Sydney Magliocca Felix Joyner interview on knee recovery

The Sydney Magliocca Felix Joyner interview covers a return to soccer less than 11 months after Magliocca tore her ACL, MCL, LCL, meniscus and PLC. Speaking with Joyner for MILLIONS, she also explained why she left the University of South Alabama, how a coach brought her to Coastal Carolina University and why she hopes to play professionally in Europe or Canada.

What did Sydney Magliocca say about her college soccer career?

Sydney Magliocca began soccer at 12 in Montreal, signed with the University of Southern Mississippi at 17 and arrived for the fall 2022 season. A foot fracture cut short her freshman year, and she later took a redshirt season before transferring to the University of South Alabama, where she became a starter.

From figure skating in Montreal to Southern Mississippi

Magliocca grew up in an athletic family and figure skated from age four to 12. She holds citizenship in Canada and Italy, and her father encouraged her to try soccer. She enjoyed it immediately and moved onto the competitive side of the sport. By 16, agents had begun introducing her to the possibility of playing college soccer in the United States, an option she had not known much about at home.

Travel restrictions during the COVID period made it harder to understand what college athletics would be like. She first played a year of college athletics in Canada, then went to Southern Mississippi. Magliocca said she made close friends and was earning minutes as a freshman before breaking her foot around the end of September.

A redshirt season and a move to South Alabama

After her foot healed, Magliocca dealt with shin splints and underwent tests while trying to establish what was causing her symptoms. Living far from her family added to the strain. She chose to redshirt during her sophomore fall so she could recover without preparing for games and reset mentally, though she continued training with the team.

She described that break as one of her best decisions for her confidence. By the following spring she was starting, but she wanted a different competitive setting. With several teammates transferring and uncertainty about whether her coach would return, she entered the transfer portal after her sophomore year. At South Alabama, she became a starter in her junior year and said she enjoyed playing through the fall, spring and summer.

How did Sydney Magliocca return from her knee injury?

Sydney Magliocca returned to soccer in less than 11 months after tearing her ACL, MCL, LCL, meniscus and PLC during her 2025 senior season at South Alabama. She had surgery on October 7 and said she was cleared in time to play three games before her goal of returning for conference play.

The injury happened on September 21, about nine games into the season, while South Alabama was playing Southern Mississippi. Magliocca said a former teammate fell on top of her during a corner kick. The damage brought her season to an early end and left her facing both surgery and uncertainty about where she would play next.

Recovery was not a straight line. Magliocca said that for nine of the roughly 11 months before her return, she was being told she was behind. She kept conference play as her target rather than treating those assessments as the end of her attempt to return. Once cleared, she focused on increasing her minutes game by game and received permission to stop wearing her knee brace.

Why did Sydney Magliocca transfer to Coastal Carolina University?

Sydney Magliocca transferred after her South Alabama coach advised her, roughly three weeks after knee surgery, to medically retire or enter the transfer portal if she wanted to keep playing. She found a coach who believed she could return, committed to play for him and followed him to Coastal Carolina University when he changed schools.

Recruiting while recovering from surgery

Magliocca still had a season available because of her earlier redshirt. She said searching for another school while on crutches was the hardest experience of her life. Rather than rushing the decision, she took time to find a coach she felt could see beyond her injury. Shortly after she committed, he called to say he was moving schools and asked her to come with him.

Playing South Alabama again

At Coastal Carolina, Magliocca got to face South Alabama and see her former teammates, trainer and coach. She said the game ended in a tie and that she was glad to play. She was also looking forward to facing Southern Mississippi, the opponent in the game when she injured her knee, and seeing more former teammates there.

Beyond finishing the season, Magliocca hopes to play professionally in Europe. Her citizenship in Canada and Italy could be useful if that opportunity arises. She also expressed interest in playing in the NSL in Canada and said she believes she is strong enough to compete there.

What did Sydney Magliocca say about moving from Canada to Mississippi?

Sydney Magliocca said moving from Montreal to Mississippi meant adjusting to a slower pace, studying in English for the first time and living far from her family. Her teammates helped her feel at home by inviting her to Thanksgiving and Easter, while soccer took her to places she had never expected to visit.

French-language schooling and new families

Magliocca had done her schooling in French, so the move to English-language classes was her biggest initial worry. She said she adapted well academically but noticed the contrast between fast-paced downtown Montreal and life in Mississippi and Alabama. She also found the warmth she had heard associated with the American South to be real.

Without family nearby for holidays, she accepted invitations from teammates. Magliocca said those connections left her with five or six families she could call on and who would welcome her. Among the places she appreciated visiting through soccer were Jackson, Mississippi, Gulfport, Orange Beach and the Panhandle.

Her Raising Cane’s order

Asked about food in the South, Magliocca picked Raising Cane’s. She singled out the Texas toast, the chicken and the sauce, saying she liked that the chicken was not heavily breaded.

What advice did Sydney Magliocca give athletes recovering from injury?

Sydney Magliocca urged injured athletes to trust the recovery process, listen to their bodies and keep ownership of their goals. She said setbacks can be a signal to slow down rather than proof that a return is impossible, drawing on her own experience of being told she was behind schedule.

Magliocca’s clearest message to athletes facing doubt was:

Nobody is going to want it more than yourself.

She argued that other people’s opinions should not determine whether an athlete keeps working toward a goal. At the same time, she cautioned against forcing the pace when the body needs more time. Her own target was conference play; reaching the field three games earlier made her proud, but she presented that result as part of a recovery that required patience as well as effort.

Why did Sydney Magliocca choose soccer instead of hockey?

Sydney Magliocca chose soccer at 12 after years of encouragement from her father, rather than moving from figure skating into hockey. She said soccer had long been part of her family’s Italian culture, and that her father had been asking her to try it since she was about five.

She had spent much of her childhood figure skating in Canada. When she eventually agreed to try soccer, she loved it and quickly advanced to competitive play. Magliocca credited her father’s persistent encouragement for the choice that led to her college career.

Who is Sydney Magliocca?

Sydney Magliocca is a Division I college soccer player associated with Coastal Carolina University and an alum of the University of South Alabama women’s soccer program. She is also a biomedical sciences honors graduate. Her recovery has involved injuries to her ACL, meniscus, MCL, LCL and PLC.