A lingering leg injury sidelined Stone throughout preseason camp. The redshirt junior’s injury kept her sidelined in IU’s preseason game against Louisville, making it unclear who IU’s starting keeper would be.
But on Friday, Stone participated in the team’s walkthrough at 10 a.m. With good MRI results, she was medically cleared to play at 10:05 a.m.
Stone passed the team’s mandatory fitness test at 11:30 a.m. and was named the team’s starting goalie by Berbary at 11:50 a.m.
Eight hours after being cleared and named starter, she recorded her fourth career shutout against Indiana State.
“I think we’re all really happy that she’s back,” junior midfielder Jessie Bujouves said of Stone on Friday. “She’s been playing really well.”
Stone’s first test of the year came in the 50th minute against Indiana State when a defensive miscue allowed Sycamore midfielder Maddie Orf to gather the ball at her feet within the 18-yard box and fire a shot seemingly destined for the upper 90.
Stone lunged forward, managing to get her outstretched right hand onto the ball and punch it into the air. With the ball’s momentum slowed, she backed up and corralled the ball with both hands to preserve what at the time was a one-goal lead.
“It looked like nothing,” Berbary said of the save. “She looked like she was in the circus.”
Sunday didn’t go as well for Stone, who has a 73.3 percent save percentage and 4-4 record as a goalie in her career at IU.
She allowed a pair of goals within a 55-second stretch in a 2-0 loss to Eastern Michigan.
Senior defender Tori Keller said the defense deserved part of the blame. A pair of communication breakdowns among the defensive backs contributed to the goals.
But after a few weeks of uncertainty, it has become clear that Stone will be in goal for the forseeable future.
“I’ve been with Sarah Stone since my freshman year, and I love having her behind me,” Keller said.
“She’s a good communicator and a good distributor, and I think she had a few really huge saves for us today, and she had some good saves for us on Friday. So that’s really all you can ask from your keeper.”
