Just a week after returning to the soccer field, Andrew’s Leah Crotty received some major reassurance she was back and fully recovered from a torn ACL in her right knee that ended her junior season prematurely.
Crotty, a senior forward, was cleared by doctors to begin playing Feb. 14. On Feb. 21, she went to a camp at Illinois State and was offered a scholarship by the Redbirds’ coaching staff. She committed shortly after.
“They couldn’t see me play before because of the COVID dead period and then my injury,” Crotty said. “So, when I went to the camp, it was the first time we had ever talked. I was committed within two weeks. It was really quick but it was really exciting. I knew it was the right place.
“It gave me some confidence to be able to come back knowing I’ll be OK and I’m going to play Division I soccer next year. Now, I can use this season to have fun with my team and not stress out so much about the recruiting process.”
The fact Crotty was able to impress Division I coaches so soon after returning from the injury has eased any doubts she had about where her level of play would be.
Andrew coach Loren Zolk is more than convinced Crotty is ready to go.
“She’s 100%, no question,” Zolk said. “Day one when she was cleared and she got out there, I was like, ‘There’s nothing there.’ There’s no hitch in her run, everything’s fluid, she’s confident on it, she’s cutting.
“It’s just like the last time we saw her play last spring, and in some ways, she’s stronger.”
Last spring, Crotty earned all-state honors. She scored nine goals and dished out seven assists but missed the last week of the regular season and the playoffs after suffering the torn ACL in a May 30 game against Lincoln-Way Central.
“It was tough,” Crotty said. “I really enjoy playing with these girls and it was disappointing not to get to finish the season with them.
“I’d say the first few weeks after the injury were more of a pity party. There were definitely a few days where I felt sorry for myself. I had to look at the positives, look at the recovery and kind of focus on that.”
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Not only did the injury cost Crotty a shot at the playoffs — a year after her sophomore season was canceled entirely due to the pandemic — it took away her summer, when she had hoped to finally get her a chance to impress college coaches.
“The whole recovery process, there was a lot of thinking about how my goal since freshman year was to play Division I soccer and knowing that a lot of programs already had their rosters set,” Crotty said. “That was really hard.
“I had to take a step back and think, ‘Everything’s going to be OK. You’ve got to trust the process. It’s going to take some time.’ I was worried I was going to come back so late that it’d be hard to be recruited, so being able to commit to Illinois State was a huge weight off my shoulders.”
At Illinois State, Crotty will be continuing a family tradition. Her father, Mark, played football for the Redbirds.
First, though, Leah hopes to make a big run with Andrew when she finally gets another chance at the postseason.
“I’m really excited,” she said. “We’ve got a great group of girls and I’m confident in all our players, so I think it’s going to be a great year.”
Steve Millar is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.