Six years on the campus soccer team and almost injury-free. Senior Rylee Schwab built her skill for 13 years on the pitch and it was almost all taken away, March 23.

The spring accident happened as Schwab was sprinting with the ball to score a goal and suddenly collided with the goalie. 

“I was kind of in the air at the time when the goalie came out from the goal,” Schwab said. “Her knee hit mine and I felt my knee shift. I fell to the ground and when I looked at it, it had moved to the side of my leg.”

Previously, Schwab has had only minor injuries in her soccer career, so she was worried about the severity of the injury. Approximately 40 long minutes passed of waiting on the field in pain for the ambulance to arrive. 

Schwab did not think she would recover in time to finish her senior year, but she had support through it all. Many family members, friends and various other students supported and encouraged her through the agonizing process. 

After a long night in the hospital, the diagnosis came in as a dislocated knee cap. The knee cap had been wedged under another bone, so Schwab had to be put under to get it back in place.

Only one short month later, and Schwab is back on the field part-time for practices and just enough time in games to score a quick goal. Initially, Schwab felt the hopelessness of the situation but found a light in the darkness.

“I feel like this has made me stronger,” Schwab continues. “It has shown me that anything is possible with God.”

As Schwab plans to attend Grand Canyon University and plans to major in business marketing, but she will not be playing for the GCU team. As an alternative, she looks forward to playing for a club team for her college years.

Schwab loves the team aspect of soccer and is not ready to let that go yet. She feels she took for granted the freedom to run and the ability to actively take care of her body after games. 

Schwab expressed how grateful she is and will not take the rest of her senior season for granted. 

“I am overwhelmed by the amazing support I was shown during this time,” Schwab said. “and could not have recovered this quickly without it.”

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