One Year after injury, Apuzzo Dominating Opponents

With the 14-11 victory over nationally-ranked Louisville on Saturday, Boston College lacrosse added to what's become a fast-surging resume. Perfect overall at home, the Eagles' first conference win pushed them right back into the thick of the Atlantic Coast Conference race, an ultra-competitive competition in the nation's best conference.

Beyond the box score, sophomore Sam Apuzzo continued a run that's been a season-long quest for greatness. After two goals and an assist, she has 54 points. That total places her atop the points board for all of Division I, a force that also leads the country in assists with 23. As the season chugs and burns towards the inevitable race for the ACC Championship, the Eagles are a team nobody wants to play with a player nobody wants to try and stop.

A year ago, it wasn't exactly like this. In fact, Apuzzo wasn't even sure she was ever stepping foot on a field as the same player ever again.

Time was winding down on the Newton Campus Lacrosse Field turf. Boston College was about to defeat a major conference rival and earn its first league win of the year. Working the ball around the perimeter of their attacking zone, the Eagles were tying up the finishing touches on a monster second half over Syracuse. With a three-goal game, then freshman Apuzzo stood front and center in the victory.

But then everything changed in an instant. Apuzzo planted her leg to change directions, but instead of running, she fell to the ground. It was an athlete's worst nightmare: she had torn her ACL.

"It was the biggest game I'd ever been a part of," Apuzzo said. "We were stalling the ball, which is a pretty simple play. Then all of a sudden I cut back, and I knew exactly what had happened right away. It was a pain I'd never felt before, and I knew it wasn't normal."

Apuzzo's freshman season was over. The next day, an MRI confirmed what she already knew - that her knee was torn. Sidelined, she would watch the rest of the season out of uniform as her team lost a rematch against the Orange in the ACC Tournament, followed by an NCAA Regionals exist at home against Stony Brook.

Following the injury, the BC attacker had to confront who she was as an athlete while trying to work her way back to a lineup she was taken out of in an instant.

"The day after the MRI, Coach [Acacia Walker] called to tell me to take one or two days to feel sorry for myself and be sad," Apuzzo said. "But after that, it was time to get to work and start getting better. I really took that to heart."

In the months that followed, grueling rehab slowly helped bring the now-sophomore back. Apuzzo recalled how the first week was the hardest but she would slowly start regaining form after that. Each week, little by little, she regained form as an athlete before she began working back into lacrosse game shape.

"My trainer was a saint," Apuzzo said. "I had known plenty of people who had gone through (ACL surgery and rehab), but you really don't know what it's like until you go through it yourself. Everyone is different and has different circumstances. But (the training staff) got me on track and I started to get better. We took our time with everything, which was the greatest part about it."

But nothing topped the feeling as she prepared physically and emotionally to step back on the lacrosse field. Returning 11 months after the injury, she scored just three points in the season opener against Holy Cross. A 10-point explosion against Massachusetts signaled a sign of things to come. It was followed up with six goals against Boston University and five-goal outputs against Connecticut and Navy. Against the Midshipwomen, she added four assists, rocketing her to the top of the national radar.

"Sam is a great kid, incredibly talented, and a really hard worker," Walker said. "It's not that we had high expectations for her, but it's more that a belief system that we knew she would be ready to go after being taken out last season."

"I'm a little different of a player now," Apuzzo said. "I watched more film while I was out, and I really figured out what worked. I went into more of a feeder role this year, and I really started figuring out connections (with teammates). I'm a different player, but it's a good different.

"It's a good feeling for anyone who is able to come back from an injury," she continued. "I'm really excited that I was able to come back even stronger. My teammates supported me throughout the whole process; this team is a great environment to come back to."

That environment is what's lifting the Eagles back into the national picture after some early season struggles. Standing at 3-2 with two conference losses, the Eagles ripped off two straight wins, including the 20-11 offensive showcase against Navy. Following a 21-13 loss to Maryland, they bounced back with a win over Monmouth before earning that all-important first conference win against Louisville.

"We had a rough start at the beginning of the year against some top teams," Apuzzo said. "I feel the result against Maryland didn't reflect our effort as a team; we played well in that game. But from here on we can only keep getting better, and I feel really good about what's coming next."

One Year after injury, Apuzzo Dominating Opponents

Players Mentioned

Sam Apuzzo

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