:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/36566022/meehan.0.jpg)
Boston College women's soccer's attempt to build off last year's Elite Eight performance may have suffered a devastating blow. Eagles' Captain McKenzie Meehan, who was set to start her campaign with the US team at the U-20 Women's World Cup last night, was sent home from the tournament last week due to injury; the US called in UConn's Rachel Hill as a replacement.
The Heights reported that Meehan was seen on crutches yesterday and that the severity of the injury was unknown at this point, but they hoped to have more details later in the week.
Meehan was the leading scorer for the US team in U-20 World Cup qualifying, scoring 6 goals for the team and cementing her status as a starter for the Americans. She was also prolific in front of goal for BC last fall, scoring 20 goals for the Eagles. With the graduation of BC's other top scorer, Stephanie McCaffrey, Meehan is certainly going to be relied upon to lead BC's offense this year.
The Americans were punchless in her absence in their U-20 World Cup opener, falling to Germany 2-0 last night.
BC women's soccer's season is slated to start in just 11 days when the Eagles face Maine in a scrimmage. The first regular season game comes on August 22 against Colgate; after that, BC sets out to play 6 consecutive road games early in the season. Head Coach Alison Foley will certainly be hoping to have her top forward available for the season.