BOULDER — Hannah Cardenas began her freshman season in the Black & Gold in 2017. Six years later and it’s the 2022 season and she’s still wearing ‘Colorado’ across her chest at Prentup Field.
Affectionately dubbed “Grandma,” by her teammates Cardenas is one of the longest-tenured Buffs across CU’s 15 sports.
“Everyone likes to make jokes and be like, ‘Oh you’ve been here for 10 years,'” Cardenas joked. “A lot of people think I know everything because I’ve been here for so long. I get ‘Grandma’ every once in a while. That’s not a fun one.”
Cardenas’ story isn’t so much that she has been in Boulder for more than half of head coach Danny Sanchez‘s 11-year tenure, but it’s what she’s had to overcome. Four knee surgeries to be specific.
“Three ACLs, two of them with meniscus fixes. The third one was an osteotomy with ACL and then one surgery was just a meniscus repair,” Cardenas rattled off like a shopping list.
The 2017 season saw Cardenas’ career shine bright with promise. She started all 22 matches as a freshman and was second on the team with 1,948 minutes played. The defender helped CU to a school record 14 shutouts as the Buffs advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Cardenas opened the first three games of 2018, just as she finished the previous season. Three matches. Three shutouts. But then her season came to a halt, watching the remainder of the year from the sidelines.
“The first one [injury] was probably the worst one I ever had,” Cardenas recalled. “The initial shock of having to go through something you’ve never gone through before is always the worst thing. It always feels like ‘oh, that’s the worst thing you’ll ever experience.’ Emotionally that hit me hard. I never had a huge injury or surgery until that point.”
She was able to get a redshirt for the 2018 season and was back in full for the 2019 season. Cardenas helped lead the Buffs back to the NCAA Tournament, once again starting every match and leading the team in minutes.
Cardenas suffered a second ACL injury in the spring of 2020 that would have kept her off the field before COVID-19. But when the pandemic forced fall sports into the spring of 2021 it afforded her extra time to rehab and recover.
Cardenas’ first appearance of her junior year came after being cleared midway through the postponed season. She…
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