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ierra Cockerille’s knee popped after trying to juke a Northwestern defender at the 12-meter arc last March, but she wasn’t in a lot of pain. Still, she knew she had suffered a serious injury.

Cockerille tore her right ACL, ending her 2022 season just five games in. She laid on the ground as trainers slightly shifted her leg before officially diagnosing her with an ACL tear. She bursted into tears for the first — and only — time during her recovery. Trainers would later wrap Cockerille’s leg and put her on crutches at halftime.

“I almost felt like this type of injury would never happen to me,” Cockerille said. “It’s just not me.”

Eleven months later, she’s fully recovered and fully practicing. The midfielder has her eyes set on All-American honors, but most importantly, a national championship. In her first year as a starter in 2021, she made All-Atlantic Coast Conference second team, started all 21 games and finished 3rd on the team in points. Throughout her recovery, Cockerille continued to help the team by mentoring younger players and helping in the film room. After never missing a game at SU due to injury, the ACL tear forced her to rediscover her role on the team during the 2o22 season. 

At halftime against Northwestern, former SU defender Sarah Cooper consoled her. The two had played club lacrosse together in Maryland for about 8 years before coming to Syracuse. 

Cockerille told Cooper to return to the huddle — not focus on her —and reminded her there was a game to win. She came out of halftime in crutches and joined her team on the sideline. 

“From that point on, I had a smile on my face. I knew it wasn’t about me,” Cockerille said. “It’s about the team. I knew I had to be there for them and if I showed my teammates I was okay, I thought it was going to help them.”

Cockerille has always had a reputation for being tough. When she started playing lacrosse, she wished it was more physical like the men’s game. 

A high-end wrestler as a kid, Cockerille finished third at the 2010 Fédération Internationale des Luttes Associées Junior Nationals and as well as a Maryland middle school state competition. Cockerille also played football, usually at running back. She credits her brother, who later played football at Maryland, for her early interest in contact sports.

“I just kind of grew up being like his younger brother in a way,” Cockerille said. “I guess him treating me like a younger brother made me a lot more tougher than the average young girl.”

By eighth grade, Cockerille knew she wanted to play collegiate lacrosse. When she got to Syracuse in 2019, her teammates noticed her grit. Former Syracuse midfielder Sam Swart described Cockerille as “fearless” and “ruthless” on the field, intimidated by Cockerille when she arrived.

“When I first met Sierra, I just knew she was tough by looking at her,” Swart said. “I was a little bit scared too, and I was older than her.” 

Cockerille started off as a third-line midfielder, which she said really bothered her. But, she would get consistent playing time by the middle of the year. Her role only expanded during her sophomore season – and by 2021, she was a full-time starter. Cockerille put up just 30 points in her freshman and sophomore year combined, but posted 50 during her junior season. 

In the 2021 NCAA Tournament, Cockerille suffered the first injury of her collegiate career: a shoulder sprain against Florida in the quarterfinals. But, she fought on. Cockerille received a cortisone shot right before the Final Four game against Northwestern and picked up two assists in a 21-13 win over the Wildcats. In the title game defeat to Boston College, she recorded a goal and assist.

“I just think my mindset is I don’t get beat up a lot,” Cockerille said. “If I get knocked down, I’m ready to get back up.” 

Swart said that 2022 “was always going to be her year,” and that she was going to emerge as a top midfielder. Cockerille was one of the first in her class to declare for a fifth year after the injury. 

 

But, she didn’t feel at her best to begin last season. Cockerille thought she started to get into her groove the game before her injury, as she recorded three points in a 17-16 overtime win against Notre Dame. Syracuse faced Northwestern for its fifth game of the season. Cockerille put a hard shot on goal before her career completely flipped on its head with the torn ACL. But once she processed the injury, she knew it could only get better from there.

“I was thinking about the road to recovery. I wasn’t looking back after that,” Cockerille said. “I knew the worst thing had already happened.”

Head coach Kayla Treanor said Cockerille didn’t feel bad for herself and thought about the team for the rest of that game. As the season progressed, Cockerille wanted to contribute from the sideline. 

Just days after her injury, Cockerille began helping younger teammates at practice by explaining plays and showing them how to clear the ball correctly. She began lifting with the team again as soon as she was cleared to. Cockerille said it was “eye-opening,” going from a high-level athlete running up-and-down the turf at the Dome to relearning how to walk and bend her leg. 

“It’s really difficult to stay super involved when you’re going through such a traumatic injury,” Treanor said. “She was just all in which is all you can ask for in an athlete that knows they’re not going to play anymore (that season).”

Three weeks after the injury, she had surgery on her knee and could walk about a week later. Fellow SU midfielder Emma Tyrrell tore her ACL in practice in early April — just a month after the Northwestern game. When she got hurt, Tyrrell said she looked up to Cockerille as a model to handle the injury, and the pair did physical therapy together every day for two hours.

“Being able to see how positive of an outlook she had on things really made my recovery a lot easier,” Tyrrell said. “It really helped throughout the whole process because she just wouldn’t let me get down on myself.” 

Cockerille said the recovery really picked up in June when she could run again. She felt the process was “the quickest nine months” of her life.

“Tearing my ACL was probably the best thing that happened to me as an athlete,” Cockerille said. “Mentally it made me stronger and physically it made me way stronger, so it was a blessing in disguise I guess.”

Photo is a Daily Orange File Photo

Published on February 2, 2023 at 12:04 am

Contact Matthew: mahassan@syr.edu