Valley doctor warns women athletes of concussion dangers

The USA Women's Soccer Team is headed to the World Cup Finals. The team beat top-ranked Germany last night 2-0. The U.S. scored a penalty kick, and then a second goal, with just minutes left in the game.

There were some scary moments on the field for both teams, when two players knocked heads while going for the ball. Both ended up down on the field, with the German player bleeding on the field.

A valley doctor spoke to FOX 10 about how physical the game of soccer can be and the dangers.

"Well I thought wow that's a huge hit I was actually surprised that the US player wasn't knocked unconscious because of how big a hit it was... I was really very relieved to see that they did exactly what they're supposed to do in the case of a big hit like that. They stopped right there they evaluated, and they did everything right there on the field," said Dr. Christina Kwasnica with the Barrow Neurological Institute.

"In women's sports soccer has the highest risk of concussion, it actually has a higher risk of concussion on women's soccer than in men's soccer, and a head to head collision is the highest risk event... Soccer season here in Arizona is a nearly year round event, so girls playing soccer is the highest group of girls we see, and I think parents are more proactive now," she said.

"Obviously just not playing is the ultimate prevention, but you can get a concussion getting into a minor a car accident too. So far soccer players I think the biggest thing is to know the signs and symptoms of concussions, and to stop playing or notify somebody if you feel signs or symptoms," said Dr. Kwasnica.