Downers Grove South's Eberhard
accepts painful farewell to soccer
By Bill Stone
Senior Allison Eberhard has the work ethic and talent to be a college women’s soccer player.
The pain in her legs won’t let her.
“I really wanted to play in college and go all the way to Division I if I can do it,” said Eberhard, who will attend the University of Illinois.
“The setbacks put it back in perspective that I cannot keep up at that D-I level because my legs posed that barrier. I just decided for my own personal well-being and maybe my future team, being that burden, I decided not to play.”
However, the comeback from compartment syndrome didn’t stop Eberhard from the hope for one last season with the Mustangs. She’d play an important part in many respects for a team coming off two-straight Class 3A regional titles.
The third-year varsity player is among five team captains. She’s also moving to center defender from the outside.
“You will not find a harder working, more committed player than Allison,” Downers Grove South coach Chris Hernandez said.
“She was everything you look for as a leader as a junior. (This season) she’s been messaging, e-mailing, keeping stats. She approached this year at a whole other level. (Teammates) appreciate who she is and how influential she is.”
Now all that needs to happen is for the season to begin once school is allowed to reopen from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The captains were able to arrange one team practice together before the stay at home order throughout the layoff was mandated.
“Everyone’s going on jobs in the morning and then touches on the ball the rest of the day,” Eberhard said.
“It’s a little frustrating (not playing) just because it’s my senior season, but at the same time I know the team is excited and looking forward to getting through the season.”
Eberhard still experiences complications despite undergoing surgery January 4, 2019, for the compartment syndrome in her calves. She then had plastic surgery that March 8 after the incisions from the operation became infected.
“There’s some gross pictures I have of them,” Eberhard said.
“I can only do so many things before the pain gets too much. It’s really hard to run, because it’s like having rock-hard calves and trying to move those. It’s like shin splints, but with calves. I still have some issues with it, but I thought it’s my senior season. I have to play through it.”
The pain first started while Eberhard was still playing for Downers South’s girls basketball program as a sophomore. The outer coverings of her calf muscles were constricting.
While stationary Eberhard usually was fine. Calf problems arose with movement.
“They would get extremely tight, and the blood flow would get cut,” Eberhard said. “I couldn’t run more than two to five minutes consecutively, whether it was the pain in my calf or the tingling, numbness settling in my feet.”
Eberhard played through her sophomore soccer and fall club soccer seasons before receiving her operation.
Eberhard still made a name for herself with the Mustangs. She excelled at the preseason fitness level test. She then played forward and was the team’s no. 2 leading scorer (5 goals, 2 assists).
For her junior soccer season, Eberhard had made sure that the operation was scheduled early enough so that her recovery would be completed in time for the start of the Mustangs’ season.
It didn’t happen. Instead, her incisions from the operation began to re-open.
Her outer left leg was slightly worse, but each had four incisions about three-to-four inches.
The incisions began scabbing rather than healing, then became infected.
“I had these black steaks on my leg. I had to get them removed,” Eberhard said. “Some of it ended up healing, but (the gap) was too wide. It would have taken months to heal, and I’d have a bad scar.”
Plastic surgery fixed the problem. Eberhard still has “a little divot” toward the bottom of her left leg because of the amount of skin needed to pull back for an opening roughly two centimeters wide.
Because of the additional surgery, Eberhard was not ready for the start of the 2019 season. Her calves also had shrunken from lack of exercise.
“If I came back normally, I would have been able to exercise sooner,” Eberhard said.
“She was frustrated. (Yet) she was still committed. She still was at every practice,” Hernandez said.
Even after she returned, there were still complications.
As a result, Eberhard moved from forward to outside defender. There was less running and a chance to fill a need for the Mustangs. That also led to current senior Maddie Raftery playing more forward en route to earning all-sectional honors. Eberhard still scored once.
“We moved (Eberhard) realizing she’d not be able to cover the same amount of ground,” Hernandez said. “As we moved her into the backline, she was phenomenal. She’s one of those players you put her anywhere, and she finds a way to succeed.”
Eberhard hopes to get the challenge of helping the Mustangs as best she can -- and to do so full-time.
Before last spring, Eberhard primarily played forward. She does have other experience playing defense, but this will be her first time in the middle.
“It’s a lot of pressure that way, making those winning tackles, helping control the team and making sure everyone’s in order doing their job,” Eberhard said.
“I think I’ll be able to do it because I’ve watched former teammates step up into
those roles so I just have to do what I witnessed them do. Also, being
off the first part of the (2019) season I got to watch soccer from a new lens, so I
think being injured wasn't too bad. I just have to work hard to ensure the team plays the best.”
accepts painful farewell to soccer
By Bill Stone
Senior Allison Eberhard has the work ethic and talent to be a college women’s soccer player.
