Another cold, bitter night on the sidelines of the soccer stadium. Senior Jenna Christensen stands, watching her team struggle to make it down the field. As a senior, she would give anything to be out there with her teammates.

“I can’t help but wonder what would happen if I was out there,” Christensen said.

It was the first game of the girls’ soccer season. Christensen had the ball, her opponent trailing right behind her. Suddenly, they collided and she felt her knee go inward.

“I could definitely hear a pop,” Christensen said.

Determined as she was, Christensen opted to play the second half. It was something she couldn’t feel right away, so she didn’t think her injury would be serious.

Christensen ended up playing another full game at a tournament in Byron the following weekend. With nothing to hold her back but a knee brace, she played what would prove to be the last game of her high school career.

Warming up for the following game, Christensen knew something wasn’t right. She described it as her knee getting stuck; later she found out that feeling was her meniscus getting caught in between her bones. She then knew it was serious.

On Wednesday, Oct. 8, she went in for surgery on her left knee.

“Surgery went well,” Christensen said.

The rehabilitation of her knee will take some time, but Christensen has her heart set on playing hockey in college.

Brian Blatti, the girls’ varsity hockey coach, knows her injury will have a big impact on the team. Christensen was their leading scorer last year.

“This will give some of the younger players a chance to step up,” Blatti said.

Blatti doesn’t think this will hold her back. He said she has the potential to go far in her hockey career.

“Jenna is a very gifted, motivated, strong person,” Blatti said. “I think she will work her tail off every step of the way.”

Abbey Arends, a good friend and soccer teammate, knows how hard this has been for Christensen. Arends injured her knee earlier in the year.

“It’s killing her,” Arends said.

When Christensen first went down, Arends described the entire soccer team as “scared” and “freaking out.”

But when it comes to friendship, Arends thinks her injury has made them closer.

“For me, it’s made our friendship stronger because we’ve spent a lot of time on the bench together,” Arends said.

Christensen has been able to deal with this injury in a positive way, although the outcomes have mostly been negative.

“It was really hard at first,” Christensen said. “I guess I just gave myself false hope to play this year.”

Although Christensen will be able to play hockey in college, her injury is something that could easily affect her 20 years down the road.

With eyes ahead, Christensen is looking forward to being healed. She plans on supporting her teams every step of the way, even if that means screaming from the sidelines.