Nov. 10, 2008
Leading a team to the NCAA Tournament is a goal many collegiate athletes hope to attain, but last season midfielder Sarah de Leon and the UCF women's soccer team reached that objective.
While guiding the Knights to the Conference USA championship game and NCAA Tournament, she had to overcome some adversity of her own. De Leon suffered an injury to her knee during a training session early in the season.
"I went to pass the ball to Becca (Thomas) out wide and I cut funny," de Leon said. "My whole entire knee twisted all the way around and I fell backwards. At the time I also had a shoulder injury, so everyone thought that I hurt my shoulder. I knew right away that it was my knee."
While sidelined with her injury, de Leon didn't let her inability to play the game stop her from being a team leader.
"It was really cool because I was able to encourage the girls in a different way and learn how to lead by not necessarily being on the field, but being on the bench and encouraging the girls that were on the field," de Leon described. "You can support your team without being on the field."
After making a full recovery from the injury, de Leon saw her first action against No. 11 Florida State. The coaches showed a lot of faith by inserting her into the center-mid position. The game ended in a tie, and de Leon knew that she left it all on the field.
"When I walked off the field I remember being completely dead and about to pass out because of how tired I was. It definitely was awesome to see that my coaches had confidence in me to put me in such a big game," de Leon said.
De Leon's work ethic has always impressed head coach Amanda Cromwell. When de Leon came back from her knee injury, Cromwell knew she would give her best effort when on the field.
"Sarah came back from her injury last year, and earned the starting spot in the middle of the season," said Cromwell. "This season, she has evolved into one of our leaders, and the whole team has been positively affected by her energy both in practices and in matches."
De Leon's trek to UCF was a far one. The senior hails from Lakewood, Wash., which is over 2,500 miles from the UCF campus. She was recruited by assistant coach Colby Hale, who was in the area recruiting other players including de Leon's friend Jenny Baker. Hale liked what he saw in de Leon, and after her official visit to campus she committed along with Baker.
With UCF being so far from home, de Leon had to make some tough transitions when she arrived on campus; the most difficult of them being so far from her family.
"I think just being away from family because they are tight knit and not having their immediate support was probably the biggest challenge," de Leon said.
De Leon plans to carry her leadership skills off the soccer field when she graduates in May. Her goal is to work for a non-profit organization where she can make small differences in peoples' lives. She notes that her goal is not to be the next millionaire--all she wants is to be satisfied.
"At the end of the day if I can walk away being satisfied with what I did and making an impact and touching peoples' lives, then that is really what I want to do," smiled de Leon.
With all of her ambitions in life, de Leon will be giving up her final year of eligibility to pursue her post-graduation goals. Even though she loves the game, de Leon knows that it is time for her to move on.
"I think it is just best for my life. It is time to hang my cleats up," she said. "I never realized until I became a senior how much I love soccer, how much soccer means to me and how much this team means to me. Just being a part of it is something I will remember my whole life."
- Eric DeSalvo