From worst to first, she stands alone
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By Jerry Reilly, Sports Information Director
When it was her turn for her 2011 women’s soccer portrait, Reilly Condidorio had reason to be happy.
A native of LeRoy, N.Y., she was in the midst of grueling pre-season drills – and was enjoying every minute of them. She was reveling in the two-a-day practices in the mid-August heat and humidity.
“It’s good to have you back,” the photographer told her as she sat down inside the Fenton Hall studio. “How does the knee feel?”
“It feels fine,” she said with a smile. Just then, the photographer snapped the shutter release. As soon as she saw the photo, Condidorio wanted a re-take. While
she was thrilled to be back out on the field with her teammates, she wanted her opponents to see only her “game face.”
“I want to look tough,” said the senior forward, who is listed at all of 5', 1."
Had she known how 2011 would turn out, she might have opted for the smile.
She set Blue Devil career records for most goals (34) and most points (82) – despite having played just three seasons. She also set single- season records (14 goals, 32 points) for her team in both categories, and was named to the NCAA’s Division III All-American Second Team – becoming Fredonia State’s first All-American in the sport.
“It’s really cool,” said Condidorio, who was also selected First Team All-SUNYAC, of this unprecedented honor. “Actually, it’s sort of surreal to me. I watch the national tournament every year. It’s hard for me to think of being as good as those players.”
It’s harder still, considering where she was just one year earlier.
Reilly Condidorio stands alone atop Fredonia State’s scoring records. She got there despite starting 2010 at the low point of her career.
In June 2010, she was playing with her summer team, Chili (N.Y.) United. She had just chased down a ball in the corner and had angled sharply toward the net. The opposing goalkeeper came out to stop her, and Reilly went down in a heap.
“She came far out of the net from my left,” Condidorio recalled. “I don’t remember much else.”
She knew she had hurt her knee, but the initial diagnosis was promising. “The doctor told me it looked like I had torn my MCL,” she said, “but that there was no damage to the ACL.”
A tear to the MCL (medial collateral ligament) normally heals on its own, whereas a tear to the ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) requires surgery and lengthy rehabilitation.
Condidorio started doing the math in her head. While her summer season was definitely over, the MCL would heal by early August. She figured she’d be able to report for pre-season drills on time.
That all changed a few days later, when an MRI revealed a tear to her ACL too. Just like that, her junior season was kaput. “I remember the doctor leaving the room,” Condidorio said, “and my mom reaching over to rub my back. I started crying, and she started crying. It was heartbreaking because I had never had a serious injury before.”
To appreciate that last statement, you need to know a little bit about Reilly’s upbringing. Her parents, Joe and Cris, raised three children in an environment that was literally rough-and-tumble. Joe was a youth wrestling coach and kept a regulation mat in their basement.
Both boys earned numerous wrestling accolades. Zac, the oldest, finished second in his weight class at the state tournament. Chad, the middle child, finished third.
Reilly wrestled, too. She also played football, even though she was always the smallest on the team.
Fredonia State Head Coach Chris Case remembers a visit to the Condidorio home after a game in Rochester a couple of years ago. Someone popped in a video of Reilly wrestling as a youngster. “She ended up beating the kid,” Case said. “They told me that boy ended up winning a state championship in high school.”
In football, Reilly was an undersized halfback and safety. “I was the best player on my team, if I say so myself,” she said. “I was glad my parents let me do what I wanted, not like some parents who won’t let their daughters play certain sports. I think that helped make me tougher.”
While her nurturing made her tough physically, Condidorio was unprepared for the emotional pain of having to sit out the entire 2010 season. She found it hard to be around her teammates, especially if they complained about difficult practices. Going to class was that much harder too for the early childhood education major. Melinda Wendell, an instructor in the English department, had Reilly in several classes. Wendell remembers seeing Condidorio come out of her funk as time wore on.
“I remember Reilly sitting in the chair by the door with her leg in a brace and maybe just a bit of a scowl on her face at the beginning of the semester,” Wendell said. “But I watched her come around, and she quickly became an active, engaged student who was a leader in small groups and a positive presence in the classroom.” David Anderson, an instructor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, saw the same qualities emerge. “Reilly led by example,” he said. “She would volunteer when everyone else hesitated to go first with all that we do that is performance-based. That’s real leadership.”
Condidorio also met nearly every day with Assistant Athletic Trainer Alicia Simmonds. Each rehab session lasted about two hours. Reilly lifted ankle weights and rode the bike. She did knee bends, balancing exercises and step work. Simmonds also added gluteus and core muscle strengthening exercises. The goal was to make Reilly stronger than she was before she got hurt.
“She came in every day, no complaints,” Simmonds said, who was impressed by how hard Condidorio worked to get back into shape. “When she went home for the weekend, she’d see a physical therapist. She was pushing herself to come back. There were times I had to slow her down so she wouldn’t hurt herself more.”
Her physical progress was steady and quick. By the 2010 Christmas break, Condidorio was straight-line running again. A few weeks later, she was making cuts. By February, doctors cleared her to resume all normal physical activity – just six months after surgery.
She participated in the Blue Devils’ spring game – her first competition since her injury – and came through unscathed except for feeling tired. “I had a hard time catching my breath,” she remembered. She also returned to play for her summer team, with the blessings of Coach Case.
When it was time to return to Fredonia last August, she couldn’t get to campus fast enough – even if it meant having to feign a stoic expression at picture time.
“Everyone dreads pre-season, but I was looking forward to the whole thing,” said Reilly, who will return next fall to complete her final year of eligibility, with the goal of doing another first: helping her team win its first conference title. “This year, I loved every minute of it. I didn’t take anything for granted.”
She did more than that. She made the most of it.
