For Rachel Bloznalis, the 2014 season was supposed to be her time to thrive.
After playing 18 games and registering 444 minutes for the Boston University women’s soccer team as a freshman in 2013, the Upton native knew she had the opportunity to start for BU coach Nancy Feldman’s esteemed program as a sophomore.
“Coming into [my] freshman year, I knew I wouldn’t have a starting spot because we already had a very solid, established back line,” Bloznalis said. “But coming into sophomore year, I was excited to be able to earn a starting spot. Our center back switched positions, so there was going to be an opening if I could perform.”
But in June 2014, just months before her sophomore season, Bloznalis was diagnosed with chronic exertional compartment syndrome, a muscle and nerve condition that leads to painful swelling in the legs. It is caused by strenuous exercise, and is most commonly found in athletes who partake in sports that require running, like soccer. The condition can sometimes require surgery, which was the case for BU’s aspiring defensive anchor.
“I knew I would have to get the surgery eventually,” Bloznalis said, “but I was going to try and wait until the end of my sophomore season. So I trained during the summer with a lot of cross-training, swimming, biking and such. I played the first two games of the season and then we were going to reevaluate with the trainers and the coaches and decide where to go from there.”
After Bloznalis played a combined 140 minutes as center back in the Terriers’ first two games, the trainers and coaches came to the conclusion that she could not put off surgery any longer. She had surgery in the middle of September, and watched from the sidelines as the Terriers went 14-5-3 and won the Patriot League Tournament.
“It wasn’t hard at all,” Feldman said about the decision to end Bloznalis’ season early. “She was in such discomfort, she wasn’t going to be able to make it through the season and be effective.”
“Those are decisions that are made by the medical staff, the student-athlete and the coach all together,” Feldman explained. “Sometimes it’s how much discomfort can you play through, and sometimes you don’t have a choice. So this was one of these [situations] where she had some problems and it was managed, and then it got to the point where it just couldn’t be managed anymore.”
Bloznalis, who was named a Central Massachusetts All-Star as a freshman at Nipmuc Regional High School, worked hard to get better during the season. Immediately after the surgery, she began a two-month rehab process at BU, working on simple things like muscle strengthening and ankle mobility.
The hard work in the training room paid off in January, when Bloznalis was cleared to play with the team after staying off the pitch for nearly five months. She began to do strength and conditioning workouts along with the rest of the team, and participated in the Terriers’ spring season.
“She couldn’t come back all at once,” Feldman said. “She had to ease back into it, or she could have ended up with another issue in another area. She did things the smart way and got great advice and care by our medical staff.”
Needless to say, returning to the field to play alongside her teammates was a rewarding experience for Bloznalis.
“It had been a long year,” the junior defender said, “and a lot of work was put into it, a lot of conditioning and getting back to game speed, to finally be able to play [significant minutes] after I hadn’t ever really. It was really my first opportunity. So it was very rewarding.”
This season, Bloznalis has played in 16 games and started 15 of them, and her contributions to the team are evident. Thanks to her aggressive, disruptive play on the defensive side of the ball, BU has won 10 of its last 12 games, only letting up six goals during that period. Her stellar performance also has earned her a spot on the All-Patriot League First Team.
Bloznalis and fellow center back McKenzie Hollenbaugh have anchored the back line all year, as she and the senior have played a combined 2,898 minutes at this point of the season. However, Bloznalis is quick to credit starting outside backs Alivya Wimmer and Lauren MacLellan, goalkeeper Alyssa Parisi and the defensive substitutes for the Terriers’ consistent, dominant play.
“We have a lot of good leadership from our goalkeeper, Aly,” Bloznalis said. “Then the four of us [starters] and the outside back subs are really consistent and really cohesive, and the more games we play, the more comfortable we get with each other. We’re really starting to mesh well together.”
Along with the stifling defensive play, Bloznalis has also contributed on the offensive side of the ball. She excels on set pieces and corner kicks — her 44 corner kicks taken this season lead the team by a wide margin.
An example of her offensive skill came in the 61st minute of the Terriers’ win against the College of the Holy Cross on Oct. 21. With BU holding a slim 1-0 lead, Bloznalis surprised everyone and sent a free kick from 25 yards out towards goal, tucking the ball into the top left corner to notch the first goal of her collegiate career and extend the Terriers’ lead to two. The impressive goal and the strong defensive performance in the game led to Bloznalis being named the Turnpike Trophy Game MVP.
Just three days later, Bloznalis took a corner kick in the second half of a match versus the United States Military Academy, sending a beautiful cross into the box. Freshman midfielder Julianna Chen met the ball for the easy header, helping the Terriers ensure a victory.
“Offensively, she obviously has a great service,” Feldman said. “She has the ability to hit a long ball with power and distance and accuracy, and that’s a weapon, both in the run of play and on restarts.
“She’s got a great soccer future still,” Feldman added. “She’s doing a great job for us this year, [and] I think she’s learning a lot by experience. The future’s very bright for Rachel.”
Thanks to her performance in those two games, Bloznalis was named Patriot League Defender of the Week for the second time this year and helped the Terriers win their first Patriot League regular season championship. It is the first time that BU has won the league outright since joining the conference in 2013.
“It felt really good,” Bloznalis said on contributing to the regular season title. “It’s something that we’ve been trying to do for the past three years in the Patriot League, and we were the first team to do it. So it felt really special to be on the team that accomplished our goal.”
After finishing the regular season with a 10-5-3 overall record and an 8-0-1 conference record, BU will now prepare for the Patriot League Tournament at Nickerson Field. Winning another tournament championship would lead to a berth in the NCAA Tournament, which the Terriers competed in last year before getting ousted by Northeastern University in the first round.
However, Bloznalis won’t catch herself thinking too far ahead. She knows better than anyone that each game is a privilege that can be taken away at any moment.
