Sisters Emma and Jackie Firenze have been playing soccer with each other since they were both little girls. Last year, the couldn’t play together as the younger sister, Emma, was injured.

The wait for her home debut with Syracuse has ended.

Emma Firenze, a sophomore midfielder, has come off the bench to play in all four games this season for Syracuse (1-1-2) after missing the entire 2013 season due to injury. Firenze and Syracuse next see action when they travel to the Colgate Nike Classic at Van Doren Field in Hamilton, New York, to play Massachusetts-Lowell (2-2) on Friday at 3 p.m. and Vermont on Sunday at 11 a.m.

“It was huge for her to get back on the field for the first time,”Jackie Firenze said after Syracuse’s 1-1 tie with Connecticut on Monday. “Any time we can be home, that’s great, especially because she hasn’t had a real game here yet.”

Firenze hurt her leg practicing with the Syracuse Lady Knights of the Women’s Premier Soccer League in the summer of 2013. When doctors began what was only supposed to be small tendon surgery, they discovered that she had a hole in her right femur, Firenze said.

What was originally going to be an absence of 2-3 weeks became a whole year lost for a player head coach Phil Wheddon said he had planned on starting in midfield.

“It was pretty emotional for everyone, especially myself and my family, and it took a toll on us,”Firenze said.

Though Firenze hasn’t gotten her condition to where she wants it to be, sophomore forward Stephanie Skilton said the rest of the team is excited to have Firenze back on the field.

This season is a fresh start. Firenze has been back with the team since this spring, when she practiced and played in a few preseason games.

Wheddon has been inserting her into the games, with her playing time ranging from 13 minutes to 41 minutes, and allowing her to get a feel for how fast college soccer is. Her return, however, hasn’t been quick and seamless.

“Since I was out for a full year, I’m not as comfortable doing certain things,”Firenze said, of trying to pick up the team’s system and her place in it, “but with time, those will come back.”

Firenze is going through her growing pains now as she becomes accustomed to college soccer, when she should have went through them last year as a freshman, Wheddon said. Once she gets adapted and used to the speed of the game, he said he believes her contributions will be evident.

Firenze also believes she is ready to take on a significant role this season for the team moving forward. Her leg feels as close to 100 percent as it’s going to get, she said, and she’s catching back on with the pace of the game.

“She stepped off the bench and gave us a spark,”Jackie Firenze said. “She’s not back to Emma yet — there’s a lot more to see.”

Published on September 4, 2014 at 12:15 am

Contact Liam: lpsull01@syr.edu