For Lynn, a Michigan native, that dream had to wait a mere 10 games. Her delayed start to an already promising career was due, not to talent, but injury. A minor foot injury had snowballed into a stress fracture, which caused the first-year player to sit out more than half of her first season at IU.
“It really sucked,” Lynn said. “All my life I’ve been waiting to come play in college, and then I couldn’t play for the first six weeks. It started in the summer. I thought it was just shin splints during conditioning, and then during preseason it got progressively worse.”
Although she wasn’t able to play during her team’s non-conference season, Lynn said she learned a lot at the start of her career. The Hoosiers were tested from the start with No. 13 Virginia Tech before playing five consecutive road games.
Lynn’s return came on the road against Wisconsin after IU had tied both Illinois and Northwestern at home to open its Big Ten slate. In a 3-0 loss, Lynn was able to come off the bench and put a shot on goal. More importantly, it marked the anticipated start to her career in Bloomington.
“It was awesome,” Lynn said. “I was so excited. I definitely wasn’t in the greatest shape, but it was so nice being on the field, having the jersey on and being a part of it rather than sitting on the sideline.”
Since the Wisconsin game, Lynn has started all six games, including playing every minute of last weekend’s 110-minute draw with Maryland. While grateful for the opportunity, Lynn said it’s been a challenge to keep up with her fitness without re-aggravating her injury.
“It’s definitely hard,” Lynn said. “In practice, I’m still trying to get my fitness up. I’ve been in the weight room and have been doing the bike, but I can’t run because I don’t want to make it worse. I wear a boot when I walk around campus just in case. It gets sore sometimes, but it’s been good in games.”
IU Coach Amy Berbary has thrown Lynn into the fire of a Hoosier backline that has dealt with a flurry of shots over the past few games. Lynn has solidified a place on the IU defense along with junior captain Marissa Borschke, senior Annelie Leitner and sophomore Emily Basten.
“Playing in the backline is such a big responsibility,” Lynn said. “If you stop running for one second, you’re going to get beat, and you’re going to get scored on. You don’t really get many mistakes, and when you do, you usually get punished for them. Marissa, Annelie and Emily are all so good, and it’s great to know that I have them behind me.”
Berbary, who has had to deal with a plethora of injuries and inexperience this season, said she could not be more impressed with how her newfound starting defender has handled the beginning of her carer.
“She handled it like an absolute professional,” Berbary said. “It’s unbelievable. I’ve never seen, in all the years that I’ve been coaching, a freshman to sit there for 10 games and jump in like that. She looks like a true upperclassman, and I am so thrilled for her and really excited for her potential.”
Lynn has a proven track record through her club experience with the Michigan Hawks, a club that she chose to play for full-time after just one season of high school soccer.
The 5-foot-2 stalwart has also played for the Olympic development team, but, according to Berbary, she had some doubts of her talent when it came to IU.
“She loves soccer,” Berbary said. “I’ve seen Justine play through the Olympic development program and her club team. We had to tell her that she was good enough, and I think that’s she’s proven that to herself. She didn’t need to prove anything to us.”
