Katie Hallingstad always considered herself equally adept with both her right foot and her left foot when it came to playing soccer.

This past season, she found out she could be pretty adept playing on just one good foot.Despite competing almost the entire season with a stress fracture in her right foot, the Northwestern junior managed an incredible 36 goals and 12 assists in 22 games.Hallingstad's ability to ravage opposing defenses earned her the TIMES NEWS Girls Soccer Player of the Year award. But it was her willpower to play that might have been even more impressive than her firepower when she was playing."My foot was giving me problems early in the season and I had it checked a couple of times," explained Hllingstad. "I saw a doctor and had it x-rayed, but they couldn't find anything so I kept playing. It just kept giving me more and more trouble so I went back to the doctor and this time they did an MRI and found out it was a stress fracture."Hallingstad was relieved to finally find out what the problem was, but wasn't happy with the suggested solution."The doctor told me I could play on it, but he wouldn't advise it," explained Hallingstad. "The foot was already pretty weak and I understood that it was only going to get better if I stopped playing. But that wasn't something I wanted to do."With Northwestern in the midst of what turned out to be an outstanding 18-5 season, and both the Colonial League and District 11 playoffs on the horizon, Hallingstad opted for a compromise."It was decided that I could play games, but not practice," she said. "I was also told to try not to overdo it during games."Despite the injury, Hallingstad never missed a beat. The Tiger forward helped her team to a Colonial League championship with playoff victories over Saucon Valley and Bangor. Then, in the quarterfinal round of the District 11 Class AA Tournament, Hallingstad scored four goals as Northwestern routed Palisades, 7-0."Katie's season was definitely hindered by the stress fracture," said Northwestern coach Kelly Bleam. "Unfortunately her playing time and practice time was restricted due to the need for rest and recovery throughout the season."But despite the pain she was in, she worked hard all season long. Not only did she continue to play, but she continued to play very well."Hallingstad entered Northwestern's D-11 semifinal matchup with Allentown Central Catholic riding the emotional high of her four-goal outburst against Palisades and the momentum of three straight Tiger victories in the postseason. It didn't take long for all that to change, however.Hallingstad's right foot finally had enough. Just minutes into the game with the Vikings, she suffered a broken bone.Bleam said that Hallingstad's reaction to the injury spoke volumes about the type of leader and team player she is."When Katie was being taken of the field after she broke her foot during the district semifinal game, she looked at me with tears of pain running down her face and said only four words ...'I am so sorry,'" recalled Bleam. "Her passion for her sport and team is so admirable. Despite her injury, Katie's only concern was the team and how she felt like she was letting everyone down by getting hurt."Although still wearing a walking boot on her injured foot, Hallingstad is already thinking about next year."It was really tough watching from the sideline as we lost in overtime to both Central Catholic (D-11 semifinals) and Southern Lehigh (D-11 consolation)," said Hallingstad. "It was very frustrating just sitting there during those close games and knowing that I couldn't get out there to help my teammates."But I think getting so close to the state playoffs and falling short will be great motivation for our team next year. We have so many talented players and we have such great coaching, I'm already looking forward to it. I can't wait to get this boot off and start preparing for next season."As impressive as Hallingstad's performance was this year on just one good foot, it's scary to think what she might be able to accomplish next year on two.Once her stress fracture is healed, it will more than likely be opposing defenses who will be feeling the stress.