Kiyomi Kikuchi
At the beginning of the season, women’s soccer striker Yasmine Yahoum suffered a potentially season ending injury, but she came back to make some amazing contributions at the end of the season.
She was kicked in the ribs in the Victor Valley tournament on Sept. 7, in the fourth game of the season.
“I was fine, (It wasn’t ) anything big,” she recalled at that time. She continued to practice after that.
A week later, while playing against Moorpark College, she realizes she couldn’t run or even walk and found it hard to breathe; eventually, her doctor found a bruise on her liver.
“It was really bad,” she said. She stayed a couple nighta at the hospital. She said it almost felt like she was paralyzed; all she could do was move her head.
It took two weeks to recover, but her doctor told her she would be out for the season, because playing could cause her liver to bleed.
“I was about to give up,” she said. She decided to seek a second opinion. Everybody thought she was out of the season, but the second doctor cleared her, and she started practicing the same day.
“It killed me” she commented. She is a sophomore and she was trying to contribute as much as she could. However, she had missed “three or four games” for two weeks. She also realized that her injury was “mental more than physical.” Even though another doctor gave her permission to play, what the first doctor said was always in her head. “It scared me,” she said.
It is difficult to play games after missing them, according to head couch Adolfo Perez.
“I’m crying and depressed,” Her boyfriend, who plays baseball for Pierce, supported her and told her that ” no” she was going to be fine and play.
“I had to work harder than everybody else,” she said. “Injury is not an excuse.” She got over her fear by working hard in every game.
At the end of the season, she had 12 goals (1 penalty goal) and 7 assists for 31 points. She was second only to Stephanie Cubias, who 15 goals, 8 assists and 38 points.
She had just 4 goals last year without her injury. “I was just not playing well,” she said.
“She has a big heart,” admired Pierce assistant coach Victor Lopez. “Usually players stay out two months if a doctor says that, but she came back,” he said
She wants to pursue her soccer career; at the same time, she wants to focus on her academic career and to get into law school. Her hard work and the sprit of “never give up” gives her hope.
Pierce striker Yasmine Yahoum ()