‘Such a fighter’
Two ACL surgeries in two years can’t stop New Canaan’s Tully
It was, at least on the surface, just one goal in the middle of an April girls lacrosse game.
In reality, it represented so much more for New Canaan senior Caitlin Tully.
Two ACL tears 17 months apart, subsequent surgeries and a seemingly endless amount of rehab and physical training, along with a bout with tendinitis early this spring, couldn’t keep her from getting in the game.
The long journey to get back on the lacrosse field finally ended in the Rams’ game against EastportSouth Manor (N.Y.) on April 21 at Dunning Field.
Tully made a cut towards the net, took a pass from teammate Stella Nolan, and scored.
Regular-season games don’t typically cause strong emotions, but there were few dry eyes among the Rams.
“That was a surreal feeling,” Tully said. “I ran onto the field and was looking around thinking ‘Oh my God, this is real, I’m not dreaming.’ When I scored, I got really emotional and I had tears in my eyes. It all came together. In that moment, I realized I’m where I’m supposed to be.”
Kristin Woods has been coaching New Canaan since 2008, winning six state titles and the last two FCIAC crowns. Before that, she played four years at Penn State and helped Wilton win an FCIAC championship.
In all that time, Woods said, she didn’t get emotional on the lacrosse field. This was different. “Just seeing her do something like that, so extraordinary, I teared up,” Woods said. “I don’t cry much but that really got me. She is such a fighter and I was so happy for her as a player and a person with everything she had gone through the last few years.”
Tully’s high school athletic career hasn’t been entirely spent rehabbing.
A forward on the Rams’ girls ice hockey team since her freshman year, Tully was sidelined with her first knee injury as a sophomore, but helped the team win three FCIAC and two state titles in four years.
Tully and fellow seniors Jade Lowe and Maddie Kloud formed New Canaan’s “Hanson Sisters” line, named after the Hanson Brothers in the 1977 movie “Slap Shot.”
Finally in the flow of girls lacrosse this spring, Tully, an attack, scored twice and had an assist when New Canaan defeated Darien 10-8 in the FCIAC final,
winning its second straight conference championship.
One of her goals came early off a pass from her younger sister Lexie, a sophomore, on a perfectlyexecuted play.
“It’s really cool to be able to play with Lexie,” Caitlin said. “We knew in order to beat Darien, which is such an amazing team, we’d have to move the ball a lot, and we knew where each other was on the field. Maybe it’s because we’re sisters, but it worked well and we’re always looking for each other. That was definitely fun.”
In six postseason games, Caitlin Tully has 11 goals and seven assists.
Seeded third in Class L, New Canaan defeated No. 10 Ridgefield 19-11 in the semifinals on Tuesday, setting up a showdown wth rival Darien, the No. 1 seed, in the final at 2 p.m., Saturday, at Sacred Heart University.
Tully will then continue her lacrosse career at Cornell, with senior teammate Dillyn Patten at her side.
“I’m super-excited,” Tully said. “Both my parents went there and that’s always been my dream school. It will be fun to have Dillyn there and it’s always so much fun to play with her because she’s unbelievable.”
It’s a long way from November, 2019, when, just before the start of ice hockey season, Tully “basically tore everything” in her right knee — ACL, MCL and meniscus. She had surgery and worked her way back, rehabbing while the pandemic shut down the 2020 girls lacrosse season.
She had a spectacular junior ice hockey season and the Rams won the FCIAC championship in overtime against Darien.
Then, as she was getting set for lacrosse — another devastating moment.
“Five minutes before our first game her junior year,
she tore her second ACL,” Woods said.
The physical injury wasn’t the worst of it.
“It was really tough mentally,” Tully said. “I already knew the difficulties that I was going to have to go through. After the first couple of days I got to the point where I said ‘Ok, I’m done feeling bad for myself. I’ve got to move on. Now is when I start the hard work.’ ”
Again, Tully worked her way back, and again, she was ready for the girls ice hockey season. Tully said the knee felt great while she was skating. New Canaan went 24-0-1 and won FCIAC and state championships.
The first few days of lacrosse tryouts were fine, but then Tully woke up with a “ton of pain” in her knees. She said she could barely walk.
She rested for a few weeks, missing the first seven games, but finally got into action.
Since then, Tully hasn’t missed a beat.
The Rams are now in the final week of their lacrosse season with their sights set on Saturday’s state final and a third showdown with rival Darien.
They’re riding a 15-game winning streak which, incidentally, started with Eastport-South Manor, and own the No. 1 spot in the Connecticut Coaches’ Poll.
Tully said it feels strange to be closing in on the finish line.
“It’s kind of weird that this is the end of my time playing for New Canaan because it’s just kind of beginning for me,” Tully said. “But this is something we’ve been looking forward to, and each game, we’re getting one step closer to our goal.”