No matter how many times she is knocked down, Allison Hanna keeps getting up.
The St. Hubert soccer player has suffered three severe injuries — including two torn ACLs — throughout her Bambies tenure. But the aggressive forward kept coming back for more.
"I can’t imagine my life without soccer," said Hanna, a senior. "I had no choice but to come back. I don’t want to ever give it up."
This season, Hanna helped her fellow Bambies earn a spot in postseason play, having finished the regular season with a 10-9 record. However, the squad’s success came to a halt after a 3-0 loss to Archbishop Wood in the quarterfinals on Oct. 24.
"We were struggling a bit this year," said coach Mickey McGroarty. "We spent a lot of the season trying to piece together a lineup on consistency. We just had one of those years when we’re piecing the team back together."
The Bambies had a hopeful start. However, early in the season, injuries plagued the squad. The collapse happened on Sept. 14, when St. Hubert faced defending champ Little Flower.
The Sentinels won, 5-1. But St. Hubert lost more than the game — five players were seriously injured, forcing McGroarty to recruit players from junior varsity to finish the game.
Hanna was among the wounded. She suffered a patella subluxation, an unstable kneecap that typically occurs when there is a dislocation.
"I had physical therapy for one month and I have to wear a knee brace still," said Hanna, who missed most of this season to recover. "I was hurt during the season but I got an opportunity to play at the end. That’s all I really wanted. This was my senior year and I really wanted to play."
Hanna, 17, returned for the last four games of the season. And just as she’d wished, she was able to finish her senior year on the pitch alongside her teammates.
"We’re a very close-knit team. And overall, I think we played with a lot of heart," she said. "We struggled, but every game we gave it our all. And in the end, as long as we played hard and had fun, it doesn’t matter what the outcome was."
Before her days as a Bambie, the versatile athlete dabbled in several different sports.
"When I was little, I basically played everything — softball, gymnastics — everything. But soccer was the one I enjoyed most. Then it kind of took over my life," she said with a laugh. "But it doesn’t bother me at all. I love it."
After graduating from St. Matthew’s Elementary School, Hanna moved on to St. Hubert and the Bambies’ soccer field.
But things didn’t work out exactly how she’d expected.
During her sophomore year, Hanna tore the anterior cruciate ligament and the medial collateral ligament in her left leg, resulting in surgery and four months of recovery. The following year, she tore the ACL and meniscus (pieces of cartilage that help to center the knee joint) in her right leg, forcing her to undergo surgery once again and spend six months in recovery.
"The second time was a lot worse," recalled Hanna. "I was in bed for a while and the medicine they gave me made me feel really sick."
However, despite her painful injuries and long recoveries, Hanna never lost hope.
"She is always trying her best," said McGroarty. "They say it takes one year after an ACL tear to get back to where you were, but she won’t quit. She is doing everything she can to be back to one-hundred percent."
Hanna has developed strength both on and off the soccer field. And while most would regard three serious knee injuries as dreadful, she found enlightenment.
"Now I know I want to go to school for nursing," said Hanna. "The nurses I met along the way really helped me out a lot. I like the thought of caring for patients and the chance to save lives and help people with recovery.
"I had both surgeries at Pennsylvania Hospital, and I loved it there. I’ve gotten to know them very well," she said with a laugh.
Although the Bristol resident hasn’t decided on a specific school, she plans to stay local.
"I’m very close with my family, and I want to stay close," said Hanna. "I also plan to keep playing soccer. My parents don’t want me to, but I won’t give it up — I love the game too much." ••
Sports editor Melissa Yerkov can be reached at 215-354-3035 or myerkov@phillynews.com