Central Michigan University has announced the passing on Sunday of 19-year-old sophomore women's soccer player Josie Seebeck, due to injuries sustained in a Friday car accident.
The athletic department said one soccer player is hospitalized and another was released after spending the night at the hospital.
Athletics director Dave Heeke said in a statement it’s "a tough, tragic time for our soccer student-athletes and the entire CMU Chippewa family."
CMU has not released the names of the other two players, citing an ongoing police investigation into the crash that occurred outside Lansing.
Neil Stafford, the former CMU head coach who recruited Seebeck, called news of the young midfielder's death "devastating."
Stafford's graduate assistant coach at the time found Seebeck when she was a "star" at Ramstein High School in Germany, where she scored 20 goals and had 16 assists, and was selected for the All-European team.
Seebeck scored her only goal last season to win against Northern Illinois in the quarterfinals of the Mid-American Conference tournament -- while recovering from broken ribs.
"There’s really no words we can say that express what this has been like for us," said senior midfielder Tory Kinniard. "I don’t really know what to say to tell you how everybody feels."
Peter McGahey, who became coach in January, said players came from around the country to visit their teammates in the hospital. He called Seebeck a "true student-athlete."
