Attending a soccer game, one sees the players coming onto the field, announced one by one, showcasing their skills for the audience of spectators.  What few see is the work that goes on behind the scenes.  For junior Kate Hostage, varsity girls soccer captain, this journey became especially difficult when an ACL injury provided a big obstacle last season.

Hostage, a forward, was playing in a game for Algonquin and suddenly tore her ACL.  It was a non-contact injury.

“I was just running and I pivoted the wrong way,” Hostage said.

Following the injury, a year without soccer was difficult for Hostage.

“I had to sit on the sidelines for the rest of my season and watch my team and I had to sit out my whole sophomore year for Algonquin,” Hostage said.

Even after not playing for some time, Hostage found her motivation to continue the sport through a good friend.

“I had a friend who plays in college now; she tore her ACL and when I got my surgery, she gave me this present,” Hostage said.  “It had a little letter on it and it was so inspiring to see her get back.  I was like ‘If she can do it, I can do it.’”

Although soccer makes up a huge part of her life right now, education is Hostage’s main priority.

“I want to go to college and definitely study stuff that I want to study, but right now, soccer’s on the side; we’ll see what happens,” Hostage said regarding whether or not she will decide to play through college.

In getting to where she is now, Hostage has learned of the importance of hard work.

“I just want to encourage people that if they think that they want to do something, that you should go out there and work for it, because no matter how hard something might seem, you can definitely do it if you put the work in,” Hostage said.

Clearly, this hard work has paid off for Hostage and the Algonquin team.

“We are undefeated so far and we’re hoping to keep our record going… It felt so amazing to get back onto the field,” Hostage said.  “It made the wins so much better to feel like you helped the team earn the win, rather than be sitting on the bench.”