Senior Taryn Dietrich’s appreciation for the subtleties of soccer was fine-tuned last season when she found herself in the last place she wanted to be: on the bench.

After taking the field for the Colonials in 15 games as a freshman and developing into one of head coach Tanya Vogel’s key reserves as a sophomore, Dietrich was sidelined for all of her junior season, frustrated by a mysterious injury.

“I had a weird injury where doctors couldn’t originally say exactly what it was,” Dietrich said. “I started having shin pains playing soccer and it ended up going past soccer, where I would be sitting in a chair in class and it would just be in severe pain.”

But Dietrich was determined to solve her problem and return to play. She began an extensive journey back to health, visiting 25 doctors, all with different specialties, all of whom were stumped by her injury. Just as she was beginning to lose hope, Dietrich returned home, to southern California, where she found a doctor who was able to help.

The doctor decided to conduct exploratory surgery on the muscle in Dietrich’s shin, seeking to put an end to the mystery. The operation was a success, and her long quest for an answer finally came to an end with a diagnosis of compartment syndrome, the compression of nerves, blood cells and tissues within the body. Once the injury was identified, Dietrich began a long, grueling schedule of physical therapy and recovery. In all, Dietrich missed a year and a half of playing soccer, wracking up more time with doctors and rehabilitation facilities than she could count. But she never gave up, determined to return to the field.

“During that time I was doing treatment and trying to figure out what the shin problem was and what would treat it and what would help it,” Dietrich said. “I’ve become used to being in the training room.”

Dietrich left the rehabilitation and doctors’ offices behind, healthy and ready to don a GW uniform once again. As a senior, Dietrich is a leader on the team through her age and experience alone, but she now brings an extra edge to the roster. Her teammates witnessed Dietrich’s hard work and determination to return to play, and now see her working just as hard on the field as she returns from her devastating injury.

“They see courage in me,” Dietrich said. “I think that they understand that I went through a lot and I had overcome a big problem.”

Dietrich’s already announced her return to the roster through the team’s first three weeks of play, underlining her importance in the lineup by scoring the Colonials first goal of the season. When the Colonials faced off against San Francisco Aug. 28, it was Dietrich who netted the goal that knotted the game at one, sending the teams into double overtime that ended in a dramatic 2-1 victory for GW. After the game, Vogel emphasized the importance of Dietrich’s impact, highlighting her return to the roster and championing her ability to rally the rest of the Colonials.

“I’m so proud of Taryn today,” Vogel after GW’s victory. “For her to come back from injury and score that goal, it was amazing. The team really built off of the moment that was created by Taryn today. It was great.”

Losing an entire season due to a mysterious, painful injury would break the spirits of many players.But now that she has, Dietrich isn’t wasting time dwelling on the unfair hand she was dealt. Instead, she’s appreciating the chance to play the sport she loves once again, crediting her time on the sidelines for an opportunity to observe, focus and return as a stronger presence.

“I have become a very smart player due to my injury because I’ve been watching from the bench for so long,” Dietrich said. “You really get to see the different positions on the field and learn from that. I’ve been able to come back as a strong and a mentally strong player.”