Junior leads league with 13 goals this winter
MORGAN HILL — There was a time not far off when the quietly deafening “pop” of an anterior cruciate ligament sounded the end an athlete’s career.
Today, the most determined athletes can bounce back from ACL ruptures within a year, given proper physical training and rest. Even then, most are never the same — most.
If you have seen junior Jennae Cambra play soccer this winter; seen her manipulate defenders, turn on a dime and blow past everyone on the pitch, you can tell ACL tears have nothing on her.
Can you even tell she was injured?
The Sobrato star has not lost a step since last July, when she blew out those precious proximal fibers in her left knee during a club match.
With the exception of her sophomore season, Cambra hasn’t lost anything. The 5-foot-2 lefty leads the Santa Teresa Division with 13 goals and has been the driving force of an offense that sorely missed her in 2008-09.
“We’re a totally different team with her back,” senior team co-captain Jazzmin Ramarez said. “Jennae, basically, is our offense. She’s our heart. Having her and her energy on the field is amazing.
“We have a lot more confidence with her and (sophomore goalkeeper) Maggie Cropp. We feel unstoppable.”
That says a lot, considering the Lady Bulldogs totaled seven goals on the way to a 1-14-4 finish last year. This season, they are 4-1-5 (2-0-3 in league after Wednesday’s 2-2 tie with Westmont) and in position to sack the winner-take-all Santa Teresa for the second time in three years.
That was the outlook Sobrato coach Paul Nishimatsu had for his club before the season. Nishimatsu also had a lofty outlook for Cambra, who turned heads during her 19-goals-in-19-games freshman season.
“In the division we were in, it was expected she would have that success,” said Nishimatsu, now in his third year at the helm. “I’m expecting that again this year.”
So is Cambra. The recently turned 16-year-old spent most of last winter tossing I-can-hardly-waits back and forth with injured teammate Janelle Cisneros, whose return from a muscle tear in her shoulder has been just as profitable; Cisneros has eight assists.
“It was definitely difficult for me. I knew I would eventually get back, but it seemed so long away,” said Cambra, who one-timed her latest goal off a cross from Cisneros in the first half Wednesday. “I remember the day I tore it. I didn’t know what to expect. When the season started, I just strived to be as good as I was freshman year. That’s all I focused on. I didn’t expect I’d come back this fast.”
Cambra is reaping the benefits of being patiently dedicated to her physical therapy. She visited a trainer regularly.
“They had a specific regimen for her,” Cambra’s mother, Maria, said before smiling. “She had to hold back at times.”
Thirteen months after her injury, Cambra was cleared to play with her under-16 club, Almaden United, which lost in penalty kicks to Cropp’s Union FC in a NorCal Cup semifinal in March. Cambra ran out of the hospital and hugged Almaden coach Jeff Ino.
After a tentatively played first game, Cambra was back to her explosive self.
“She has incredible talent, but her determination is just as big,” Ino said. “It really motivates her to prove herself each game. She has a great personality, but, when she steps onto the field, it’s all business.”
Ino, who has coached Cambra since 2006, tells people she was born with the ball at her foot. Cambra’s trademark touch, acceleration and smile were on display Wednesday in the stormy Outdoor Sports Center when she caught a long pass with her right foot before being called offside. Four minutes later, she headed a through ball upfield, ran it down and was fouled inside the penalty box.
“I think one thing she’s matured in is using her head more,” Nishimatsu said. “If you watch her touches, it’s just amazing.”
Cambra’s ensuing PK was saved, leaving her daily goal count at a pedestrian one.
“I always think about the ones I miss,” she said. “It pushes me more.”
Cisneros, a junior, helped push the Bulldogs ahead 2-0 in the 68th minute when she led Marissa Benjamin with a long pass, allowing the track sprinter to outrun her defenders and blast home her third goal of the season.
“This is how Jennae and I wanted this year to be,” Cisneros said. “We felt like we had to show everyone what they missed. I wanted to prove why coach Paul left my name on the roster last season even though I didn’t play.”
Now that Cambra is back, she only wants to get better. Her goal is to lead her team back to the Central Coast Section playoffs while making the most of her junior season — arguably the most important one for aspiring college players.
“She’s been playing since she was 4 or 5, and she’s always been determined to play at the next level,” Cambra’s father, Bill, said. “She wants to be a physical therapist after her playing days are over. I can definitely see her doing that.”
