Sunday's match against Rider marked the third game out of four that women's soccer captain Natalie Capuano sat out due to a concussion.
Coach Darren Ambrose said "she's been feeling the repercussions of it for about two weeks now."
Capuano was cleared to play in the middle of last week by neurologists at Student Health Services, but didn't take the field in last weekend's games.
"Our decision always has her best interests in mind," Ambrose said. "We felt it would be better for her if she got more rest."
Female athletes tend to take longer to recover from concussions than do male athletes. And the dangers of returning too early can be serious.
The decreased speed at which the brain processes stimuli after a concussion can lead to dangerous situations on the field if a player cannot react to the speed of play as quickly as is necessary.
While the team hasn't been able to pinpoint the exact cause of the injury, the last match she played was on Sept. 23 at Villanova.
It may sound strange, but in fact, it's not unusual for people to not realize right away they've suffered a concussion.
According to Tony Strickland, director of the Sports Concussion Institute in California, the failure to recognize a concussion "is frequently the case, particularly when the concussions are sustained in the context of athletic events."
Ten to 15 percent of athletes in "high-velocity" sports like soccer will receive a concussion during their careers.
Strickland added that the symptoms of a concussion are poorly understood and aren't as readily apparent as bone fractures or muscle tears.
The signs - problems with attention, concentration, speed of mental processing, nausea, vomiting, blurred vision or disorientation - can vary in severity. They may not manifest themselves until a day or two after the original injury, making a concussion difficult to diagnose.
"I call concussions 'stealth' injuries," Strickland said. "They can range from a momentary alteration in brain function to a coma. But that's pretty rare."
Ambrose was only willing to speculate on a return date for Capuano. He said every doctor's visit results in a cleaner bill of health and he thinks she'll be ready to play on Saturday against Columbia.
"She's always on the roster anyways," Ambrose said. "As the team captain, she's a leader. If she's not on the field, then she leads from the bench."
