STONY BROOK, N.Y. — Deanna Weisenburger watched from the sidelines as the Stony Brook women's lacrosse team defeated Syracuse in a battle of highly ranked opponents back in February at the Carrier Dome.

On Monday, Weisenburger again had reason for celebration.

This time, it was her return to lacrosse action.

Weisenburger, a junior defender, had suffered a torn ACL in her left knee during a practice days before the Seawolves earned the victory against the fourth-ranked Orange in the 2020 season opener.

She spent the past seven months rehabbing to the point where she was capable of picking up a lacrosse stick and returning for a workout on Monday for the first time since suffering the injury.

Weisenburger began organized conditioning drills last week with teammates in order to be prepared for lacrosse activity. She had turned a corner at the fourth-month mark in her recovery, when she began jogging on a treadmill.

"I was very lucky my physical therapy office was open during the pandemic," said Weisenburger, a multidisciplinary studies major from Garden City, who plans to attend law school after her undergraduate studies. "I was there three times a week for around 2½ to three hours a day."

Weisenberger had torn the ACL in her other knee during her senior year at Garden City High School, so she had a sense of what to expect. Still, the road back was challenging.

"Not only does this type of injury take a toll on you physically, but mentally as well," she said. "There were days when I was feeling good and felt like I could do more. My therapist had to tell me I needed to take a step back and focus on what I was doing that day and not get ahead of myself. Then there were days when I was in so much pain there were minimal things I could do.

"Not only was I dealing with the physical pain, but the mental part as well. I would go to my parents and tell them how I didn't know if I was able to go through this again, or if I would be the same player I was before I got hurt. They always assured me that if I put the work in and stayed focused I would be just fine. And they were right."

Weisenburger had appeared in six games as a freshman in 2019. That experience included learning a new position. She had always been a crease defender before joining the Seawolves.

"One day Coach Spallina pulled me aside during practice and asked me if I would be OK trying out the up-top position on the defense, and I said, 'Sure,'" Weisenburger recalled. "Learning a new position, I was nervous, of course. But I was very lucky I had players like Haley Dillon and Mackenzie Burns to look up to and guide me in the right direction. Being able to play in those six games freshman year taught me there is always more to learn and you can always work to get better."

This past spring, she took on whatever role she could during the abbreviated season.

"Having to watch this past spring was tough in the beginning because, of course, I wanted nothing more than to be out there with my teammates," Weisenburger said. "But I was able to take on another role for the remainder of the season. Just because I wasn't playing didn't mean I couldn't be there for my teammates.

"I would stand with our defensive coach and watch the defense and help the girls that were out there because I could see things from the sideline that were happening on the field that they couldn't see. Being able to provide that kind of advice and being there for my teammates when they were having a rough day or just needed a little bit of a pick-me-up was a great feeling."