Garrett Epple and Ricky Miezan ruled out for the Championship Series
By Jerome Taylor | Feb 16, 2024
After a promising start to his professional career, Ricky Miezan’s run in the Championship Series ended on Friday night.
Miezan suffered a non-contact lower-body injury in the fourth quarter of the ‘Woods’ 20-14 loss to the Waterdogs. Miezan was able to walk off on his own power, but after the game, the team announced that he and Garrett Epple were sidelined for the rest of the tournament.
The ex-Stanford linebacker quickly became a top story of the Championship Series, earning an appearance on Get Up after racking up 3 points in his debut on Wednesday.
During Friday's game, Miezan scored the only two-pointer for the 'Woods. And if his health permits, his performance this week and the upside he flashed should earn him some looks come the summer.
Garrett Epple’s Hamstring Injury
The injury bug also bit a Redwoods’ veteran Garrett Epple, who went down with a hamstring strain in the first half and was ruled out the rest of the game at halftime.
INJURY UPDATE: Garrett Epple is out for the remainder of the game due to a hamstring strain.
— California Redwoods (@PLLRedwoods) February 16, 2024
On Wednesday, the reigning defender of the year scored the first two-pointer of the tournament for the ‘Woods and added another goal on Friday. Although it is unclear how severe Epple's injury is, it is not surprising that he and the team have chosen to be cautious with a hamstring injury in February.
As a result of Epple and Miezan going down on Friday, the Redwoods’ added Kyle Long to the roster for the remainder of the tournament.
Long was picked 27th by Atlas in last year’s draft after putting up 33 points (10G, 23A) at Maryland in 2023.
The Redwoods will be back in action on Saturday against a winless Archers team in the final game in Round Robin play.
