Sydney Supica is a senior defender for the Indiana University field hockey team who has overcome tremendous personal tragedy and injuries to find success on the field. At age 15, a car accident killed Sydney's mother and sister and left her with chronic pain. Throughout her college career, Sydney battled numerous injuries directly related to the accident but continued to play through the pain and earn various accolades. After the Hoosiers' season ended in the first round of the tournament, Sydney reflected on how field hockey has helped her cope with loss and injuries, and allowed her to honor her mother's memory by always giving her all on the field.

1. Taylor Uden
C225 Final News Story
The Collegiate War
The Stage
It was brisk as water fell from the sky. The stands were full. The Hoosier Army was loud
and present. Just as the piercing whistle sounded, the countdown began.
Dressed in their new red uniforms, the Indiana University field hockey team was
expected to take the whole thing. But what was projected to be a Cinderella story turned out as
just another bump in the road of life.
The Hoosiers were set to face Penn State in the first round of the Big Ten tournament as
the three seed with Supica at the forefront.
“Sydney is so energetic and full of life,” sophomore attacker Abigail Urbanek said. “She
pushes us to our limits.”
What started as a dwindling 35-minute clock was paused when a loud siren sent every
Hoosier into shock. Forty-five seconds in, senior Sydney Supica was challenged to a one-on-one
duel with a Penn State forward from 16 yards. PSU 1-0.
What seemed like an optimistic battle shortly turned into a panic.
For Sydney, this panic seemed all too familiar.
The Switch
At 15-years-old, Theresa Supica and her three daughters were traveling to Virginia Beach
for Sydney’s tryouts with the National Team Futures. This was the family’s first time to Virginia
Beach and an important one. An optimistic 11-hour trek quickly turned to chaos and defeat.

2. The family was on I-95 south in Henrico County, Virginia when another car was trying to
pass and lost control of the vehicle, according to the Richmond Times Dispatch Report. The
Supica car flipped several times ultimately landing upside down.
Theresa and her youngest daughter, Samantha, were pronounced dead on the scene while
Sydney and Sloane were taken to the hospital.
Sydney was driving the car.
“It was the worst day of my life,” Supica said.
In less than five seconds her world was flipped upside down.
From this moment on, Sydney’s idea of pressure would never be the same. Still, this one
moment defined who Sydney has become.
The Strive
Sydney is a defender for the Hoosiers meaning she is the last person to stop the ball
before the goalie. When people score, she tends to be the one to blame.
The Hoosiers held PSU until the fifth minute when Penn State scored again. IU would go
on to tie the game but then the Lions responded once more. This game ended the Hoosiers’
season.
Though, after four years of ups and downs, she learned how to keep things in perspective.
“I remembered (when they scored the first goal), field hockey is a game of mistakes,”
Supica said.
But one mistake does not have to define who you are.
“I don't think this loss takes away from anything we've done this season,” junior
midfielder Morgan Dye said. “It is disappointing to go out that way, but we don't feel like we left
anything on the field.”

3. That was Sydney’s ultimate goal when continuing to play field hockey – leaving
everything out on the field for her mom.
“It is awe-inspiring watching her out on the field. She is absolutely amazing,” Scott
Supica said with water glossing his eyes after watching his daughter play her last game of the
season.
For Sydney, field hockey became more than just a sport.
The Stretch
Sydney Supica is an all-star on the team with accolades to prove it.
In her freshman season she started in 19 of 21 games and received a Big Ten Freshmen of
the Week award.
She continued as a force her sophomore season receiving NFCHA All-region Second
Team along with All-Big Ten Second Team. She also broke the single season record for
defensive saves with five.
She tore through her junior year by leading the Big Ten in saves with eight, again
breaking the school record. She started in all 17 games and received NFCHA and Big Ten
honors.
Her senior season saw her selected to the 2015 NFCHA Division I Senior, along with
more Big Ten and NFHCA Honors.
However, the accolades do not show what Supica went through to achieve success.
“I was basically in physical therapy and rehab from the day I stepped foot on Indiana’s
campus until the present,” Supica said.
All of her injuries in her four years were directly from her accident.

4. Sydney’s freshman year she had a floating bone fragment in her right elbow where she
had an ulnar nerve transposition. After four months of recovery, the surgery seemed to work.
Nine months later, her sophomore year, she received some injections in the right elbow before
the fall started.
Although she made it through the season, she could not continue with the pain. In the
spring she receive a platelet-rich plasma injection that kept her out for two months.
By junior year, the injection wore off but the pain did not. Sydney was then diagnosed
with Thoracic Outlet syndrome in her right shoulder. The doctors removed her first rib and two-
thirds of her scalene muscle.
“Last spring was really tough for Sydney,” the field hockey team’s athletic trainer Billy
Means said. “She didn’t recover the way she was planning on or we were planning on.”
This surgery has caused chronic pain that
will most likely last a lifetime. However, after many
efforts of finding a temporary cure, dry needling
was the only thing that pushed Sydney through her
final season at Indiana University.
The Success
“After all the injuries she has had, I don’t
know how she gets up in the morning to go to practice and all that.” Scott Supica said. “It’s
pretty cool.”
The injuries only add to her story.
In the past five years, Sydney has overcome trial after trial to play the sport she loves.
Photo via Ben Mikesell

5. “I kept going because even through the injuries and the hard times,” Supica said. “Field
hockey was what kept me going and helped me get through all the tough times.”
Even after everything that has happened, every day is a new challenge for Sydney.
“I learn something new every day and I never take anything for granted.”
Although she has a whole new perspective on life, she never goes a day without thinking
about her mom and sister.
Contact Info
Sydney Supica
IU Field Hockey player
734-358-5631
ssupica@indiana.edu
Abby Urbanek
IU field Hockey player
amurbane@indiana.edu
Billy Means
IU Field Hockey Athletic Trainer
859-802-0987
wjmeans@indiana.edu
Scott Supica
Sydney’s Dad
Morgan Dye
IU Field Hockey player

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