Friday was the first time since the injury that she was able to run, and the brief session provided the same sort of euphoria Loizeaux experiences when scoring a big goal, which happened frequently during her first two high school seasons.

"I ran for three minutes and was so happy with it," Loizeaux said. "I was smiling all day."

Loizeaux is determined to be better than ever, which would be saying something since she is considered among the better junior lacrosse players in the country.

She is so highly touted that Loizeaux made an oral commitment to attend the University of Virginia in November even though she can't officially sign until this November. Loizeaux chose the Atlantic Coast Conference school over Johns Hopkins.

Virginia will be getting a prolific scorer.

Last season, she had 69 goals and 22 assists for a 14-5 Clearview team that ended up No. 3 in The Inquirer's Super Six lacrosse poll.

During the summer, she participated in several tournaments with many of the top players in the country, receiving added exposure.

Loizeaux received her start in lacrosse when her father, Steve, a former player at Fairleigh Dickinson in Madison, N.J., began the Clearview Youth Lacrosse program because her older brother wanted to play.

With no girls' team at the time, Loizeaux began playing in fourth grade against the guys, who were in fifth and sixth grade.

It didn't matter.

She was the high scorer a few years and played against the guys through eighth grade.

"By seventh and eighth grade the guys were getting bigger, and it was tougher, but I loved it," she said.

And Loizeaux never looked for preferential treatment.

"There were a number of times against the guys that she would get hit real hard and to her credit she got up, dusted herself off and went right back at it," Steve Loizeaux said.

There is a chance that Loizeaux could play this spring for Clearview, but she said she is going to be intelligent about any potential comeback.

"I want to be sensible about, it and I am not going to rush anything," she said. "If I can play, that would be great, but the most important thing is to get back to 100 percent."

Since her Nov. 25 surgery, Loizeaux has been diligently attending her rehabilitation sessions, going through the necessary but monotonous exercises.

The fact that she got to finally run, even for three minutes, was yet another encouraging sign along this long road back. And as frustrating as this ordeal has been, she has taken a practical look at the situation.

"Everything happens for a reason," she said.

Loizeaux was injured on Nov. 8 while playing in a tournament and immediately did the honorable thing by texting the schools that were recruiting her to tell them about her situation. She didn't want to mislead any schools, but their response was simple: Just get better. We still want you.

"They said that since I called them they wanted me even more," she said.

Even though NCAA rules prohibit a school from commenting on a player until they sign a national letter of intent, one has to believe that Virginia is as pleased with Loizeaux's character as her ability to put the ball in the back of the net.

In both instances, there is a lot to be pleased about.

Contact staff writer Marc Narducci at 856-779-3225 or mnarducci@phillynews.com.