You would think after tearing her ACL three times in her senior year of high school, discovering in her freshman year at Moravian that the most recent reconstruction had failed, and undergoing a bone graft and then another reconstruction in the summer between her freshman and sophomore year, that Salome Carr ’24 would have just flung aside her lacrosse stick. But the fierce defender on Moravian’s women’s lacrosse team persevered.

Carr needed to take her sophomore year to heal, and then she joined her teammates on the field as a junior.

“It was a little tough,” Carr says nonchalantly about the ACL surgeries, “but it taught me a lot about resilience. Everyone asked, ‘Why did you decide to keep playing?’ It was something I needed to work toward. I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it. It had been four years since I played the sport, so I said, ‘Yeah, I’m getting back out there.’ Besides, competition really feeds the fire.”

Carr played in 18 games her junior year, recovering 16 ground balls and creating seven turnovers on the season. She was named comeback athlete of the year at the all-athlete awards banquet hosted by the Moravian University Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.

“Getting back out there” wasn’t the only reason Carr chose to compete during her junior year at Moravian. She’s been playing lacrosse since second grade; it’s in her blood. She tried soccer and field hockey, but she says lacrosse is her first love. “It’s fast-paced and exhilarating,” says Carr, “and it takes a mental toughness to stay in it the entire game, which lasts upwards of two hours.”

During the six-week fall lacrosse season of Carr’s senior year, she tore the ACL on her “healthy” knee, which again took her out of competition, but she remained engaged with the sport and her team. “My coaches encouraged me to help the younger players and give advice as I saw fit,” she says. “I’ve always wanted to stay immersed in the team.”

A week after graduating, Carr had ACL surgery. She’s taken up playing golf with her father, who’s been golfing since he was 15. Of course, Carr is undaunted by his experience. “I definitely have my eye on beating him someday.”