Sophomore defender Megan Lee could still feel the throbbing pain of each aching step when she arrived at the LSU Soccer Stadium on Sunday.
It was only two days prior when Lee, the Tigers’ versatile All-Southeastern Conference defender, used her body as a shield and jumped in front of a shot by Texas A&M senior forward Shea Groom.
When Groom’s right foot connected with the ball, her cleat simultaneously struck Lee in the pelvis, sending the New Zealand native to the turf for several minutes while the Aggies celebrated their fourth goal of the contest.
Initially, Lee didn’t think the blow was serious.
“When I first came off, I thought it would be just a quick five minutes and I’d be back on the pitch,” Lee said. “But [the trainers] wanted to check if there were any fractures.”
A series of X-rays showed Lee suffered significant bone bruising, jeopardizing her availability for Sunday’s contest against Arkansas and possibly beyond that.
But Lee’s competitive drive and optimistic outlook have already helped her overcome a series of obstacles during her short LSU career.
So when trainers told her there was no risk of further injury, Lee said it was an obvious decision to play Sunday.
“I thought I wasn’t going to be able to run or anything, but I had to just tough through the pain,” Lee said. “[The injury] wasn’t going to get worse, but the pain was just constantly there.”
Since becoming a Tiger in 2013, Lee has established herself as one of the most vital and popular members of the LSU soccer program. Always ready for a good laugh, Lee’s playful personality has endeared her to her teammates and coaches.
“Any time a kid comes across the world to take an adventure like this to go to college without really knowing anybody, you have to be willing to step out of your comfort zone,” said LSU soccer coach Brian Lee. “Megan has adjusted well, and it’s fair to say she’s one of the most popular kids on the team. The kids and all the staff loves her.”
Junior forward Fernanda Piña said Megan has been that way since the two first met.
“Megan’s always acting goofy when you see her,” Piña said. “She’s always smiling and trying to help other people. She’s just a really nice person in general.”
Part of the reason behind Megan’s sunny disposition stems from her home life in New Zealand. The middle child of an outgoing family, Megan was constantly the butt of her siblings’ pranks.
“Since I’m the middle child, my [older] sister and [younger] brother always tend to team up against me, and they make a pretty good team,” Megan joked. “It’s like the innocent one with the smart one, and I’m just the middle one who causes the problems and gets the blame.”
However, the ever-cheerful Megan has been through her fair share of setbacks since first making the 7,649-mile journey to Baton Rouge.
She missed the first six games of her rookie season while recovering from a preseason ankle injury. A blow to the back of the head against Nigeria in the quarterfinals of the 2014 FIFA U-20 World Cup this summer resulted in a concussion and forced the New Zealander to miss the first two matches of her sophomore campaign.
But when she’s on the field, Megan has no shortage of tricks up her sleeve.
“She’s a Swiss Army knife, kind of a jack-of-all-trades player,” Brian said. “It’s very comforting to have her on the team, because we know she can fill any role.”
Megan’s role seems to be everywhere for the Tigers. In 22 career games, she has split time as a forward, midfielder and defender, and her diverse skill set hasn’t gone unnoticed. Despite missing nearly half of her freshman season, she still managed to earn Second-Team All-SEC honors. TopDrawerSoccer.com also ranked her as the No. 17 freshman in the NCAA following the season.
However, Megan’s role on the international stage is much different from what she’s accustomed with the Tigers. As one of the youngest members on New Zealand’s senior national team, the 19 year old has learned lessons in patience and humility while watching from the bench as her older and more experienced teammates compete on the field.
But in typical Megan fashion, she doesn’t allow the lack of playing time to discourage her.
“You want to influence the game, and you feel like sitting on the bench you can’t really do much except support the team,” Megan said. “So I just have to especially focus on the training and make sure I’m a good practice tool for the starters so they can be properly prepared for the game. I’m just biding my time.”
But when the Tigers hit the pitch on Sunday, it was Megan’s time to shine.
With LSU and Arkansas knotted at 1-1, the Razorbacks lined up for a corner kick. Two headers later, an injured Megan, who said simply walking was a troublesome task, sprinted after a loose ball with nothing but green field in front.
Megan’s adrenaline hit full throttle as she raced 60 yards down the field, split three Arkansas defenders, drew sophomore goalkeeper Cameron Carter out to the left side of the box and fired a shot just inside the right post for a wire-to-wire score.
Her breakaway strike even surprised her teammates.
“It was shocking because I thought she was out for a week or so,” said junior midfielder Natalia Gomez-Junco. “But what she did was admirable, and it shows how tough she is.”
Gomez-Junco wasn’t Megan’s only admirer that Sunday afternoon. After the Tigers settled for a disheartening 3-3 draw, a group of 7-year-old girls paraded around Megan, hoping for a photograph with their favorite player.
Never one to turn down such a request, Megan knelt between her small swarm of fans and smiled wide for the picture, stirring memories of the girl she used to be.
“I always think about being a good role model because I was that little girl, and I know the same feeling they have,” Megan said. “They look up to you and want to be you, so you just have to be friendly so they know you’re a good person for them to look up to.”
You can contact David Gray on Twitter @dgray_TDR.