UMass Lowell lacrosse player scores goal in first game after losing part of leg

LOWELL, Mass. – A UMass Lowell lacrosse player is over the moon after scoring a goal in her first game back after losing her leg two years ago.

Noelle Lambert as was the top scoring player before the traumatic injury in 2016. Now she’s back on the field and striving despite what she went through.

“People are going to call me an inspiration, but I wouldn't be able to do anything without my teammates or my family,” Lambert said.

The star athlete’s left leg was amputated above the knee after a moped accident on Martha’s Vineyard.

“I woke up in the hospital and I had this mindset where I was going to try to come back. I wanted to be able to come back,” she said.

It took work every day, to stand, to run, to train through the pain leading up to Saturday's game against Hartford. Her coaches provided support every day.

“You want to give her a free pass a little bit. You want to say no, you can take this rep off. But I gave her what she wanted and I started treating her like every other teammate,” coach Carissa Medeiros said.

Each of the shots Lambert took in her return made the crowd erupt. The reaction to her goal was pure bliss.

“It was a tough. I had to fight back a few tears so I could continue to coach the game,” Medeiros said.

The video has since been making the rounds on the web and social media. That moment and Lambert's attitude are inspiring thousands.

“As tough as this accident has been I really think it has changed my life for the better,” Lambert said.

Lambert said she's learned to value life and to take each day one at a time.

She'll be joining marathon bombing survivor Heather Abbott in a ceremony before an upcoming Red Sox game.

She's also starting a foundation to help others with prosthetics.

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