Sophomore forward Christine Haman was ready to begin playing at the collegiate level immediately after having a successful senior season in high school. But after signing with LSU in the spring of 2001, Haman tore her anterior cruciate ligament.
LSU coach George Fotopoulos advised Haman to attend summer school and work with the LSU training staff to aid her recovery. She was able to play in September 2001, but decided to redshirt to fully recover.
“I guess that was the best,” Haman said of her recovery. “When you come back from an injury, you’ve been missing your sport which you love to play.”
Haman spent the remainder of her redshirt year working to fully recover from the ACL injury. Everything was going well for her until the second game of the 2002 season against Miami. She landed from a jump and tore her other ACL.
“That was just really devastating,” she said. “I was like, ‘Why me?'”
Junior goalkeeper Robyn DesOrmeaux suffered a similar injury during her freshman season.
“My heart really went out to her,” she said. “Because I tore my ACL once and for her to go through it twice, it’s just unimaginable.”
Haman had to make a decision. Was she going quit the sport she loved or was she going to attempt to rehab once more and return?
“The main thing was that I came for a reason,” Haman said. “I signed that paper. I signed with LSU. I committed to do my best so I decided to try once more.”
Although she could not join the team on the practice field, overnight road trips or even dress out for Southeastern Conference games, Haman did all she could to be a part of the team.
“Little things like shagging balls and bring us water bottles, she was the first one to jump up to do it,” said senior midfielder Laura Klatter.
When recruits would visit during her injury, Haman was often the only one who could spend the time showing them around.
“No matter if I felt depressed, I had to show people a good time and get them to come to LSU,” she said.
Haman said she concentrated on two things while she was injured: rehab and academics. Despite having to miss a significant amount of classes for her ACL surgery, she earned a 4.0 grade average. Her teammates said it is evident how hard she worked to get back on the field.
“She worked her butt off and now she is looking better than ever,” Klatter said.
Last March, Haman slowly began returning to practice and was able to return to the field for the last three preseason games. She faired well as she tallied three goals.
“She came out preseason to prove a point,” said senior Stephanie Keating. “It’s like she was never even hurt, she goes after every ball.”
As this season begins Friday night, Haman is excited about returning to the game she loves.
“I’m just looking forward to playing and trying my best,” she said.
Fotopoulos said Haman has impressed with her character and play.
“Obviously for somebody to come back not just from one ACL, but two, it is a tribute to her character,” he said. “She’s doing well. She’s fully recovered. She’s not in our starting 11 right now, but she is very close. I think if she continues to work like she is right now, she definitely will get into the starting 11.”