Depending how you look at it, six months is not particularly a long time. But in some situations, it can seem like forever. Just ask Sarah Segan.

As the former Northwestern 100-goal scorer was preparing for her freshman season at the College of William & Mary back in the summer of 2015, Segan suffered an injury. Then, a short time later, that injury resurfaced during the preseason of her inaugural college season.

But after six months of rehab after tearing her meniscus that required microfacture surgery, Segan was cleared to play once again. And she put together a freshman season worthy of noting this past fall.

“It was pretty devastating,” Segan said. “I had trained really hard throughout the summer to work toward being ready for the season. My team supported me and I just knew I had to work harder to get myself ready for the following fall season.”

The injury forced her to redshirt in 2015. She was without soccer for half of a year. And the rehab process took a toll on her mentally and physically.

“It’s tedious and I always wanted to be further ahead than where I was,” Segan said. “We have a great athletic training staff here and they really helped with my recovery. I also did physical therapy in Williamsburg and the therapist there was great. My recovery went pretty smoothly, and when I got back I just needed to work on getting my touches back. Now I have no problems with my knee.”

Once she got back on the pitch, Segan was one of the more feared goal-scorers in the Colonial Athletic Association. In leading The Tribe (10-8-2 overall; 4-4-1 in CAA) to a spot in the conference semifinals, Segan scored 10 goals and added two assists as she started in all 20 games.

Segan scored one of those goals in the The Tribe’s run in the CAA tournament, a familiar feeling for the former Lady Tiger who played in many postseason games throughout her high school career.

“I was obviously really nervous to come back this fall because it was my first real season back from being injured,” Segan said. “I was very timid in the beginning, and throughout the season I started to realize my role as a target forward for the Tribe.

“The spring was really rough for me and I wasn’t playing well, so it was really nice to be able to play more like myself again in the fall. I’m really happy with the way the season turned out. My team has been great and we all get along so well, so playing with them makes it that much better.”

Not only did her team and coaches take notice of her remarkable journey back, the CAA did as well. Segan was named to the CAA Second Team as The Tribe’s top goal-scorer. She was also selected to the All-Rookie Team.

“I wouldn’t have gotten this if it weren’t for my team and coaches,” Segan said. “I wouldn’t be able to have the opportunities if it weren’t for them. There are also a lot of teammates that don’t get recognized as much as they should. Overall, I am really honored to have gotten those awards.”

Up next for the redshirt freshman is the spring season for the Tribe. She hopes to build off 2016 and help the Tribe take even further steps forward next fall.

“This season we had a lot of ups and downs as a team,” Segan said. “Being able to make it into the tournament was great for us. It was sad that we lost in the finals, but now we know what we need to do for next year.”