For any skater on a hockey team, the first goal of the season is a thrill. It represents a milestone in the season, and with any luck, the beginning of something bigger. However, the first goal of the 2002-03 season for Dartmouth forward Cheryl Muranko '05 was more than a milestone. It was a statement: "I'm back."
When Muranko put the puck past Princeton goalie Megan van Beusekom with 1:14 left to play in the second period of the Feb. 1 meeting between the Big Green and the Tigers, the Cambridge, Ont. native was playing her first full game since Dartmouth's Dec. 1 game at St. Lawrence. The goal against Princeton marked a major step in Muranko's recovery from an injury suffered on Nov. 8 against Brown, and cemented Muranko's place among the toughest of Dartmouth athletes: those who play hurt.
It was while playing against the Bears that Muranko was blindsided in the corner of the rink, resulting in a torn lateral meniscus, a bone bruise, and a strained lateral collateral ligament (LCL). Despite her injuries, Muranko returned two weeks later against Providence, and continued to play through Dartmouth's trip to St. Lawrence. However, according to Muranko, "my knee wasn't getting better, so I decided to sit out the UNH game [on December 15]." During the winter break, Muranko had surgery to repair the damage to her knee, and began to rehab, hoping to return in time for the Big Green's Jan. 17 date with Minnesota.
While the rehab process was not quite that speedy for Muranko, she returned to action on Jan. 31, when she took to the ice for the first period of Dartmouth's 8-0 victory over Yale at Thompson Arena. The next day, Muranko played a full game against Princeton, and scored her first goal of the season.
According to Muranko, there was very little doubt about when she would return to the Big Green lineup. "It was just about getting my strength back up to where I had the ability to play."
Now that she's back in action for the Big Green, Muranko is quick to credit her coaches for their support during her time on the injured list. "The coaches were great," said Muranko. "I was allowed to sit on the bench, and I gave feedback to players." According to Muranko, being on the bench while she was injured helped her improve as a player, as well. "I was able to see a different aspect of the game than I was as a player," Muranko said, adding that "it helped make me a smarter player." Being a smarter player helps, as Muranko has lost some speed since her injury, which has left her with only 50 percent of her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) intact. As Muranko and the Big Green head towards the ECAC playoffs and a possible appearance in the NCAA Frozen Four, however, Muranko, half ACL and all, will continue to skate for the Big Green, hoping to make an impact.
Like Muranko, Dartmouth football captain Kevin Noone '03 knows the strength of will required to overcome an damaged ligament. A three-time All-Ivy offensive lineman, Noone tore his medial colleteral ligament (MCL) in practice following Dartmouth's 24-23 victory over Columbia on Oct. 26. The MCL injury, which has ended many an athlete's season, kept Noone out of action for the Big Green's games against Harvard, Cornell, and Brown. However, when Dartmouth took the field at Princeton Stadium for the team's season finale against the Tigers, Noone suited up and played every offensive series for the Big Green.
"I was sure all along that I wanted to play," said Noone. "I was looking at the last football game I'd ever play, and [being injured in practice] isn't how I wanted to go out." In order to play, however, Noone had to receive clearnace from the trainers and the team doctor.
Like Muranko, Noone has nothing but positive comments about the role of the coaching staff. "There wasn't any pressure on me to play," Noone said, adding that his coaches and teammates "were all pretty conscious of what was best for me, to keep my knee intact for life after football. But I wanted to play for them."
After watching his Big Green men's basketball teammates struggle to an 0-2 start in the 2001-02 season, center Brendan Herbert '04 made a similar decision to play through an injury for his teammates. The 6'8" Herbert, who was Dartmouth's most heralded recruit in the Class of 2004, missed all but nine games of his freshman season with an ankle injury. Before the Big Green hoopsters kicked off the 2001-02 campaign, it seemed as if Herbert would be out of the lineup much longer.
"We all thought I was done," said Herbert, who was diagnosed with two herniated discs in his back. At that point, Herbert gives a great deal to the Dartmouth coaching staff, pointing out that "they cared about me as a person before they cared about me as an athlete." However, after watching his teammates sputter to an 0-2 start, Herbert, as an athlete, discovered that "it's amazing what some doctors and a little bit of medicine can do."
Fueled by what Ivybasketball.com owner/moderator Jake Wilson referred to as "a mix of cortisone and sheer guts," Herbert came off the bench in Dartmouth's game at New Hampshire on Nov. 24, 2001, pulling down six rebounds and dishing out three assists in 22 minutes of the Big Green's 72-70 victory. The Nashua native would go on to play 18 more games for Dartmouth, before being sidelined again late in the season.
"It was a hard decision," Herbert said. "On one hand, you don't want to mess around with your back. On the other hand, if you're an athlete, you want to play, so what I tried to do is find a happy medium. Once I got the nod from the doctor, I never questioned my decision."
A year after the fact, however, Herbert is more questioning of his decision. Herbert is currently interning with a law firm in New York while he sits out the season as a medical redshirt, and his basketball future is in doubt. "When I look back now, would I do it over again?" Herbert asked. "No, because now I have to sit out a year and let it heal again. But when you're part of a team, and you work hard for something your whole life, and you have it right in front of you, it's hard to turn down."
So hard to turn down, in fact, that Herbert is preparing to fight his third battle with injury, and attempt to return to the team for the 2003-04 season. "It's going to be hard, and very frustrating at times, but I want to get the uniform back on," said Herbert, who says that he's "probably at 80 percent right now."
Meanwhile, while Herbert can't lend his teammates his talents on the court, he makes a point of lending his ears. "I've listened to every game on the radio over the computer," Herbert said. "I haven't missed a game yet." Indeed, Herbert hopes not to miss many more games before he takes the court in Leede Arena again as an active player.
"When something like this happens, an injury that affects every part of your lifeit's not a decision I'd make lightheartedly. But do I feel like I can [come back]? Yeah, I do."
Such is the life of an injured Dartmouth athlete: a struggle to balance concern for one's future with the dedication to the team. For Noone, the struggle is over. For Muranko, the struggle continues. For Herbert, the struggle begins anew. For all of them, the struggle does not go unnoticed.
