Women's soccer player Sofia Vallone '11 suffered a devastating injury last year, breaking her fibula and spraining her ankle, thus ending her season after just three games. This year, as a starting midfielder for the Judges, she is looking to make up for lost time. In the team's first two games of the season, Vallone has already scored two goals to lead the Judges to an early 2-0 start.

Despite her early success, Vallone realizes the difficulties of returning from a serious injury.

"It's really hard," Vallone said. "You're continuously trying to get back as soon as possible, but your body just can't handle everything yet, so even coming back this preseason, and throughout this season, I still have to get my ankle taped, and I'm continuously keeping track of what's going on with my body."

Vallone said the injury has helped her work hard to improve her game.

"I think that having gotten injured and gone through rehab only makes you realize how much more you want to play," Vallone said. "That's your motivation. That's what keeps you going."

Vallone's performances were pivotal in both last Tuesday's 2-1 victory over the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and last Sunday's 3-1 victory over Nazareth College.

After the team's first two games, Vallone commented that coming together as a team will be the team's biggest challenge looking forward.

"We have different sophomores who have done an amazing job in our starting lineup now and it's all about finding each other's strengths and weaknesses and working together to get a win.