St. Augustine native overcame five surgeries to make 19 appearances for UNF in 2019.

For years, the easiest way to spot Emma Voigt on the pitch was to find the girl who put the ball in the net.

She had a knack for scoring, an ease with the ball at her feet, the determination to sprint past an opponent and a stubbornness to not shirk from a tackle.

Sunday afternoon, the former Menendez Falcon will face the Air Force Falcons in her first competitive soccer match in Northeast Florida in nearly two years.

UNF will have its home opener against Air Force. For the Ospreys, it’s a chance to return to their winning ways. For Voigt, it’s a chance to play in front of family, friends and a soccer community that has supported her through the darkest chapter of her life.

The Ospreys (4-1-1) have conceded the first goal three times thus far. First-year coach Eric Faulconer said UNF has learned how to win matches. The fortitude required to thrice overcome a deficit pales in comparison to the journey that took Voigt from the height of her on-pitch powers, through a valley more daunting than anything she would have read about in the Old Testament, to the pristine pitch at UNF’s Hodges Stadium.

NO CONTACT, BIG PROBLEMS

Voigt tore the the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee in a Dec. 17, 2015, high school soccer match that was almost abandoned.

Kickoff was moved up 80 minutes to avoid a thunderstorm that threatened, and eventually came. Then in the first half, Menendez’s leading scorer left the match with a head injury that required her to be admitted to the hospital via ambulance. The decision to continue to play was left up to the girls.

The Falcons decided to play, only for the the lights to go out in the stadium.

Less than five minutes after play resumed, Voigt was dribbling up the right, when she decided to cut inside. She felt a pop.

“I remember my mom running down and the training running over (to) me. I remember I was in shock. After a few moments, I felt fine and I felt no pain. …I remember (the trainer) told me to go to the doctor. I remember thinking I’m fine.”

Emma Voigt

Doctors confirmed she was not.

Surgery appeared to fix the ligament. But, it was only the beginning of a journey that left the energetic midfielder devoid of energy, passion and filled with questions about her faith and future.

DEAD ON ARRIVAL

Voigt would play high school soccer during the 2016-17 season. she scored 17 goals and 18 assists as a junior to help the Falcons make the playoffs. She was a first team All-County selection in 2017 and set her sights on succeeding Creekside’s Sophia Thompson as the St. Johns County Player of the year.

Her quest that was short circuited.

During a September 2017 training session, she realized something was wrong.

“Emma would constantly tell me ‘My knee doesn’t feel right,‘” said her mother, Cindy Marshall. “One day she was at club practice in September. She called me crying and said ‘Mom, there is something wrong with my knee.’”

What was wrong was the surgery was not done right. In October 2017, Voigt underwent her second surgery. This time, a ligament from a cadaver was inserted into her knee to repair a torn ACL, medial collateral ligament and anterolateral ligament.

Within days, Voigt and Marshall realized something was amiss; but, they couldn’t place it. Her knee was swollen. The pain was unbearable. Her appetite was non-existent.

Multiple trips to doctors a type of bacteria that is resistant to several antibiotics and hospitals could not pinpoint the issue. After multiple trips, it was revealed her knee was infected with MRSA — a type of bacteria that is resistant to several antibiotics.

Once the issue was diagnosed, Voigt had another surgery — her third overall, and second of that fall. She went on to spend more than a week at Wolfson Children’s Hospital in Jacksonville convalescing.

Her first night home in St. Augustine, Voigt recalled being in so much pain she could not stand up. She was readmitted to find out “the infection never went away and it was worse.”Compare rates and save at Progressive.comAd by Progressive See More

The issue, apparently, was her body did not take the ligament inserted into her knee. Once it was realized that Voigt would need a third ACL surgery at some point, her effervescent personality dimmed.

While her body recovered from the October 2017 infection, she remained hospitalized. Instead of preparing for her senior season at Menendez, she was told that not only would she never have the opportunity to play high school soccer again, playing her freshman year at UNF was seriously in doubt.

″…She realized I’m not going to get to play my freshman year of college,” Marshall recalled. “I can’t tell you the scream and cry that came out of my child’s mouth. She was devastated.”

TEAMMATES FOR LIFE

In the weeks Voigt was holed up at Orange Park Medical Center, classmates, teammates, coaches and others made the trek to visit her. One of the best memories of her life was sharing a movie night, in the hospital, with her Menendez teammates Allie McMandon, Lauren Kelly and Maddie Klein and others.

Once it was clear Voigt would miss the entire 2017-18 high school soccer season, Menendez soccer coach Megann Schooley made Voigt an assistant coach for the Falcons. The move allowed Voigt to be a part of the team. It also meant Schooley’s experience as an athlete, parent, coach and physical therapist could help coax her midfielder/assistant back to full health.

Voigt had her final knee surgery in January 2018. She could have had the procedure earlier; but, she wanted to be on the field for senior night at Menendez. On a cool January night against St. Augustine, Schooley — having already broached the idea with St. Augustine’s coach Parker Raimann and the officials — let Voigt take the opening kickoff and immediately substituted her.

“I started jogging off and all my emotions came out of me,” Voigt said. “I went to Coach Schooley and bawled my eyes out for a minute. I realized those years were over for me and it was really, really sad. …She knew how to handle me, how to calm me down and give me step-by-step in how I was going to come back.”

