Morgan Widner To Miss the Remainder of 2018 Season with Injury
By Nicole Weaving
Women’s Lacrosse Beat Reporter
Sophomore Draw Specialist Morgan Widner is done for the season.
An MRI done on Friday revealed Widner completely tore her ACL and has a medial meniscus tear in her right knee, as confirmed in a message to CitrusTV by Bob Widner, her father.
Widner went down with 5:31 left in the first half of Syracuse’s 19-12 victory over Albany on Thursday:
Trainers helped her off the field and she was on crutches when entering the locker room at halftime. Although her father couldn’t be with Morgan, her mother, Jill has been by her side since the game.
Widner will be eligible to medically redshirt this season. According to NCAA rules, there are 3 criteria that must be met to be eligible:
- The injury must be incapacitating in nature, meaning the player is unable to do anything physical or athletic related.
- The injury must have happened during the first half of the season and before competing in more than 2 competitions or 20% of the season– whichever is greater.
- The player must have appropriate medical documentation of the injury as proof.
Yesterday, Widner took to Instagram to show how she is trying to stay positive through this tough time:
Her father expressed a similar sentiment as this injury is not the only hardship Morgan has faced this season. Widner’s grandmother passed away in January, but her funeral was a week before the season opener against UConn.
“With no fall ball, God probably just wants her to heal inside and out,” Bob Widner said.
Battling injury and loss isn’t easy, but Widner will have her team there to support her throughout the rest of the season.
“Together we’re team. We care for one another like sisters,” SU defender Kerry Defliese said. “That’s what Morgan always does to us. We are a family.”
Widner’s presence on the draw will be missed during the remainder of the season. During her rookie campaign, she grabbed 156 draws, setting the NCAA record for draw controls by a freshman.
Junior Julie Cross, who took the rest of the draws against Albany, will likely takeover a full time role in the draw circle.
@nicki_weaves | nlweavin@syr.edu
