Two years ago during soccer practice at SF State’s Cox Stadium, Shannon Weston was going for a ball when she collided with her fellow teammate, leaving her with a torn anterior cruciate ligament, one of the most dreaded and common injuries in the game of soccer.

Devastated, she was told by her physical therapist and doctor she wouldn’t be able to play soccer for nine months.

“Words can’t explain what I felt,” Weston said. “It was like an unreality. I wasn’t going to be able to do the thing I loved most: play soccer.”

Weston always had soccer in her life, from when she started playing at the age of 4 in her hometown of Arcadia to her college days, in the big city of San Francisco.

But now, one can find Weston, a senior, running her first year on SF State’s cross country team.
“After the soccer door closed, I saw another door in running cross country,” she said. “I’ve always been a competitor and running is something I’ve always enjoyed.”

The anterior cruciate ligament (A.C.L.) controls the front and back motion of the knee. According to the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, female soccer players are four times as likely to tear their A.C.L. than their male counterparts.

Athletic trainer Jeff McCurtain, who works at the rehabilitation clinic on campus, said how an athlete recovers from a serious injury, such as an A.C.L. tear, depends on the individual.

“If they want to work hard, it’ll be quicker,” McCurtain said. “It’s different with each person.”
Weston, a 21-year-old dietetics major, now finds herself content and excited about her new life as a cross country runner.

“The coach and my teammates have been so supportive and great in helping me adjust and learn all the techniques it takes to be a great runner,” she said.

One of the team captains, Crista Phillips, a kinesiology major, thinks Weston is doing very well for a first year.

“Her competitiveness from soccer has carried over,” Phillips, 22, said.
Phillips said Weston just has to learn to be patient in a race.

“She wants to be at the front of the pack right away,” Phillips said. “She’ll learn though.”

Weston realized soccer would never be the same after she spent her whole sophomore year rehabilitating her knee after surgery.

Weston had to really dig deep and decide whether to put herself at risk again with soccer.

“She’s done great. She’s one of our top runners. I think her athletic background has really helped, especially in soccer, when you’re running the whole time,” said cross country coach Tom Lyons.

Weston said maybe things happen for a reason, and she feels honored to be able to say she participated in two different sports in college.

She said it’s important for her to have a sport in her life because of the lessons it gives her, such as the meaning and value of hard work and dedication.

“Having a sport in my life kind of always has defined me,” Weston, a three-sport athlete in high school, said.

“Yeah, I miss soccer sometimes,” Weston said. “I mean, I played my whole life but I’m grateful I have cross country. My competitive drive never changes no matter what I play.”