Whenever someone hears the initials KFC, he or she is more likely to think about greasy fried chicken or biscuits and mashed potatoes. For the members of the Sacramento State women’s soccer team, it has a different meaning altogether.

The “Knee Freaking Crew,” or KFC for short, was a nickname created by members of the team who suffered significant knee injuries. And, unfortunately for the Hornets, that number has been pretty high over the last couple of years.

“There’s 10 of us on the team who have done something to their knees,” Erin Tarantino, freshman forward, said.

Tarantino and several other injured players originally came up with the idea for the crew last season at the airport where they were waiting for the rest of the team to arrive from a game at Weber State. Injured players do not travel with the team, and Tarantino said she and the other injured Hornets would meet the team at the airport every time they returned from road trips.

“We would make signs,” Tarantino said. “I dressed up as Herky one time and surprised them all.”

Sophomore forward Danielle Holloway said the “freaking” was added because there were a lot of injured Hornet players.

“It was a freaking big crew,” Holloway said.

Instead of letting the name fade into memory as part of an amusing night, the players decided to take it even further. They created a group on Facebook specifically for the crew.

“We sent out that Facebook group to everyone at Sac State that plays a sport (and has) hurt their knee,” said junior midfielder Rebeccah Phillips.

The crew was then immortalized in athletic gear: Phillips made 10 armbands over the summer with the group’s initials and distributed them to her teammates.

Hornets coach Randy Dedini said he knew a little bit about the knee crew, but hadn’t really looked into it.

“I just think it’s kind of a neat, cool thing,” Dedini said. “Our girls are funny like that.”

Although the knee crew has been a humorous and fun creation for the team, the members have benefited greatly from their shared adversity. Phillips, Holloway and Tarantino all rehabilitated anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears together while sitting out all of last year.

“It really helped having people to work out with and work out against,” Holloway said.

“Those girls are so competitive; I can see them making a competition out of it. You know – who’s farthest along in their rehab and who’s doing better,” Dedini said. “I think it helped them all.”

ACL tears happen very frequently in women’s sports, especially in soccer. According to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, women soccer players are four times more likely to suffer an ACL injury than male soccer players. Tarantino said one out of every three women’s soccer players will have a major knee injury, and it usually occurs in the leg players use to turn and pivot with. That would explain why every player, with the exception of senior forward Kayelyn Satkowski, has torn the ACL in her left leg.

Dedini said he has tried to limit injuries in practice by not allowing the girls to go hard after balls that are up for grabs.

“We don’t want to see any of them get hurt in practice,” Dedini said.

Rehabilitation of knee injuries can be a long and grueling process for any person, but Dedini said it is even more difficult for athletes. For ACL tears, rehabilitation takes nearly an entire year to complete from the time an injury takes place until players can resume normal playing activities.

“The first week you do not think you’re going to get through that,” Holloway said.

Holloway also said players who have not been part of the crew don’t understand how hard it is to come back from an ACL tear.

“It’s a really humbling experience,” Holloway said. “It’s something that you don’t want everyone to go through.”

And as the rehabilitation process progresses and players are able to become more active, Tarantino said every step is huge.

“Even jogging is such a big deal,” Tarantino said.

After their bodies have healed and they can resume playing, Dedini said players must still overcome the mental hurdle of playing without fear of re-injury.

“Getting to the point where you can play without thinking about it is a big step in their rehab process,” Dedini said. “You go through a year of rehab and you start playing hard again, and the last thing you want to do is go back there.”

Phillips said she was a little worried the first week of practice, but was able to forget about it soon afterwards.

“I don’t even notice anymore,” Phillips said.

Phillips, Holloway and Tarantino have all made full recoveries, but must still wear knee braces for every game this season. The braces are expensive, ranging in price from $1,500 to $2,000, but the cost is covered by insurance. That is probably most beneficial for senior defender Katie Burton, who broke three knee braces so far this season. And although the players say they have adjusted to using the braces, they have had their share of problems with them.

“You have to pull it up all the time,” Phillips said. “You get bruises, you get blisters.”

“I still have bruises all over my leg,” Holloway said. “I can’t wait to get it off.”

After going through so much trouble to return, the players have become a little bit superstitious when it comes to injury. Tarantino said she always has to wear an accessory on her left side, usually a wristband. Phillips, on the other hand, has incorporated the crew into her own little superstition.

“I wear my KFC band for every game,” she said. “I have to.”

And if you want to find out what it’s like to wear a knee brace, don’t even dream of trying one on around any of them.

“No one can try it on,” Phillips said. “That’s just dumb because then they’re going to hurt themselves.”

Even Dedini, who said he is not superstitious about injuries, takes issue with anyone trying on a knee brace when it’s not needed.

“You don’t even want to try it,” Dedini said. “That could be bad karma there.”

Fernando Gallo can be reached at [email protected]