These last couple of years have been hard on everyone. That is a statement most would agree with, but maybe no more than Ulysses Vega of Sonoma State Soccer. The current leading scorer for the Seawolves has dealt with a lot of adversity in the past few years.

Vega, like everyone else, could not play in 2020 due to the season’s suspension. But he was also unable to play in 2021 due to a hip injury. For two years Vega did not get to play the game “his whole life was dedicated to”.

The road to recovery was not easy. Vega, who is a very “hard worker,” found it difficult to stay motivated. Vega put it this way, “When the injury happened, I lost the motivation to stay in shape. For a while, when I first found out, I was kind of skipping the gym, and I would always get to the gym every day and I kind of started skipping it.”

The rehab was tough. Vega detailed the rehab process, “Some of the stuff was super annoying, but it had to be done.” All of the tedious rehab ended up paying off. Vega shared the most satisfying thing about his return, “First game back, I scored. I was super happy in that moment because, you know, I prayed to god. It was my first college game in two years, and I get a goal and an assist, and I was hoping I would play well, and I did, so I was super excited.”

Vega did his best to keep his mind sharp for the moment he had been waiting for. During his downtime during his recovery, he watched various soccer-related videos. Vega shared some details on the videos, “I have a lot of highlight videos that I created of myself and when I would miss a game or like to play and I couldn’t. Mentally I would be like man I miss playing so I would just watch my old clips and even just watching my favorite team, Barcelona. It just helps me keep my head there and be like, ok, I’m gonna come back, be the best version of myself and help my team be the best.”

Vega lost the 2020 season due to covid and missed the 2021 season with the hip injury. What else could go wrong? He also was involved in a very scary car accident in October 2020. When asked about it, Vega had this to say, “I was in my hometown. This guy was like drunk driving in the opposite lane he was supposed to be on, and I was turning left, and the speed limit was 15, I believe, or 20, and I was turning left, and the light turned green, and all I remember was waking up in a hospital. From the accident itself, I don’t remember anything. I’m just completely blanking.”

Head coach Marcus Zeimer has noticed how much Vega has grown as a person throughout the years of all his adversity. When asked, Zeimer said, “He’s matured a lot, he’s become a disciplined student, he takes care of business. He has really progressed nicely. He’s a nice young man.” Zeimer also noted how great of a teammate and player Vega is. He is known for cracking jokes with his team.