Tragedy on the field.
Rhode Island high school senior Maddie Potts was making a penalty kick during a Sept. 23 soccer game when she collapsed on the field and died, according to WJAR .
The Westerly Sun reported that she was taken to Hasbro Children’s Hospital where she was pronounced dead.
According to a statement from school superintendent Barry Ricci, Potts died from a brain aneurysm.
« I cannot believe it, » he said. « We left the hospital at about 11:30, and I left thinking she was going to make it. »
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« She was taking a penalty kick, and she just collapsed, » Ricci recalled. « Everything that could be done for her on the field was done. There was a parent who was a doctor who resuscitated her. »
The principal of Chariho high school, which Potts, 17, attended, released a statement on her death to WJAR in which she was praised as « a bright light. »
« Maddie represented the very best of our school as an artist, an athlete, a classmate, a teammate and a friend. Counselors are available in the library for students who need support. We all grieve differently, but we encourage you to remember Maddie as a bright light in Chariho, and share stories that speak to the meaningful impact she had on our community. We will work together with students to pay tribute to her life and the positive presence she was in our school, » the statement read.
According to a Facebook group associated with the Chariho Youth Soccer Association, a candlelight vigil will be held in Potts’ honor on Monday night.
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Those who wish to attend have been asked to be at the Chariho High School soccer field at 6:30 p.m. with a candle.
The vigil is set to begin at 7 p.m.
