UCSB soccer standout David Walker suffered four broken fingers in his right hand after a collision with the goalkeeper during Sunday night’s loss to Loyola Marymount and is expected to be in a cast for 4-6 weeks.
Walker had surgery on Monday and had four pins placed in his right hand, according to a source close to the team who is not authorized to comment publicly about the injury. Walker said after Sunday’s loss that the injury wasn’t going to keep him from missing any games.
UCSB coach Tim Vom Steeg said Tuesday that Walker received clearance to play and that the senior forward was adamant about getting back on the field this weekend when the ninth-ranked Gauchos (4-1-0) visit Wisconsin-Milwaukee and the University of Wisconsin on Friday and Sunday.
The coach, however, wasn’t so sure about playing Walker, who’ll be wearing a bulky cast on his hand and arm.
“He’s insisting he wants to go (on the trip),” said Vom Steeg. “He’s a senior and if he wants to go, I’ll put him on (the traveling roster). But he has to jog up and down the field for me. We’ve had guys play before with casts.”
Walker was hurt in a collision with LMU’s 6-6, 235-pound goalkeeper Max Young in the 14th minute of last Sunday’s 2-1 loss. Young stormed out of the penalty area to break up a long pass sent up the left side. Walker managed to win the ball after the contact and took it into the corner before falling to the turf in pain.
“The good news is it’s not a broken ankle,” said Vom Steeg.
Walker was on a tear before suffering the injury. He had scored four goals, surpassing his total of last season.
If Walker is unable to play, Vom Steeg said he might move Michael Tetteh to the front line with Michael Nonni and Waid Ibrahim.
The coach noted that Ibrahim’s health issue has made it difficult for the SBCC transfer from Ghana to play extended minutes on the field. Ibrahim has a congenital heart defect, but he’s been able to continue playing soccer with the help of a pacemaker and medication.
Vom Steeg said Ibrahim had complained that the medication was making him sluggish and nauseous and the player was planning to talk to his doctor about possibly changing it.-
— FILM STUDIES: After viewing the film of the LMU loss, Vom Steeg wasn’t too dismayed about his team’s play, at least at the offensive end. He said he counted 17 goal-scoring opportunities by the team. “That’s as high as we’ve had in any game this year.”
The Gauchos are still a work in progress at the defensive end. Vom Steeg is hoping to hear soon about the clearance of defenders Chris Hunter and Evan McNeil, transfers from Yavapai College in Arizona. They need to pass a summer school class to become eligible to play.
Hunter, McNeil and starting goalkeeper Sam Hayden helped Yavapai win back-to-back national junior college titles.
— ON WISCONSIN: The Gauchos’ trip to the Dairy State will stir up some memories of their incredible 2004 run to the College Cup Final. They opened that run with a 2-1 overtime victory over Milwaukee at Harder Stadium.
In the Sunday match at Wisconsin, UCSB will face a team that is coached by Todd Yeagley, the son of legendary (and now retired) Indiana coach Jerry Yeagley, whose Hoosiers beat the Gauchos on penalty kicks in the 2004 College Cup Final at the Home Depot Center.
“There’s a little bit of history there,” said Vom Steeg.
