Sports of all Sorts: Former Mamaroneck Star Makes Comeback

It was a moment that will forever be frozen in Shane Ferguson's mind – even though it happened in a split second.

The former Mamaroneck High School star was playing in just his third game as a member of Springfield College men's lacrosse team. Though brand-new to the program after transferring from Stony Brook University, Ferguson was a key member of a four-player rotation at midfielder.

In his first game with the Pride, he scored two goals in a 17-8 win over Gordon College. In his second game, a loss to national power Nazareth, he saw significant action, with two of his shots in the pipe of the goal before bounding out. In that third game, which wound up being an 8-3 victory against Endicott College on March 3, he had already scored a goal when the fateful play occurred in the second half.

"I was playing defense at the time and I stripped the ball from the kid," said Ferguson, a 5-foot-10 sophomore. "After I cleared it, I gave it to a long pole (defenseman) and he scored."

Then a teammate rushed over to congratulate Ferguson on making the play that led to the goal.

 "I kind of got head butted by my own teammate," Ferguson said. "It was a celebratory thing, instead of chest bumping. He wound up getting me me in the jaw."

At first, Ferguson thought he hurt one of his teeth.

"I came off the field and took my helmet off to check and see if I chipped my tooth or cracked one of my back teeth," he said. "That's all I thought it was, and I was ready to go back on the field for another run."

But Springfield's trainer knew otherwise.

"She said, 'You better stay here.' She knew right away it was broken. After a minute, it swelled up and I couldn't move my jaw."

Ferguson got the official diagnosis – a broken jaw – the next day.

"I didn't know till the next day after I got my X-rays and after I saw a specialist," Ferguson said. "He told me I wouldn't be fully recovered by the end of the season."

With the news began Ferguson's road to recovery. It's one that has gone well, although it has not been without sacrifices.

"I was on a liquid diet for five weeks, then I moved to soft food," he said. "I just started eating regular food."

And what was the first "regular food" he had?

" I had steak," he said.

That meal was a long time coming.

"They kept it [the jaw] pretty much shut with heavy elastics for the first four weeks," Ferguson said. "By week four I didn't have to wear, any elastics, and I was able to take the metal bars they put in out of my mouth last Friday [May 21]."

The initial liquid diet Ferguson was on evolved as the weeks went on.

"First, I started off with milkshakes with whey protein and stuff like that," he said. "I then actually started blending food, like grilled chicken in a blender and had that."

Ferguson is expected to be able to return to action by the end of the summer, in plenty of time before the start of fall practice at Springfield.

Because of the injury, he's been granted an extra year of eligibility.

"Being part of the team definitely helped me get adjusted, even though I couldn't play," Ferguson said. "I would help with the goalies and shoot on them and I would help with the offense. One of our  [assistant] coaches is just out of college. So I threw ideas out for man-up plays and helped him out."

Ferguson also decided on a major.

"I switched from phys-ed  to rehab and disability studies," he said. "It has a focus in child development, helping kids with autism, cerebral palsy and special education."