ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Roberts Wesleyan University senior Allison Clahane is a walking example of perseverance.

Clahane began playing lacrosse in Kindergarten and has played the sport ever since. She tore the Anterior Cruciate Ligament in her left knee as a senior at Mount Sinai (N.Y.) High School, but was cleared to return to practice in the fall of her first year at Roberts.

Then, the following spring, Clahane tore her right ACL after appearing in five games for the Redhawks.

"My freshman year I had to have two knee surgeries," Clahane said. "Then, my sophomore year I had to play in two knee braces. Now, I am down to one."

Clahane has fought through the adversity to start the Redhawks' last 33 games and was named Second Team All-East Coast Conference after leading Roberts with 17 caused turnovers this spring. Clahane also scooped 16 ground balls and scored her first collegiate goal during a win over the University of the District of Columbia.

Clahane also excels in the classroom with a 3.91 grade point average in Accounting and was selected the Roberts Wesleyan University Female Scholar-Athlete of the Month for April.

On Senior Day, Clahane announced that she will be returning to Roberts to pursue her master's and play an additional season with the Redhawks.

Clahane took a few moments to share her thoughts on being a student-athlete at Roberts. Her responses have been lightly edited for length and clarity.

What was it like to come back from two major knee surgeries?
"It was definitely difficult. I had support from so many people, especially my family, my team and my coaches that all made it a lot easier. Especially, traveling back and forth to see my surgeon and trying to make time for school, being at practice, going to PT to rehab my knee, all that kind of stuff to get back onto the field."

How did you feel when you finally got back on the field?
"It was good. It took a while to feel like normal again. I would say it took until my sophomore year, that whole time was just kind of learning how to play again. Then, once I got to my junior year, I finally felt like back to being more normal, like my legs were just functioning more normal."

Was your recovery more of a physical challenge or a mental challenge?
"I would just say it was a mix of both. There's a little being timid of getting hurt again, and then also physically, it just takes a while for all the connections to be there again."

What do you like about playing defense?
"I don't know. Honestly, it's just the position that I am better at. I think you just really change a game playing defense and like they always say, 'defense wins championships.' It's just been the position that I really have enjoyed the most, and I like making the difference on the field there and getting the ball up the field to the girls to finish the play on offense."

What was it like to score your first college goal this season?
"That was fun, you know, especially in my senior year. Just to be able to score and get down on offense, so it was a cool experience and the whole drop the stick thing was new to me. It was cool though, and I liked it."

What went into your decision to come back?
"I'm an Accounting major, so I'm looking to get my CPA so I need the 150 credits. So, we kind of just worked it out where I can get my Master's degree and I'll be able to play lacrosse."

What does it mean to you to have your parents, Jim and Steph, make that 6½-hour trip to Rochester to see you play?
"It means so much to me. I'm so grateful for them and everything they do for our team and for me. They spend a lot of hours in the car to come to all the games. We joke that the home games are further for us than the away games. The away games are pretty much always closer for them. I'm just really grateful for them, that they come to everything and they support me in in everything I do."

What interested you in accounting?
"I originally wanted to go to law school and I didn't want to get a History degree, so it's in case I don't change my mind. I don't really want to be pigeonholed into one thing. I can get a degree in anything to go to law school, so I might as well get something that I can get a good job coming out of school. I'm still definitely really interested in law school and leaning towards it, but right now I'm thinking about doing part-time law school down the road rather than right out of college."

Have you had a favorite professor or favorite class at Roberts?
"I've had really so many good professors. It's such a small school, too, that I have the same professors again and again. I have Joel Hoomans, who's our faculty athletic mentor, now for a class. I had  Professor Lindsey Groves (Mwene), she was always one of my favorite ones. I have a minor in Spanish, so my professor there was always amazing, Professor Maria Pillar Villodre. She was really awesome. I went to Spain with her last summer and studied there and Dr. Daniel Barlow, too. I've had so many classes with him throughout the years. There's so many to name, but I've never had a bad experience with any faculty here. Everyone's been really great."

As DII student-athletes, you are role models for kids, what would your advice be to a young girl who has had similar things happen to her with injuries?
"I would say just take it one step at a time, these things take time to recover from. … They always say to celebrate the little wins as you go. When you can walk again, that's one thing, when you can start to run, that's another. Just celebrate the little things as you keep going and time really does go by quick with it."

What does being a Redhawk mean to you?
"Our coaches always push us to be more than just athletes and that we're not just about our sport. It's important to us that we're good students, but also that we're good people. How we present ourselves around campus means a lot, and Coach Kristin Paolini always wants us to represent Roberts in a good light and represent our team in a good light. Take all of that and I would say like that's what it means to be a Redhawk is to not only be a good athlete, but a good student and a good person."