Kelly and Klein scored goals and McMandon scored a hat trick to give Menendez an 8-0 win on senior night. Voigt and Kelly shared a memorable embrace at full time. Less than 18 hours later, Voigt underwent her fifth surgery.

RECOVERY AND REHABILITATION

The procedure was successful. She spent the rest of the year rehabilitating her knee and strengthening the remaining portions of a body that lost 20 pounds during her ordeal.

“That’s what I told her. There is a new 100 percent for you,” Faulconer said. “You’re never going to feel like the old you. once you have surgery, and multiple surgeries, you’re never going to feel like that again. but what’s you’re new 100 percent. She has figured that out and it’s definitely showing.”

Faulconer joined the UNF staff in 2017. He was promoted to head coach in November 2018 and has witnessed Voigt’s recovery since she enrolled at UNF last fall. Voigt redshirted in 2018 and joined the full team during the Osprey’s spring season.

“When she first got on the field in January, she didn’t have the explosiveness, that pace,” Faulconer said in an Aug. 17 interview. “You look at her now. She has spent a lot of time in the weight room. She has spent a lot of time working on her fitness. She has that explosiveness that is required for the position. She realizes it’s there again. It’s exciting for her because she has worked so hard to get that back. She has come so far, since I have known her. …Her story and her perseverance is paying off for her.”

OPPORTUNITIES WITH THE OSPREYS

Voigt has played in every match this season for the Ospreys. She was in the starting XI for UNF’s season-opening win against Coastal Carolina on Aug. 22.

Marshall was in the stands at the Coastal Carolina Soccer Stadium for UNF’s first match. She was there to support Emma; but, had no idea whether she would play.

Less than an hour before kickoff, Thompson, now a junior for the Ospreys, once again showcased her ability to be a facilitator.

“Sophia, who I adore, was running by me,” Marshall recalled. “She goes ’Emma’s starting, Yay! I had no clue until Sophia told me.”

Thompson is tied for the team lead with two assists in six matches. She, like Voigt, has appeared in all six UNF contests this fall. While the Creekside graduate has been a presumed starter in every match, Voigt’s playing time has come in spurts.

“Coming back, all I want to do is play,” Voigt said. “There are some games I have played a lot and there are some games I haven’t played as much as I would like. I want to be able to give it my all and play as much as I earn.”

Voigt made the most of her opportunity on Sunday afternoon in Boca Raton. As a first half substitute, she was deployed on the left wing and scored the Ospreys’ only goal in a 2-1 loss to Florida Atlantic.

Her goal was predatory. Florida Atlantic committed a foul near midfield and defender Sara DeLucca hit a long ball toward goal. An Owls defender momentarily forgot about Voigt, and was punished for it, when the UNF winger toe-poked the ball past goalie Cassidy Wasdin for the opening goal.

The play was named the ASUN Conference’s Play of the Week on Wednesday afternoon.

“It was definitely a flood of emotions,” Voigt said. “I was super happy when I scored. Coming back, your confidence isn’t completely there. Knowing I had the ability to score boosted my confidence a little bit.”

Voigt’s first collegiate goal came against one of her former club teammates.

“At the end of the game, we gave each other a big hug,” Voigt said. “I said ‘Sorry about that.’ She congratulated me and she was happy. Soccer, you play it your whole life. One of the best things is the friendships and the relationships. In college, you see everyone over the years, so it’s awesome.”

Last Sunday, wasn’t the first time Voigt squared off against a former club teammate. In UNF’s 3-1 win over Florida International on Sept. 6, the Menendez graduate was able to compete against Nease graduate Sydney Washington.

There will be other chances to reconnect with former teammates and friends. But, few will be as emotional as Sunday’s experience in Boca Raton.

Within minutes of Voigt’s goal, Wasdin’s mother, Darlene, texted Marshall that Voigt was back on the scoresheet.

’I think Emma needed that a lot,” Marshall said. “Since she has been back and training in the spring, the thing she has struggled with is her confidence. Emma, pre-surgery, was one of the most confident players. …Seeing her like this, it’s hard for her. There have been a lot of deep conversations about her confidence. One of those happened a few days before the goal.

“When it happened, it was a great thing. It needed to happen. I don’t know if she will ever score again. I pray she does. But, I feel she needed that more than any other player needed it.”

An outspoken and self-confident winger, who sustained a devastatingly timed ACL injury and would prefer to attack instead of defend has already won trophies in 2019. Voigt can only hope her fall, and that of the Ospreys’, is as successful as Megan Rapinoe’s summer.

While the pitch was a place for the U.S. women’s national team winger to showcase her political beliefs, for Voigt is a place where she can express her thanksgiving. It’s a place where the 19-year-old can show gratitude for the teammates, coaches, doctors, family members and others with every touch, sprint or run down the wing.

“I have always loved it. It’s been my favorite thing to do in the world,” Voigt said after an Aug. 17 exhibition match. “When I was in the hospital and out for a year, almost a year and a half, it sucks. You’re taking away the thing you love the most and you’re coming back, it makes you so much more appreciative of it and you realize what it means to you.”