Lowry returns from ACL tear
Senior provides threat after offseason injury to knee
By Matthew Stoss, senior writer
Posted on September 14, 2006

The game had barely started and Annie Lowry found herself somewhere she didn’t want to be.

The JMU midfielder was on the ground in front of the goal just 49 seconds into last year’s Colonial Athletic Association semifinal tournament game against Virginia Commonwealth University.

Lowry was cutting to the net when she was tackled from behind.

“I got tackled from the back and my foot got stuck in the ground,” the junior from Butler, Pa., said. “And as I was turning, it popped.

“Everyone on the field heard it.”

“It” was the anterior crucial ligament in her left knee. And it meant that 49 seconds of one game meant six to nine months of rehab.

She wasn’t alone, either. In the last two years, the JMU women’s soccer team has seen six torn ACLs — the most recent being Lowry’s, senior Kara Dunston’s and freshman Missy Reimert’s.

“I just said, ‘I’m joining the club,” Lowry said.

In high school, one of Lowry’s teammates joined the club four times, tearing her ACL twice in both knees.

“You hate to say it, but in women’s soccer and basketball, [ACL tears] are too common an occurrence,” JMU women’s soccer coach Dave Lombardo said. “Thankfully, with all the rehab and training, they come back as good as they were before, and some come back even better than they were.”

It’s not easy, though. For Lowry, it included 6:45 a.m. rehab sessions in the UREC pool before class on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays last semester. That included all sorts of sprints, jumps and runs designed to strengthen the knee gradually.

After the surgery, even bending the knee 90 degrees was a chore.

“It’s the most painful thing you’ll ever go through,” Lowry said.

ACL tears are referred to as non-contact injuries. What causes the ACL, which is located inside the knee between the femur and the tibia, to rip, is the sudden deceleration of when an athlete changes direction at a high speed, said Tom Kuster, director JMU’s sports medicine department.

And while the knee can be surgically repaired in a day, the psyche takes a little longer to mend. Lowry didn’t make the first cut on her new knee till four months after the surgery.

“A lot of that is confidence,” she said. “You think you’re not going to be able to do it anymore. The first time I took a tackle, it was scary. It was in a pickup game at the end of the summer, but after you do it once, it’s OK.

“It started feeling regular at eight or nine months, but before that, every time I cut or moved, I could feel it.”

Working back up to game speed is a gradual process, though. Recovering from a torn ACL consists of essentially learning how to walk again while simultaneously trying to re-strengthen the muscles weakened by the injury.

“Initially, you have to get your range and motion back,” Kuster said. “Then you build up your strength and control. Then, you can start doing sports-related activities.”

For Lowry, those included scoring goals. Last year, she was the Dukes’ second-leading goal scorer behind the graduated Kim Argy (who also came back from a torn ACL at one point). Lowry netted seven goals and 14 points in 21 games on her way to being an All-CAA second team selection.

“We look at players as artists and soldiers,” Lombardo said. “Artists are the creative type of players. They can do things that others can’t. [Lowry] is one of the artists.”

This year, her artistry has drawn critical acclaim from opposing teams.

“What we’ve found out is a lot people clamp down on her and the other players are picking up the slack,” Lombardo said.

While she hasn’t found the net yet, the extra attention she’s drawing has opened the goal up for freshman Jess Reimes (JMU’s leading scorer with three goals), sophomore Teri Maykoski and senior Sarah Cebulski — both tied for second on the team with two goals.

“I think we can win the conference this year — finally,” Lowry said of the 2-4 Dukes. “We have a lot of younger players and they’re contributing a lot.”

And just like coming back from an injury, Lowry thinks it just comes down to how much you want it.

“It’s just a matter of will.”