Ever heard of the term ‘gamer’? As in: Karin Simonian is a gamer.

Well, she is. So if you’ve ever seen Simonian (#6 2011 Top 100) play for Albertson SC you understand the term even if you don’t know it.

A gamer is a competitor; a fighter; a willing teammate.

Or, put another way … Simonian tore the anterior labrum in her right shoulder last January, which hurt a little, as you can imagine. She fell awkwardly and felt the shoulder pop out of place.

Now most of us, at that point, would be on the sidelines with a juice box and some Icy Hot rooting on our teammates. Simonian, on the other hand, simply got the injury wrapped and continued playing … for six months!

In April, the doctor gave Simonian a brace that prevented the shoulder from popping out and allowed her to finish playing the spring season.

And it wasn’t until she finally had surgery in July that the 5-foot-1 fireball allowed herself time to recuperate (the doctor’s likely forced her will).

Now, just in case you haven’t put it together - that’s a gamer.

“It was probably the hardest part of my career,” said Simonian, who will attend Notre Dame this fall. “The brace made it very uncomfortable to play. Now my goal is to improve my fitness since I am recovering from surgery and was not able to play for three months. I know I need to work extra hard to get my endurance back.”

Simonian is coming off a season in which she helped her U17 Albertson squad win its ECNL B bracket, promoting the squad to bracket A.

Her return to form will mean a return to the playmaker that can create a variety of problems for opposing teams. She’s a compact yet powerful striker of the ball who proves that big things do in fact come in small packages. She can let it rip from distance, yet she also excels at distributing the ball and attacking in the middle of the field – her favorite spot.

But it’s that toughness and I’m-playing-no-matter-what attitude that makes Simonian such an asset to U18 teammates like Meredith Speck, Deanna Murino, Amanda Moschella, Taylor Katz and Megan Hunsberger.  

Simonian’s fire in the belly was stoked at an early age when she realized she was typically the smallest player on the field.

“I refused to allow my size to limit my ability to play at the highest level,” Simonian said. “I have played up (in age groups) for many years. I started training and playing with high school and college players in the eighth grade with the WPSL team, LI Fury. I’ve played with the Albertson Club for three years, and two years ago I started playing with my age group for the first time since U9.”

The highlights are many for Simonian, who has played on both regional and national squads over the years. One game in particular, though, says a lot about both her ability and mentality.

A couple of years back her high school team in Westbury, New York, W.T. Clarke, was trailing by four goals at halftime. Twenty-five minutes later, Simonian had scored five goals to give her team the lead and the eventual victory.

She’s that tough, and that dangerous.

“I never give up and I never quit,” Simonian. “I have been passionate about this sport for as long as I can remember. I have always been very competitive and I am driven by the fact that I want to be the best player on the field.”

Sounds like a gamer to me.