in the fall for Smith, who broke Kansas' single-season scoring record with 12. But how would she do when she returned from injury this past spring? Not bad, considering she twice tallied four goals in single games — including four against Oral Roberts April 6 in Kansas' 8-1 victory at SuperTarget Field.
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