Christen Press hasn’t gone two years without a soccer game since she learned to walk. So when she was laid up by a torn anterior cruciate ligament that took four surgeries and nearly 25 months to repair, she decided to make use of the free time she never thought she’d have. As a result, the player who returned to training with Angel City this month is not the same one who was carried off the field eight games into the team’s first season.
“I definitely feel like this is the best version of me that I’ve ever known. And I hope it continues to evolve,” Press said Saturday in an interview that was heavy on smiles and optimism. “I don’t know if I would say I’m a better person.
I am a more grounded person. I’m more peaceful. I’m more at ease with myself.
I’m more self-aware. I enjoy my life more, absolutely.” It would be hard for her to be a better player than she was two years ago.
A two-time World Cup champion and Hermann Trophy winner whose 64 international goals rank ninth in U.S. women’s national team history, Press was arguably in the best form of her life when she sustained the first major injury of her career.
At first she expected to be back in time for last summer’s World Cup. Then she thought maybe she could play in this summer’s Olympic Games. But the injury proved to be stubborn, and doctors had to go back in three more times for additional repairs.
Angel City FC Claire Emslie scored in the 69th minute, but it wasn’t enough to prevent .
