It’s probably safe to say Grace Werosta’s career dreams are a bit more ambitious than most 17-year-olds. The Hun School senior has whittled her college choices down to academic powers Duke and Northeastern, where she hopes to major in biomedical engineering.
“The end goal is probably learning how to grow organs and eventually re-print them out of someone’s own cells,” Werosta said. “That way when you transplant it, you won’t have a rejection because it’s made from your own body.”
It’s too bad Werosta did not discover such a process before she needed it. But, maybe she can help others avoid her fate.
“Yeah,” she said, “I can grow a part of a spine that isn’t fractured.”
That would have been nice to have during the previous two soccer seasons. As it was, the Mercerville resident had to serve as Hun’s team manager both years after suffering two stress fractures in her back within four months. The first came during a Raiders lacrosse game during her freshman year, and the second occurred during travel soccer that summer.
Although she was still able to play lacrosse, Werosta was forced to the soccer sidelines mostly due to the position she played. As a goalie, she could not risk the diving and pounding of hitting the ground for fear of what it could do to the spine. But she wanted to remain part of the team and decided to keep the scorebook and shoot film for the Raiders varsity.
The anguish of not playing was too much to handle, however, and Werosta is making a comeback this fall as a defender for Hun.
“I think this shows just a dedication and commitment to the team and the program and a love for the game and the sport,” Hun coach Joanna Hallac said just prior to opening day. “She absolutely loves being around the girls. I think sitting out versus getting in the game, there’s a competitiveness there that doesn’t go away when you grow up as a competitive athlete. And she also gets along very well with the girls, which is another factor. She’s just having a ball.”
The question is, will her foot touch the ball much this year?
“I can see her getting time,” Hallac said. “Maybe not just in the back, but maybe spelling someone on the outside, or even at defensive center-mid for five minutes. She’s strong enough on the ball and understands the game well enough, she can be used as a kind of utility player.”
It’s an impressive comeback story that has teammates singing her praises.
“I think it’s amazing,” senior captain Liv McNulty said. “She’s always so committed to our program whether she was being a manager, being injured on the sideline. I’m so happy she did decide to come back for senior year. It’s just a full circle. In practice she has a killer left foot. She always gets the back netting during our shooting drills so I’m really happy she’s sticking with it and not letting two years of not playing stop her.”
Werosta, who grew up playing with Hamilton rec and the Hamilton Wildcats before moving on to FC Bucks travel program, played goalie for Hun’s JV team as a freshman and was a varsity back-up. She got through the season unscathed but was not so fortunate in the spring and summer.
“I can remember the two distinct moments it actually happened,” she recalled. “It was a throwing motion in lacrosse where I actually felt when it happened in the first place. The second it happened I felt this sharp pain go right into my back.”
Unaware it was a fracture, Werosta played travel soccer and when she dove for a shot that familiar sharp pain surfaced again in her back. A trip to the doctor followed, where she was diagnosed with two separate fractures.
Wanting to remain with the team she became soccer manager her sophomore year and, wearing a back brace, returned to play lacrosse that spring. Werosta tried to play the field toward the end of spring travel soccer but didn’t feel confident enough to try it with Hun as a junior. After two full seasons on the bench, however, it got to her.
“Sitting on the bench with the team was when I felt I really missed the game,” Werosta said. “I was there with them cheering them on but I didn’t feel like I was totally part of the team. The last game of my junior year I was at the table keeping the stat book and at that moment I realized ‘I don’t want to do this anymore. If I’m gonna be part of this I’d rather play than just sit here and watch.’ I realized what I was missing out on. I missed the game so much. I talked to coach and said ‘Hey, I want to try playing field.’”
Hallac was all for it—with one regret.
“She was a little nervous, I left her without a manager,” Werosta said with a laugh. “But we fixed that issue.”
The coach had faith that her converted defender could survive in the field for several reasons.
“She’s kind of re-acquainting herself with the game, but as a goalkeeper she has a good sense of the game, so she’s kind of ahead of the game,” Hallac said. “She’s a lefty, so that gives us a little advantage too. She probably won’t be starting and playing whole games, but I think we’re definitely going to use her in a variety of fashions.”
As for how she looked in the early going, Hallac said, “You can see little flashes. She has a head for the game, movement off the ball. She’s got decent touch, she knows how to get away from a defender. I think the biggest challenge for her is getting into the game shape you need for varsity level. I think that will come as the season goes on. She has a great attitude and great work rate and just a desire to get better.”
The best news is that physically, Werosta has been pain-free for over a year so the back appears to be full strength. Mentally, she had to re-adjust to being a field player.
“I feel like it was definitely a little nerve-wracking, not being used to the position at all,” she said. “When I played travel I never played a field position, I was always in goal all game every game. It was definitely a little nerve-wracking when we started preseason this year but I’m definitely improved now.”
Because of the two-year sabbatical, Werosta is not setting any type of tangible goals. She just wants to enjoy the game, which she calls a passion that helps relieve the stress of everyday life.
“At this point, it’s more like I just want to do my best and see how this goes more than anything,” she said. “Rather than wanting to be able to stop so many shots or playing a certain amount of minutes, I just want to be out there and enjoy the game again.”
She certainly deserves at least that much before going off to make medical history.
Grace Werosta persues the action during Hun’s 3-0 win against Ewing Sept. 8, 2018. Werosta’s back on the soccer field this fall after sitting out two seasons due to stress fractures in her back. (Photo by Vincent Shea.),
