100 Percent

Coming back from an injury is one of the hardest things to do in the sports world. 

But to come back from two major injuries? Only some of the toughest people can do that, and Aggie soccer senior midfielder Andersen Williams knows quite a few things about having to be tough. 

“She’s tougher than me,” Aggie head coach G Guerrieri said. “To go through what she’s been through and the piece of hardware that they pulled out of her knee, if you look at it, you’re like oh my gosh. To have to walk with that in her knee for the last couple of years shows how tough she is. But now to finally see her moving free is pretty amazing.”

Since joining the Texas A&M roster in 2020, Williams has undergone four surgeries, all on her right knee. She tore her ACL her freshman year in the home opener against Ole Miss. Just under a year later, she tore her ACL again in the same knee in 2021 while warming up for an exhibition match. Williams’s mental toughness had to go up another notch to get through that second ACL injury.

“It was tougher mentally than it was physically,” the Calgary, Alberta, native recalled. “I knew what to expect and the steps of rehab were similar, but mentally it was a little bit scarier because the risks are higher now. But I had a lot more confidence in my knee and in the surgery.”

Williams was a highly-touted prospect playing for the Vancouver Whitecaps Girls Elite REX program when she caught the eye of the Texas A&M coaching staff. She opened a new recruiting pipeline for the Aggies, becoming the just the second Canadian player in program history and first since 2012. She is one of three players on the 2023 roster from Western Canada, including Mia Pante and Jazmine Wilkinson.

Before arriving to A&M, Williams saw action with the Canada U18 National Team. She was a part of the fourth-place team at the 2018 U17 Women’s World Cup in Uruguay, scoring a goal in the opening match against Colombia. Williams also notched a 90th-minute, game-winning goal against Haiti at the 2018 CONCACAF U17 Championship. Williams was named Most Promising Female Player by the Vancouver Whitecaps in 2019.

“Andersen is the original.” Guerrieri said. “She’s the first one that we noticed from Canada and she’s the one that her teammates from Canada followed. She is one of the most intelligent and mature players we have. The rest of the team really looks up to her for wisdom and incredible soccer IQ.” 

The rehabilitation process for both of Williams’s injuries were lengthy, but the people she had with her along the way made the process better. Williams went through the daily grind with associate athletics director Sheri Walters, who oversees Texas A&M’s physical therapy and Olympic sports athletic training. Every day they worked to achieve little goals as she repossessed her mobility one step at a time.

“It was long and tedious, but Sheri is amazing.” Williams said. “You can’t really ask for a better person to be with you on that journey. Going through rehab the first time, you don’t know what it’s going to look like, how it’s going to feel, or knowing when or not to push through. But the second time, you know what’s coming next and what you’re aiming for. So, it’s easier to make a path for yourself in your head.” 

The growth that Williams has gained over the years while going through her injuries is evident to her teammates.

“I’ve played with Andi since I was 15 and she’s done a really good job with adapting,” Pante said. “She’s someone to look up to on the team with all the challenges that she’s faced. I can see her motivation and drive. She wants it now more than ever. She’s had to work so hard for it and she’s not going to let down any time soon.”

As she slowly worked back to 100 percent, Williams played 17 games last year. A long time coming, she scored her first career goal against Georgia.

In the Aggies’ SEC Tournament match against Mississippi State, she showed she was fully recovered, playing a career-high 82 minutes.

Early this season Williams has taken on a 12th Man role, earning a spot in the first substitution wave in each of the three matches. She is averaging 56 minutes per match, up from 26 in 2022, including 75 minutes in the Aggies’ 1-1 tie against Baylor in front of 6,734 fans, the second-largest crowd in program history.

“Andi is somebody who can play anywhere that we have a need,” Guerrieri said. “For Team Canada, she was a true winger. I’ve seen her play as a wide defender for Whitecaps. She’s played as a central midfielder for us in the past. She’s very technical and poised in front of goal, so that’s where we’ve used her early this year. Andi is so valuable because she isn’t pinned into one option to get on the field. Now she’s as healthy as we’ve ever seen her. I’m really excited for what this year can be for her.”