ORLANDO, Fla. - One of 10 true freshmen on this year's UCF women's soccer team, Ally Gudorf relishes the opportunity to pursue her passion.
- Originally from Cologne, Germany
- Never visited Florida prior to coming to UCF
- Participated in U-19 camp before scoring first goal
“I just loved to play soccer," she said. "Like, to be free when you're on the ball and do what you can with your abilities on the ball and score goals."
It's what she's been doing all her life. In the past four years, she's the Cologne, Germany-native has played for the country's youth squads, most recently spending time at a training camp with the U-19 team. But it was two years ago, nearly none of this seemed possible.
“Germany against England," she recounted. "It was the 93rd minute. The opponent was jumping into my knee, and, yeah.”
A collision, and a torn right ACL. It put Gudorf on the shelf for nine months, having to intensely rehab to play the sport she loved. In October, she stepped back on the field once again.
“And then I was like three minutes on the field, and then I did a wrong step, and I tore the other side,” she said.
This time, it was the other knee. Two torn ACL's in the span of 10 months. Something that would be enough to sideline many players for good. Not her.
"Rehab is a very tough time," she said. "It’s very hard because the only thing you want to do is play soccer, and you like go step to step to step. And then on this day, it was like, you can play, and then it was just the same again."
She pushed through the recovery, and ultimately, landed herself a commitment to UCF. There, just days after taking part in the aforementioned training camp, she notched her first collegiate goal in the third minute against Florida, a catalyst for what would turn into a 2-0 win.
"At the first point, you think when you tore both ACL's you think, 'why happened that to me [sp]?' But when I see where I am now, what is my level of soccer [sp], and where I can play now, and maybe it’s part of your journey."