After recovering from back-to-back ACL tears, Jayda Shehadi ’26 was named Atlantic 10 Offensive Player of the Week for the week ending Sept. 7.
Shehadi netted both goals in St. Joe’s 2-1 win over Temple Sept. 4, winning her the title and recording the first brace of her college career. The first thing on her mind was relief, she said.
“It just felt like I finally went over that hump of all of these obstacles that I had to go against,” Shehadi said.
Shehadi, who tore her separate ACLs her sophomore and junior year and said it was a “shock” touching a soccer ball again during both rehabilitations.
“I just don’t have the technical skills that I did before I got hurt, and I have to train even harder to get all of them back,” Shehadi said.
The ACL, or anterior cruciate ligament, is located in the center of the knee joint. It provides rotational stability for the knee and prevents the tibia from sliding in front of the femur. Women soccer players are twice as likely to tear their ACL than men due to anatomical differences.
The first tear was “mentally exhausting,” Shehadi said, but the second tear was tougher than the first. She was already familiar with the recovery process and said she knew how much work she was going to have to put in to play again.
“As much as I had a great support system and teammates behind me, you can be alone at times just trying to figure out how to deal with this yourself because you are the one that’s hurt,” Shehadi said.
Shehadi said knowing she wouldn’t play soccer for months was difficult to handle, but for head coach Jess Mannella, the grit displayed by Shehadi played a significant role in the rehabilitation process.
“It’s just a step-by-step process, and once you can move forward, you move forward,” Mannella said. “She was diligent in what she had to do, and she went through a lot of hurdles coming back.”
Mannella said Jayda’s involvement on campus helped her keep her personal identity separate from who she is on the field.
“We try and do a good job of having soccer not be your main identity,” Mannella said. “I think anyone who is hurt goes through this change of, ‘OK, well if I don’t have this, what do I have?’ I think she’s involved in so many things, which is what’s an amazing thing about Jayda.”
Shehadi said her teammates and coaches were the best support system to have around her while she recovered.
“[If] I had a setback that day and I couldn’t do something, they were like, ‘Jayda, don’t worry, you’ll be able to do this next week,’” Shehadi said. “My teammates also wanted the best for me, and if that meant me not being able to do something, they just made sure that I was OK.”
Mannella said the team has provided a stable support system for one another during this process.
“People who have been through that before leaned on her, and she leaned on them, and she’s also been great with people who are going through similar things,” Mannella said.
Dani Stuart ’25, M.S. ’27, has played soccer with Shehadi since they were 10 years old and has also torn her ACL. Stuart said it was “exciting” to watch her come back and play. The team was happy to see her back because of the impact she makes both on and off the field.
“Wherever she is on campus, on and off the field, her voice is extremely important,” Stuart said. “I think whatever she does, af ter college sports in general, she will excel with her work ethic, and her heart.”
