MICHAEL KARAS/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER: Glen Rock’s McGara DeWan, left, scored six goals against Demarest on Thursday.DEMAREST — Nearly one year ago to the day, McGara DeWan suffered the biggest setback she ever had faced in her athletic career.
Her promising future lacrosse career also hung in the balance.
It was April 5 — a day the Glen Rock lacrosse star will remember forever — and DeWan, now a senior, was taking a draw with five minutes left against Immaculate Heart.
Amid a multiplayer scrum, DeWan’s knee was injured.
Two days later, it was revealed she had torn her ACL — a crushing blow to the Panthers’ leading scorer each of the previous two seasons.
“It was so devastating, too, because she had worked so hard and looked even better than she had in the first two years,” Glen Rock coach Taryn Tabano said of DeWan, who had 14 goals prior to the injury and was running the midfield unit. “She looked faster and stronger than ever before … and then she tears her ACL.”
It happened months before Division III schools could accept commits, leaving DeWan unsure whether her top choice, Colby College, would remain interested.
“It was definitely a scary time,” DeWan said. “But everyone I was in contact with was great. I called all the coaches right away and told them what happened. They all understood, said how terrible it was, but that they knew I’d work hard and that it didn’t change anything. Colby had me up for a visit the next weekend.”
Now a Colby commit, DeWan has a greater love for the game after being a spectator/coach for most of last season. She said she understands the game “better now than I ever thought I could.”
After months of rehab following reconstructive surgery June 24, DeWan said she is 100 percent physically — mentally she’s still getting there — and the early returns are promising.
http://www.northjersey.com/sports/high-school-sports/girls-lacrosse/dewan-better-than-ever-1.1306426
