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01/15/2016 11:00 PMAfter missing the bulk of his sophomore and junior years due to injuries, Trevor MacDonnell was determined to patrol the goal for the North Haven boys’ soccer squad this past fall. The senior captain fulfilled his mission by seeing tons of time in net and he also came away with some nice distinctions for his athletic and academic efforts.
Trevor’s first issue came during sophomore tryouts, when doctors diagnosed that his left hip was rotated the wrong way. Fortunately, he didn’t need surgery, but Trevor soon learned that he also had an ulcer. Between those two ailments, Trevor played just a few JV games and could only be around the team sporadically because he was so fatigued.
Then in a team scrimmage early in his junior year, Trevor suffered an injury to his left big toe. Trevor was able to stay more involved with the squad this time around, although he was still was sidelined for the entire campaign.
“It was incredibly frustrating. I worked so hard in the summer and it was like a waste,” says Trevor. “I wanted to step in and help, but couldn’t.”
Trevor now had just one last chance to make his mark on varsity in his senior year, but believe it or not, he discovered while playing spring soccer that his other hip was impinged and went right back to physical therapy. The silver lining in this instance was that Trevor had time to recover for the fall. He gradually worked his way back to health and, when the bell rang, Trevor was the man standing in the Indians’ net.
“It was a great feeling. I was kind of dazed when I first went in, having not played for the high school team in two years. I just went out and played soccer. Halfway through the game, I realized I was playing varsity soccer for North Haven and had to make saves and the nerves kicked in,” Trevor says. “As the game went on, the jitters went away and it was so satisfying to get out there and play instead of just cheering on the sidelines.”
Trevor wound up playing in 13 of North Haven’s 16 games. Upon the campaign’s conclusion, he received All-Oronoque Honorable Mention, plus the Indians’ Jim and Brenda Howlett Scholar Athlete Award.
“As a senior, any game can be your last, so it was nice to get through it, play almost every game, get the most out of the season, and make up for lost time,” says Trevor.
Despite not playing as a junior, Trevor’s teammates still took note of how he supported them and voted him a captain for 2015. Even more so than staying healthy, Trevor says his biggest goal was “to be the best captain I could be.” One way Trevor did that was by speaking up from the goal to ensure people were in the proper spots, while also encouraging them to stay upbeat if times got tough. Head Coach Federico Fiondella praises Trevor for how he performed through both actions and words.
“You always expect Trevor to go above and beyond with everything he does on the field and in school and everyone on the team looked up to him. Trevor commanded the team from the back,” says Fiondella. “We had a young defense, so we knew Trevor would see some action and he made some big saves. Some of those games that were 1-0 or 2-1 could have been 4-1 if not for some acrobatic, single-hand saves he made.”
One game that ended 1-0 was Trevor’s last at North Haven and it came against undefeated Hand on Senior Night. The Indians didn’t win, but Trevor felt proud about how his squad gave an unrelenting effort, even with no possibility of reaching the postseason.
“A lot of teams go into that game and phone it in, but we wanted to make the most of our last game and every player and went all out and played for the seniors,” Trevor says. “No one stopped. Everyone kept fighting 100 percent to get that goal and played their hearts out to the last minute. Even though we didn’t win, it was one of our best games all season.”
It was also one of the best moments for Trevor in knowing that he’d persevered through the injuries and competed all year alongside a group of teammates whom he’ll always hold near to his heart.
“I had a lot of injuries and it would have been easy for me to turn in my cleats and be done with it, but I love the game too much to do that,” Trevor says. “Even if it was just one year, it was one of my best years in sports because of the environment Coach Fiondella creates and the teammates I was around.”