Get to know Endicott College soccer player Jackie Ruggiero
BEVERLY, Mass. — As Endicott College’s women’s soccer team concluded their season at the quarter finals this past fall, senior goalkeeper Jackie Ruggiero had a heavy heart.
“Walking away from the pitch was hard,” Jackie recalled, speaking with us from her dad’s house in Dedham. “It had been a game that I’ve played for most of my life.”
Hard, particularly because she had fought tooth and nail to be on the pitch at all. When she was 15 years old, after about a decade playing the sport and rising in the ranks as a high school goalkeeper, Jackie suffered an accident to her dominant right hand. After a lengthy series of treatments her hand healed but for her right ring finger.
“My finger was not responding to surgery,” Jackie explained. “The doctors told me that I might not be able to have the proper grip again and I might not be able to play soccer again – that the pain in my finger would just be too much to bear.”
In one way, the doctors were right. She missed the remainder of her sophomore season and she tried to play her junior season. “I loved playing so much I played through the pain,” Jackie said. “But halfway through that season it just became too much.”
But the rest of the story shows how doctors may have underestimated who they were dealing with. At 17, she made the decision to undergo a partial amputation of her right ring finger. Healed from surgery and no longer in pain, Jackie returned to the pitch under the care of her goalie coaches. “It was a learning curve at first easing back into the training process,” Jackie recalled. “Putting on the gloves, working on grip and hand placement.”
Soon, it felt natural, and Jackie was back in the goal where she belonged – and at the college level, no less. “It was like a dream had come true,” Jackie beamed when asked about joining the Endicott women’s soccer team. “It was something I had been working towards for most of my life. I didn’t let what I had been through set me back. It only pushed me harder.”
Today, she says the challenge she faced has served as her secret weapon. “It’s given me a reason to continuously work harder and do better,” Jackie explained, “which helped me achieve what I did.” And it showed in goal. Jackie was named Scholar Athlete of the Year and two-time Defensive Player of the Week by her conference. She notes that her success – and the team’s success – is in no small way due to how the team really bonded as a family this year.
While it was sad leaving the pitch for the last time this season, she had peace of mind. “I went out knowing that I played 100% every single day,” Jackie said thoughtfully. “If anyone can get anything from my story it is that no matter what you’re dealing with, don’t let it hold you back from accomplishing goals for yourself.”
There is a chance she’ll return to the goal for an encore. “It’s been a challenge adjusting to life without playing soccer,” Jackie chuckled. “I’ve considered a fifth year to play more.” She also has her eye on coaching, beaming as she talks about coaching her 11-year-old cousin.
But it’s what Jackie plans to do for her career that might say the most about her character off the pitch. “I would like to work in an ER in the area, and I work on a pediatric floor right now,” Jackie explained. “I remember the moment I was treated by pediatric nurses after my accident – and how important it is for a kid to feel like, at their worst moment, someone has their back.”
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