In an online recruiting profile, Evanston girls soccer player Vanessa Eljaiek wrote about how she tried out for FC United’s U13 squad as a sixth-grader and was devastated when she only made the second team.
However, Eljaiek said the snub was a significant moment in her career, because she worked hard the following season, determined to reach the first team.
“I can honestly say making the second team at FC United my first year was probably one of the best things that ever happened to me,” Eljaiek wrote on her Next College Student Athlete profile. “That year I grew not only as a player, but as a person. I learned to work with what I have and make the best of things, never give up.”
Eljaiek made the first team the following year, and continued to progress through the ranks at FC United, eventually becoming one of her team’s leading scorers. She also became a regular for Evanston as a freshman in 2015.
But on May 7 of last year, Eljaiek fell awkwardly and injured her left knee 10 minutes into a game at New Trier. An MRI later revealed a torn ACL.
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She had surgery on June 29, 2016, and Eljaiek missed the ensuing club season, which is considered a crucial evaluation period for girls high school soccer players with college aspirations.
But Eljaiek had bounced back from adversity before, and she was determined to do it again.
“(Those instincts from the U13-season) kicked in when I got injured,” said Eljaiek, who lives in Evanston. “I knew I had overcome that. Now, I had experienced being on the top team (varsity), and I knew I could get back to that level.”
Thirteen months later, Eljaiek’s recovery appears to be on schedule, though she said it remains a work in progress. After months of rest and later rehabilitation, the left-footed junior was back on the high school field this spring, helping Evanston to a 15-6-3 season, which ended with a 2-1 loss to Loyola in the Glenbrook North Sectional semifinal on May 23.
Eljaiek, who played with a brace on her left knee, opened the season as a winger before becoming Evanston’s starting center forward midway through the season. Eljaiek finished with eight goals and eight assists, and seemed to thrive playing just ahead of Wisconsin-bound midfielder Maia Cella, a senior. Eljaiek and Cella also are teammates with FC United.
“We switched (Eljaiek) and put her more as a target player because she was combining so well with Maia,” Evanston first-year coach Stacy Salgado said. “They both have such great touches and can both get out of small spaces, so they were very good at combining.”
Added Salgado: “(Eljaiek) can bring down the ball and she is not afraid to use her body to hold onto it until we get numbers up. Also, she’s probably the most skillful player on our team.”
Eljaiek said some people suggested it might take time for her to feel comfortable getting back to playing the physical style she displayed before the injury. But she said that hasn’t been the case.
“I’m a go-for-anything type of player, so when I’m in game mode, I don’t think about what people told me, I go 100 percent,” said Eljaiek, who was born in Colombia, but moved to the United States as a baby.
The 5-foot-5 Eljaiek said her speed has been hampered slightly by the presence of the knee brace, but said she hopes to shed the brace during the summer club season. She also said knee soreness has led to some lengthy recovery times between games.
After having had early discussions with Division I schools prior to her injury, Eljaiek said her absence from the club soccer scene during the last year has been costly.
Eljaiek said she’s determined to make the best of whatever opportunities come her way.
“When I got injured, I realized that Division I might not be an option,” Eljaiek said. “Because of the injury, I did not have the same chance to be recruited, and that’s life. I’m now focused on DIIs and higher-level DIIIs. I haven’t lost hope, but it’s a reality check that I might not play Division I.”
Cella, an Evanston resident, said Division I programs should still be keeping tabs on Eljaiek.
“I think she can, and truly deserves that,” Cella said when asked if she thinks Eljaiek is a Division I player. “(This season) she was just coming back and really pushing herself (to get healthy). If she keeps doing what she does with the ball at her feet, any program would be lucky to have her.”
Dan Shalin is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Twitter @Pioneer_Press