Sunday’s NWSL match between Racing Louisville and the Seattle Reign was postponed after midfielder Savannah DeMelo suffered a medical emergency on the pitch, the league announced in a statement.
DeMelo is “stable and alert,” per the NWSL.
According to Tamerra Griffin of The Athletic, “The 27-year-old sat down in the 47th minute and appeared to fall backward shortly before medical staff from both teams arrived to attend to her on the field. Several Racing teammates looked visibly upset. As teams retreated to their benches, the match was immediately delayed, followed by an announcement of an early halftime.”
DeMelo was then transported to an area hospital.
In May, DeMelo—who has made seven appearances for the United States women’s national team—spoke publicly about being diagnosed with Graves’ disease and hyperthyroidism and removed herself from a match in March after she had trouble breathing and got dizzy (she had already been diagnosed with both conditions at that point).
“Playing a 90-minute game felt unbearable,” she told ESPN’s Jeff Kassouf at the time. “I would get to maybe the 25th minute, and I felt like my heart was just like beating so fast, like out of my chest. I felt so out of breath, so out of shape. I didn’t really know what was going on.”
It is unclear if Sunday’s medical emergency was related to either condition.
