By Jack Krampitz
When Bristol Eastern’s Leah Roy suffered a serious knee injury in March of 2023, it knocked her out of commission for nine long months, causing her to miss her entire Junior year of soccer season in 2023 and half the basketball season also. The road to recovery was not an easy one.
The nine months of rehab were very difficult. Looking back on it, Roy stated, “It took a long time. The hardest part was just sitting there watching. Strength-wise, it killed me. It was hard to get back. I couldn’t even lift my leg for about three months, but getting back out there was great.”
Roy was able to return to action for Coach Tony Floyd’s basketball team in January of 2024. When asked if getting back in action was difficult, she replied, “ I was ready to get back on the court. I was ready to play something. After sitting there watching for nine months, I was ready to do something.”
Returning for soccer this year was her first action for BE soccer in two years. She returned as a Senior captain, and has been outstanding for the Lancers.
Coach Angelina Saporito commented, “Leah’s comeback has truly been integral to the development of the team. I think without her, we wouldn’t be progressing the way we were this season. We have a lot of young girls, and Leah knowing the game and being able to direct no matter where she is on the field is crucial in order for us to be able to win the games we’ve been winning.”
Leah scored in each of the first six games of this season, which is a fantastic stat seeing as she hadn’t ever scored a goal prior to this in her career.
Saporito explained, “She was our center defender the last year she played (sophomore season 2022), so coming back as a center mid and really making an impact has made the difference for us, definitely.”
Eastern started the year in strong fashion and currently stands at 5-3, but they have a tough schedule coming up.
Roy is aware of the challenges ahead, but said, “The games so far, I think we’ve worked our butts off. The freshmen have stepped up an insane amount. I mean, if there’s goals on the board, half of them are scored from freshmen. Every assist is from a freshman. So, they’re stepping up big time. We wouldn’t be able to do anything without them.”
Coach Saporito stated, “It’s going to be a dogfight the next several games. But I think if we come to play with kind of the lead we have gotten from Leah as far as, like, aggression and confidence, … stepping up and kind of showing up for each opponent. So I think it’s going to be a fight. But we’re ready, and we’re going to be there.”
For Leah Roy, every game, whether it be a win or a loss, has been an opportunity and a joy that she does not take for granted. She is grateful to be able to be there, competing and not watching.
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