by M. Blake Harrison
Amanda Buechel was still riding a high from helping lead the Lady Toppers to their first-ever appearance in the Sun Belt Conference Championship game in 2008.
As freshmen in 2007, Buechel and Mallory Outerbridge combined for 15 goals as WKU won the Sun Belt regular-season title. The next season, Outerbridge redshirted in order to train with the Under-20 Canadian National Team in preparation for the FIFA World Cup.
"We tore it up at the forward position, and when I left, she was constantly calling me and telling me how the team was doing," Outerbridge said. "I remember joking around with her and saying, 'now that I'm gone, you have to step up.'"
And that she did. Buechel scored seven goals with seven assists in 2008 as the Lady Toppers reached the Sun Belt Conference Tournament Championship game.
It would take three full years after their freshman seasons for Outerbridge and Buechel to play together again because of injuries Buechel suffered.
During a match against Kentucky in the spring of 2009, Buechel tore her left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), which kept her on the sideline until the next spring. In her first action since her injury, Buechel tore her right ACL in a 7-on-7 match against her own teammates. A stress fracture in her right shin came later.
"I knew it was just a short-term thing and I was going to come back," Buechel said of her first ACL tear. "I didn't feel like I had lost any momentum or anything, and literally (the second tear) was just like a punch in the stomach and I was down again and I knew I was hurt."
Outerbridge, a redshirt senior, said she's not sure whether she would've tried to further her career if she had been in Buechel's shoes.
Head Coach Jason Neidell said Buechel, now a fifth-year senior, responded well to her situation.
"When you're injured, it's easy to feel separated, and she's always been one who's really tried to involve herself within the team, regardless of her circumstances," Neidell said. "To be able to sit on the outside and see things from a different perspective, I think she actually learned a lot about the game."
Buechel said watching from the sideline is like watching a different game. She still makes mistakes, but recognizes them more easily now and is more understanding of coaching critiques, she said.
Neidell identified Buechel as a highly-recruited player who is unpredictable.
"I think sometimes even she doesn't know what she's going to do with the ball," he said. "I think that's what makes her exciting to watch."
Buechel said she expected to be the same player post-injuries as she was before, but learned quickly that wasn't going to be the case.
"It's hard when your statistics aren't where they used to be, but I've definitely seen improvements," she said.
Her first goal of the season came against Louisiana-Monroe on Oct. 14, a 1-0 road win. Buechel has also recorded two assists this season, the most recent one on Sunday that led to the Lady Toppers' game-winning goal in a 1-0 win at South Alabama. She has put 18 shots on goal, second-most for WKU behind Outerbridge.
Though Buechel has been on the Hill for five years, she's only played three seasons, possibly leaving her with another year of eligibility. Neidell said WKU plans to seek a sixth year via petition to the NCAA.
Buechel said she feels confident enough in the process that she's not considering WKU's final home match - a contest against Middle Tennessee on Friday night - her potential final home appearance.
"I've done what I've done, and if it's over, I can't say that it's been bad," she said.
Redshirt-sophomore Taryn O'Shea, who is recovering from ACL surgery, is using Buechel's story as motivation.
"Watching her right now is probably one of the most inspiring things I've ever seen," O'Shea said. "If she can do it, then I can do it. It's one of those things where you get goose bumps thinking about it."
Considering all Buechel has been through, she said she feels the same way.
"Sometimes I look back and am like, 'Wow, I'm finally playing again.'"
WKU closes the regular season Friday night at 6 p.m., taking on rival Middle Tennessee State at the WKU Soccer Complex.
