Ohio Wesleyan senior Emily Sheridan (North Smithfield, R.I./Marianapolis (Conn.) Prep) fought back from a season-ending injury to come back for a soccer season that was like no other.

A two-sport standout in high school, Sheridan made an immediate impact on the Battling Bishop women's soccer team when she arrived at Ohio Wesleyan, scoring 8 goals and compiling 20 points.  She ranked second in the North Coast Athletic Conference in points and tied for third in goals and was an honorable mention all-conference selection.  Her sophomore year, she tied for third in the NCAC in assists.  That spring, she joined the women's lacrosse team and went on to start 10 games.

In August 2019, during preseason of her junior year, she suffered a hip injury that sidelined her for the entire soccer season, and the COVID-19 pandemic ended the 2020 lacrosse season before she was able to return.

"Before the pandemic, I had started easing back into drills in lacrosse," Sheridan said. "We weren't quite sure if I was going to be able to compete for the season but it was my goal. I was about to start trying contact when the season got canceled.

"The toughest part of my comeback was playing contact again and having confidence that I was ready. My injury was definitely a freak injury and I kind of had to rebuild trust with my body. It took a lot of time, training, and conversations for me to feel ready. Luckily, (women's soccer coach Becca Madison) pushed me and encouraged me in all the right ways. She had the confidence in myself that I didn't quite have yet."

Sheridan was ready to play this summer, but intercollegiate competition was canceled and replaced by a variety of intrasquad activities.  Even with those changes, Sheridan stuck with the women's soccer team.

"Despite having no competitive fall season and knowing she will play with the lacrosse team in the spring, she continued to play soccer this fall to offer leadership and guidance to the underclassmen," Madison said.

"The best part about soccer this fall was we were out there just having fun," Sheridan said.  "I think it's really easy to forget why we play sports in college.  This season, while not ideal, took away the stress and was a great outlet in the chaotic world we're in right now. I loved going to practice every day and just competing and pushing to get better."

"Emily has meaningful relationships with all of her teammates," Madison said. "She is uniquely connected to each player on our team and is a moral leader both on and off the field. She inspires her teammates to be good people and leads the way in effective communication.

"I think she's a good role model in managing adversity and the ability to persevere and maintain a really positive attitude," Madison said.  "When you have players who go through situations like that with serious injuries, at the beginning they are really motivated but sometimes the bottom drops out.  That never happened with Emily.  She kept the mindset of 'this is the situation I'm in and I'm just going to deal with it.' "

While there's much that can happen in the coming months that could affect spring seasons -- both positively and negatively -- Sheridan is remaining positive and looking forward to a return to competition.

"I'm really excited for lacrosse season. I'm switching from attack to defense this season. I'm really excited to learn about a new position and just be out there with my teammates one last time!"