Photo by Alli Howe
By BRODY RYAN
Senior soccer captain and All-American Brendan Gorman was sidelined after tearing a ligament in his knee last summer during a semi-professional match.
Gorman said he tore his ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) while playing for the Ottawa Fury when he landed awkwardly on his leg. He said he was pushed from behind when he jumped to head a ball.
Gorman said he scheduled an MRI and planned to have surgery in September. Because the ACL is one of the four major ligaments in the knee, reconstruction surgery for an ACL tear takes around six to eight months to recover from, according to Gorman.
Gorman said he heard a loud noise when he landed and then laid on the turf in tremendous pain for the next five minutes, unable to move. He said because of the injury he sustained, he will be unable to participate in this season’s play.
Gorman said he is trying to remain positive throughout the rehabilitation of his injury. He said he believed he could still help his team win by captaining them from the sidelines and supporting his coaches and teammates.
“It’s really tough for me to watch,” Gorman said. “But I know that I need to be there to help build team chemistry.” The Saints fed off of team chemistry last season during their NCAA tournament campaign, according to Gorman.
Gorman said he was unsure whether or not he would return to the field for the Saints next fall as a graduate student. Because the injury he sustained will likely keep him out for the entire 2011 season, he has the option of ‘red-shirting’ the season and coming back for an additional season after graduation, according to NCAA rules and regulations.
“We’re definitely not playing at the level we can be at,” Gorman said of his team. According to Gorman, several of his teammates are nursing injuries. In dealing with these injuries, Gorman said, underclassmen need to step up and make a greater impact on the field.
Gorman said he was optimistic about the abilities of the underclassmen.
Gorman scored seven goals in 18 games as a junior last season and remains the first men’s soccer player to earn first-team national All American recognition since Shawn Watson in 2002. Gorman remains the seventh leading scorer in the men’s soccer program history, tallying a total of 70 points.
Gorman is the seventh Saint to earn first-team All American honors since 1996.
The Saints will open their season against Oneonta on Sept. 3 in the Lotto Tournament at MacAllaster Field.
