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Christopher Collie

 ”What do I want to be when I grow up? A professional lacrosse player!” declared Alyssa Murray in her third-grade yearbook. No matter that the occupation didn’t actually exist for women at the time: Murray played her heart out, becoming the star of her club and high school teams. But her childhood dream crumbled when she felt a pop in her knee during a game her senior year. “I’d torn my ACL,” says Murray, who was heading to Syracuse the next fall on a full athletic scholarship. “I was devastated.” The university honored her scholarship, even though no one knew when—or if—she’d play again. Immediately following surgery, still on crutches, Murray began physical therapy to regain her mobility. She built up to two grueling hours a day, five days a week, strengthening the muscles around her knee. It took six months before she was cleared to play. “I wondered if I’d ever be as fast as I was,” she remembers. The answer, happily, was yes. Murray was not only named a first-team all-American in college, she now plays in the new semiprofessional United Women’s Lacrosse League, which debuted this year in Boston. “It’s getting bigger and bigger,” she says. “I think in 10 years we’ll look back and realize the impact we had on women’s lacrosse.”

Alyssa Murray’s Road To Success:

5: Age at which Murray first picked up a lacrosse stick

362: Points she scored during her Syracuse career—making her second on the school’s all-time list

7: Number of goals Murray and her Syracuse teammates were down with less than 12 minutes left to play in the 2012 NCAA semifinals against Florida. In an epic comeback, Syracuse won. “It’s never over until it’s over,” says Murray, who calls the game her career highlight.

This article originally appeared in the October 2016 issue of SELF. For immediate access to our newest issue featuring Ashley Graham, subscribe now and download the digital edition. This full issue is available September 27 on national newsstands.

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