Many MLS observers have heard that Orlando City SC goalkeeper Mason Stajduhar has spent most of the past year successfully battling a case of Ewing’s Sarcoma, a cancerous bone tumor in his leg.
But you might not know the inside story of just how the young ‘keeper kept his professional soccer dreams alive while fighting for his life.
Yahoo! Sports columnist Eric Adelson recently spent some time with Stajduhar, and on Tuesday posted an in-depth feature about his inspiring efforts, which include a four-hour roundtrip commute between Gainesville, Florida and Orlando as he continued working out with the Lions between debilitating rounds of radiation treatment.
“It was shocking, actually,” said his teammate and fellow 'keeper Adam Grinwis.
Determined to stay on track for an MLS career despite his life-threatening condition, the 20-year-old Homegrown Player even elected to take the riskier path of radiation instead of surgery in order to avoid knee reconstruction, and thus improve his odds of staying in the game after his bout with cancer.
Stajduhar completed his chemotherapy treatment earlier this summer and continues to work towards his long-dreamed-of MLS debut; read Adelson’s full piece to learn more.
