Daily Chronicle 2022 Girls Soccer Player of the Year: Kaneland’s Brigid Gannon

Brigid Gannon was in her doctor’s office, asking to get cleared to return to play two days early.

It had been five months and 28 days since the Kaneland soccer player tore her ACL, and she was cleared to play at the six-month mark April 6. But a game against rival Sycamore was on the docket April 4.

She got permission. She got in the game. And she scored the first two of her 25 goals on the year in a win against the Spartans.

Gannon has been named the 2022 Daily Chronicle Girls Soccer Player of the Year.

“He was iffy on it because he had never cleared someone that early,” the junior forward said. “But I was putting in a ton of work. I was going into Athletico, my physical therapy place, four times a week and putting in so much time and energy into it, an hour and a half, two hours of work each time being there. Then I was going home and icing and stretching on the weekends. It was a ton of work.”

Gannon tore the ACL during club season in the fall. She said her trainers, doctor and parents all helped her get to the point where she’d be able to return for the season – and in her case two days early.

She said it was a grind, both mentally and physically, coming back from the injury.

“It’s hard, because at first you can barely even walk,” Gannon said. “You’re like bedridden for two weeks. I was just taking it day by day, pushing myself every day. The day I got cleared to run, I was running. I was on that treadmill and running at the school, at the fitness center, at Athletico. I was doing a lot of work and a lot of cardio to stay in shape and be on the field and make an impact.”

And after six months of intensive recovery work, she said it shifts perspective on what is possible as she enters a typical offseason and club season.

“After putting in all that energy and work for this year, it makes me want to put in more for next year,” Gannon said. “I never realized how big of an impact soccer had on my life until I tore my ACL and was out for that long period of time. I’ve been playing since I was 3 years old. My mom started a team as soon as I could walk. I’ve been playing ever since. And my ACL injury, that was one of my biggest fears.”

Kaneland coach Scott Parillo said at first he wasn’t expecting Gannon back until at least May, in time for the postseason if the team was lucky.

And although he said she wasn’t exactly at 100%, she did miss only three games this year.

“Coming back from that injury, we didn’t know what to expect. We really didn’t,” Parillo said. “We didn’t know what type of shape she was going to be in, those types of things. I thought she had a tremendous season considering what she had to come back from. Obviously, she wasn’t at 100% at any time during the season, I’d think she’d even agree to that. There are times we’d pull her out of games so she could rest her knee, ice it. Practice, same thing. I thought she had a great season. We had no idea what to expect from here.”

As great as she was with the ball this year – eight assists in addition to her 25 goals – Parillo said he expects even more from her next year.

“She can finish,” Parillo said. “Not being 100%, maybe she didn’t finish all the opportunities she had, but I’m certainly optimistic that will change next year. It’s a whole other dynamic. You’ve got to watch where Brigid is on the field. You can’t take your eye off of her because she’s going to be in and ripping a shot.”

Parillo said he was impressed by how hard Gannon worked to return as early as she did.

Gannon said the six months without soccer was definitely an eye-opening experience.

“You don’t expect how it takes a toll on you mentally and physically,” Gannon said. “Just to go through all that work and that energy, to keep pushing yourself even when you don’t think you’re ever going to make it – I pushed myself so hard to be out on that field for that game and many games to come.”