The pain in her legs won’t let her.
“I really wanted to play in college and go all the way to Division I if I can do it,” said Eberhard, who will attend the University of Illinois.
“The setbacks put it back in perspective that I cannot keep up at that D-I level because my legs posed that barrier. I just decided for my own personal well-being and maybe my future team, being that burden, I decided not to play.”
However, the comeback from compartment syndrome didn’t stop Eberhard from the hope for one last season with the Mustangs. She’d play an important part in many respects for a team coming off two-straight Class 3A regional titles.
The third-year varsity player is among five team captains. She’s also moving to center defender from the outside.
“You will not find a harder working, more committed player than Allison,” Downers Grove South coach Chris Hernandez said.
“She was everything you look for as a leader as a junior. (This season) she’s been messaging, e-mailing, keeping stats. She approached this year at a whole other level. (Teammates) appreciate who she is and how influential she is.”
Now all that needs to happen is for the season to begin once school is allowed to reopen from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The captains were able to arrange one team practice together before the stay at home order throughout the layoff was mandated.
“Everyone’s going on jobs in the morning and then touches on the ball the rest of the day,” Eberhard said.
“It’s a little frustrating (not playing) just because it’s my senior season, but at the same time I know the team is excited and looking forward to getting through the season.”
Eberhard still experiences complications despite undergoing surgery January 4, 2019, for the compartment syndrome in her calves. She then had plastic surgery that March 8 after the incisions from the operation became infected.
“There’s some gross pictures I have of them,” Eberhard said.
“I can only do so many things before the pain gets too much. It’s really hard to run, because it’s like having rock-hard calves and trying to move those. It’s like shin splints, but with calves. I still have some issues with it, but I thought it’s my senior season. I have to play through it.”
The pain first started while Eberhard was still playing for Downers South’s girls basketball program as a sophomore. The outer coverings of her calf muscles were constricting.
While stationary Eberhard usually was fine. Calf problems arose with movement.
“They would get extremely tight, and the blood flow would get cut,” Eberhard said. “I couldn’t run more than two to five minutes consecutively, whether it was the pain in my calf or the tingling, numbness settling in my feet.”
Eberhard played through her sophomore soccer and fall club soccer seasons before receiving her operation.
Eberhard still made a name for herself with the Mustangs. She excelled at the preseason fitness level test. She then played forward and was the team’s no. 2 leading scorer (5 goals, 2 assists).
For her junior soccer season, Eberhard had made sure that the operation was scheduled early enough so that her recovery would be completed in time for the start of the Mustangs’ season.
It didn’t happen. Instead, her incisions from the operation began to re-open.
Her outer left leg was slightly worse, but each had four incisions about three-to-four inches.
The incisions began scabbing rather than healing, then became infected.
“I had these black steaks on my leg. I had to get them removed,” Eberhard said. “Some of it ended up healing, but (the gap) was too wide. It would have taken months to heal, and I’d have a bad scar.”
Plastic surgery fixed the problem. Eberhard still has “a little divot” toward the bottom of her left leg because of the amount of skin needed to pull back for an opening roughly two centimeters wide.
Because of the additional surgery, Eberhard was not ready for the start of the 2019 season. Her calves also had shrunken from lack of exercise.
“If I came back normally, I would have been able to exercise sooner,” Eberhard said.
“She was frustrated. (Yet) she was still committed. She still was at every practice,” Hernandez said.
Even after she returned, there were still complications.
As a result, Eberhard moved from forward to outside defender. There was less running and a chance to fill a need for the Mustangs. That also led to current senior Maddie Raftery playing more forward en route to earning all-sectional honors. Eberhard still scored once.
“We moved (Eberhard) realizing she’d not be able to cover the same amount of ground,” Hernandez said. “As we moved her into the backline, she was phenomenal. She’s one of those players you put her anywhere, and she finds a way to succeed.”
Eberhard hopes to get the challenge of helping the Mustangs as best she can -- and to do so full-time.
Before last spring, Eberhard primarily played forward. She does have other experience playing defense, but this will be her first time in the middle.
“It’s a lot of pressure that way, making those winning tackles, helping control the team and making sure everyone’s in order doing their job,” Eberhard said.
“I think I’ll be able to do it because I’ve watched former teammates step up into
those roles so I just have to do what I witnessed them do. Also, being
off the first part of the (2019) season I got to watch soccer from a new lens, so I
think being injured wasn't too bad. I just have to work hard to ensure the team plays the best.”