Warrior Run graduate Madi Welliver gets another shot at playing soccer with Williamsport City Lions

It was right before graduating last May that Madi Welliver made a last-minute decision to return for grad school at Susquehanna to finish out her collegiate eligibility in both women's basketball and women's soccer.

Welliver wanted to go out with one more run playing two sports she's more than come to love. But it was during a summer league basketball game roughly a month before fall preseason in 2021 that Welliver tore her ACL, LCL and meniscus.

It completely derailed Welliver's final collegiate season before it had a chance to begin. Welliver didn't return to Susquehanna following the injury and instead focused on physical therapy.

In her own words, she was figuring out her next steps. Those next steps have led her right back to the soccer pitch where she has been a goalie for a long time.

Welliver, Warrior Run and Pennsylvania's all-time girls shutouts leader (60), will be playing as part of the Williamsport City Lions women's soccer team this summer. Welliver knows she still has something left in the tank.

"I am ready to get back on the field and finish out my career. It may not be what I had planned, but I am especially grateful for the Williamsport City Lions as they are giving me the opportunity to get back on the pitch for one last time," Welliver said.

Welliver was an absolute wall in goal when she played with the Defenders, and was a huge reason Warrior Run appeared in consecutive state semifinals in 2014 and 2015. The Defenders lost both games to Trinity, but the Shamrocks needed PKs to beat Warrior Run as Welliver didn't yield a goal throughout regulation or two overtime periods.

Welliver's no stranger to playing in goal, and she's also no stranger to injuries. The all-time shutouts leader in high school has had three different knee reconstructions throughout her career: two ACL tears and a meniscus/knee cap injury.

"Given that I am coming off my third, I can't pretend that the fear of not being able to play again has crossed my mind more than once, especially now," Welliver said. "However, I have learned that with each of these injuries there is something to learn. As much physical endurance that is built over the year-long recovery, there is twice as much mental toughness that can come along with it.

"The recovery and return to play process for each of my experiences has taught me to have confidence in the work I have put in and to embrace the adversity that comes with it," Welliver added. "Even with my most recent injury, I have to keep reminding myself of how far I have come, and each day, is one day closer to stepping back onto the field. These injuries have taught me to be anything but fearful, but to appreciate every moment I have to play the game that I love."

After each injury, Welliver's biggest competition was herself in wanting to be better than she was before and never wanted to use an injury as a reason she couldn't perform to the best of her ability.

"I knew I needed to show up in every moment to learn and be the best goalkeeper and teammate I could n a team where I was the new kid all over again," Welliver said. "The success I had at Susquehanna was largely because of the culture we had as a team."

She may not be the new kid this go around with the Williamsport City Lions team, but Welliver will be on a roster full of talented area players, some she's played against and others she only knows from their highlights.

"It was sort of nostalgic to see both younger and older athletes from the area at the tryouts all wearing their college team shirts now. In the short time I spoke with them, it was awesome to be able to get to know them as more than a name or a number and to bond over shared experiences playing in District 4," Welliver said. "To be able to finally play wearing the same jersey is going to be an awesome feeling and I am really excited to see how we do this season."

The former Defender goalie heard last summer about the possibility of the Williamsport City Lions team forming and right away gained interest. The opportunity to play soccer competitively after college in the area is limited, with most teams and leagues a good two hours or further away. Having college friends from Maryland and Philadelphia, Welliver heard them mention the semi-pro club teams in their backyards and was always a tad jealous of that.

Now, players from District 4 can get the chance to play competitively after college in the area.

"I was extremely excited to hear that Kenny was looking to change that and I knew without hesitation that I wanted to do everything I could to be part of the Lions," Welliver said. "When I heard about this opportunity coming to Williamsport, I was so excited not only for myself, but for the other past, current and future central PA athletes that would finally have the opportunity to play following high school."

Welliver feels that the league will allow players of all ages to build their skills an relationships that otherwise wouldn't be possible.

"Hopefully the Lions will help build a new sense of pride for our small area," Welliver said.