In Oct. 7, 2025, Mount junior Logan Murray’s life was altered in a split second. She never could’ve imagined what her life looks like now, 2 knee surgeries later, making her way through recovering from a fully torn ACL.
Murray is the oldest of 4, all attending Saint Andrew’s Catholic School in Newtown, and says she frequently reminisces on her childhood with her younger siblings. The Murrays’ family business, Vince’s Pizzeria and Taproom, is where you can find her working as a hostess on the weekends.
“I had an amazing childhood. We used to play outside all the time as kids and we’d have backyard soccer tournaments and stuff. It was really fun.”
Off the field she enjoys cheering on Philly sports teams, beach weekends at her family’s shore house in Wildwood, reading, and spending time with her best friends.
Like many other soccer players, she began before she could even read or write. Starting at FC Bucks, she quickly grew a love for the game, eventually paving the way for her siblings to join her in the sport.
The possibility of an injury is always in the back of every athlete’s mind, regardless of the sport. However, actually experiencing an injury and its necessary recovery is a completely different story.
“We were playing Lansdale Catholic on October 7. It was senior night, and I started, and it was within like the first 10 minutes when I went for a 50-50 ball. I won it, and then I just landed on my foot weird,” Murray said.
“Yeah, I was the closest person to her when it happened and I was like oh she’s definitely fine because she got up quickly and just walked off,” Murray’s Mount varsity teammate Caitlin Cavallaro ‘28 said.
This freak mid-game accident is a perfect example of how non-contact injuries can be just as severe and life altering as ones with contact.
“Logan had a non-contact ACL tear and took the news of a full tear very well,” Mount’s athletic trainer Jamie Toldero said. Toldero went on to say, “Mentally it is convincing the athlete to stay as positive as possible.”
After confirming that it was a full ACL tear, the first step was surgery in November: “Honestly, I don’t really have anything terrible to say about the experience. It is draining and it’s definitely very tiring, but I had to understand that it’s temporary and things happen to me for a reason and that it’s only gonna make me better,” Murray said.
To her surprise, the most painful part wasn’t the throbbing pain or swelling post-surgery, but “pushing it in physical therapy” and the “mental strength” necessary to keep going, despite setbacks.
“So I did develop scar tissue,” Murray humorously remarks, as she is currently two months post-op from an arthroscopic surgery in February.
The term “arthroscopic” for anyone that isn’t a Grey’s Anatomy superfan, means a minimally invasive joint surgery using cameras and very small incisions. The benefits of arthroscopic surgery include less recovery time, reduced pain post-op, and a much lower risk for infection.
Due to this minimally invasive surgery to remove that scar tissue, Murray was able to walk with assistance almost immediately, which showed signs of hope for the rest of her recovery process.
“You don’t realize how far everything is or how fast everybody else walks,” Murray added jokingly when looking back on her time in crutches.
The big question: what is in store for Murray and her soccer career next year?
“I should be back by late August, early September. So I will miss tryouts, but I’m just making sure it’s fully healed again before I push into anything,” Murray said. “I mean, if I’m not strong enough by nine months, they won’t send me back. But, that’s not an option for me. I will be showing up.”
Determined to return stronger and better than ever by early fall, Murray pushes herself in physical therapy, and leans on her closest friends for support through it all.
“I didn’t realize how many people would show up for me until it actually happened. I had an overwhelming amount of things like cards and packages and notes and text messages and people sending their best wishes for me,” Murray said when describing the week of being stuck at home. “Like my friend Abby sat on the couch with me for two days straight. I think we watched White Chicks four times.”
Murray’s resilience and infectious positivity throughout her recovery journey is nothing short of inspiring. She isn’t just a role model at Mount, but a friendly face that can be caught screaming “SKO BIRDS” louder than anyone else.
“Logan definitely had her ups and downs while processing all of the information, some days she came in ready to conquer it all and some days she realized this process was going to be hard. My job during this process was to truly just be there for her and let her vent and talk but help her stay as positive as possible reminding her this is just a large bump in the road,” Toldero said.
No matter if she’s making her way down the hall “slowly but surely” on crutches or taking strong strides with confidence, she strives to prove that setbacks in sports are only opportunities to grow and improve.
