Nola Quinn’s year revolves around soccer, swimming, track and field, and more soccer. So when a serious knee injury sidelined Quinn for a few months in the spring, the Wildwood Catholic Academy junior had a hard time dealing with the down time.
“It was really tough because I was playing travel soccer at that time, so I had to sit out our last few games and miss tournaments,” Quinn said. “I went and watched my team play without me, and I tried to be supportive on the bench. I was really struggling with it.”
Quinn hyperextended her knee and suffered a bone bruise, a pinched nerve and partially torn anterior cruciate ligament. She had to rest it for more than three months and now wears a protective brace.
“I’m struggling with that, too,” Quinn said with a laugh. “I have to keep it on until I get better though, probably another month or so.”
Besides the brace, there’s not much else holding Quinn back as she has emerged as the centerpiece of the Crusaders’ starting 11. After scoring three goals as a freshman starting midfielder in 2020, Quinn broke out with 10 goals and four assists last season, forming a one-two offensive punch with Ivy Bolle, who graduated in the spring. Quinn is off to a quick start this year with three goals in her first six games in 2022. It came as quite a relief to coach Kara Saunders.
“That was rough news hearing that she had a knee injury in the spring because she is what this team was going to be shaped around for this season,” Saunders said. “She just has natural leadership because she’s very, very committed and the girls look to her.”
It’s one reason Quinn was given a share of the captaincy this year despite being a junior. She shares responsibility with the team’s two seniors, Carly Murphy and Reagan Flickinger.
“I was just expecting the two seniors to be the captains, and I was just going to step up next year,” Quinn said. “But this is a big step, and I really appreciated it.”
For Saunders, it seemed like an easy decision.
“She’s a great kid,” Saunders said. “Extremely coachable … and she’s dedicated to her team. She’s a hard worker and she’s even harder on herself.”
The only knock on Quinn’s performance this year is by her own admission. She said she’s still learning to commit to contact after suffering such a painful injury.
“It’s really tough for me to adjust because I usually go into a lot of tackles,” she said. “It’s hard now because I kind of play a little scared that I’m going to hurt it again. It really drains my confidence on the field. I’m trying to get better about it.”
In addition to the field, Quinn also stars academically. She’s involved in the school’s Science Technology Engineering and Math Club as well as Bring Change To Mind Club, which focuses on helping students focus on mental health.
“They teach us how to deal with our emotions and transform them in a positive way. I’m really enjoying it,” she said, adding that she tries to share those teachings on the soccer field. The North Wildwood school’s roster is filled with underclassmen who are depended upon to be difference-makers.
They were 3-3 through their first six games and are looking to kick it into the next gear. “We’re a really young team this year,” Quinn said. “Things are going pretty well, and we’re working on it.”
Just like Quinn handled her injury and still deals with a scare or two during a high-speed collision.
“You’d never know if she was in pain because her heart is huge and so very into this,” Saunders said. “I feel really privileged that I get to coach her.”
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