Junior forward and leading returning scorer Wes Erny tore his ACL over the summer and will miss the upcoming soccer season.
Erny scored six goals and assisted on five more for the Ravens a season ago. He trailed only Jacob Pokorski for the team lead, but after Pokorski’s graduation the team was planning to rely on Erny to pick up some of the offensive slack.
“I was just playing soccer in the backyard with my family,” Erny said. “I went to go one way, planted my foot, then exploded the other way. When I did this my knee suddenly gave out, and I felt a popping. As soon as it popped, I had a pretty good idea that I had torn something.”
The team will likely rely on seniors Danny Collins and Race Williams and sophomore RJ Macomber to lead the offense while Erny uses this season to recover and hopefully make a return for his senior season.
“Right now I am just working to gain back strength and mobility,” he said. “Hopefully within a couple weeks I will be able to walk without the aid of crutches. After that I will be attending physical therapy a number of times a week and doing exercises on my own as well, in order to work my knee back up into playing shape.”
The Ravens were picked to finish fifth in the HCAC preseason poll. Even without Erny, the team’s defense, experience and depth will give them a shot to make the conference tournament.
Erny underwent surgery last Wednesday to repair the torn ligament and is currently recovering.