On Sept. 25, 1991, the NIU Huskie soccer team was hosting New Mexico State when junior midfielder Todd Moore went up in the air for a ball. He landed the wrong way and hyperextended his right knee.

Upon further examination, X-rays revealed that Moore had a torn anterior cruciate ligament.

This was a very serious injury that required surgery about nine months ago. He had to miss the rest of the season (15 games) and could not even redshirt. Moore did not even practice again until the preseason started two weeks ago.

NCAA rules state that if a player plays in more than 20 percent of the regular season games he cannot redshirt. Moore played in 21 percent of NIU’s games.

When the start of the 1992 season came around, everyone was anxious to see how Moore would perform.

Everyone was impressed to see that he had made what appeared to be a complete recovery.

After practicing for several weeks, tendonitis started acting up in the knee and Moore was advised to take it easy where running was concerned.

He missed his first practice of the year yesterday but said, “It is only precautionary. It is just a little sore. I’ll play.”

Moore is a 1989 graduate of Moline High School where his soccer team took third is the state his senior year. In the fall of that same year, he left home for NIU where he played soccer as a freshman.

“I started playing when I was six and have been playing ever since,” Moore said.

A sports business major, Moore plans to graduate in the fall of 1993. He would like to work in retail sales for a company like Nike or Reebok. In the fall of next year, since his four years of eligibility will be up, he plans on working with the team as an assistant, much like former Huskies Markus and Karsten Roy.

The team lost six starters from last season and is counting on Moore to fill the leadership roles of the Roy twins, Frank Sparacino and John Lechner. Moore, along with fellow seniors Dave Weichman and Jay Konrad, is being counted on to lead the team. This puts added pressure on Moore who is handling it very well.

“We lost a lot of experience but we have talent,” Moore said. “We just have to develop that talent.” Moore is optimistic about this year’s team and about his knee. “It’s not 100 percent yet but it’s on its way.”