33° Complete Forecast

Check out our new sports blog!
Stamford Sports Scene

This is the story of two soccer players, each playing the game they love so much in the only way they knew how.

Their biographies are so vastly different, but it was what they had in common, their sport, that brought them together on a soccer field in Andover, Mass., last week.

In the most horrifying literal sense, it was the two of them coming together that makes this story a tragedy; a terrible, all-out collision that, in a split second, stopped their worlds and, perhaps, changed their lives forever.

This is a tale of James Hilaire, a 22-year-old college senior who played goalkeeper for the University of New Haven and was considered one of the best Division II players in the country. Born in Haiti, his family found their way to Stamford, where he played soccer for four years as a proud member of the Stamford High Black Knights. As part of life's road trip, Hilaire found himself as UNH where he was a top-notch student, majoring in criminal justice.

But this story is also about another young man, 17-year-old Robbie Sabadoz, a high-scoring and highly talented midfielder from north of the border; Ottawa, Ontario, to be exact; who shunned his native land's penchant for hockey to excel and shine in his own beloved soccer. While younger than most of his classmates and teammates, his skills were far more mature and he exploded onto the scene at Merrimack College by scoring nine goals in his first 10 games as a college athlete.

Then, with 27 minutes left in their game against each other on Wednesday, Sept. 23, Hilaire and Sabadoz -- uniform Nos. 1 and 11, respectively -- became more than just casual soccer opponents.

According to a report in the Lawrence (Mass.) Eagle Tribune, in a terrifying collision in front of the New Haven goal Sabadoz's knee reportedly connected with Hilaire's head, breaking the New Haven's goalkeeper's jaw and rendering him unconscious on the field.

The game was immediately stopped, frozen in time and Merrimack -- thanks to Sabadoz's three goals -- was awarded a 3-0 victory that suddenly no longer mattered.

Hilaire was initially taken by ambulance to a Lawrence, Mass., hospital. From there, he was airlifted to the Boston Medical Center with what was termed, "life-threatening injuries."

Since then, he's been "sedated" in the hospital's Surgical Intensive Care Unit, the largest 24-hour Level 1 trauma center in New England.

According to a posting on the UNH Web site Monday, "James remains listed in critical condition in the surgical intensive care unit at BMC. It is important to understand that this type of injury does require a lot of time to improve and heal; therefore it is not uncommon for James' reported condition ("critical") to remain the same for days. It is not an indication that things are neither improving nor declining. James had another comfortable night and he is resting comfortably."

Two soccer players, one field, one collision.

Two lives changed.

Over the weekend, while Hilaire was surrounded by family members, his coaching staff and some teammates, in the hospital Sabadoz was back on the field against St. Rose. But don't think the play hasn't had a lasting effective on him.

Merrimack coach Anthony Martone, who would neither confirm nor deny that Sabadoz was the player involved, said in an e-mail to The Stamford Times, "My player has taken this situation very hard."

I can only imagine.

Injuries happen every day in sports.

Some are worse than others. Some knock players out of games, some end their seasons, even others -- thankfully so few and far between -- alter the course of the roads these players are traveling.

Here's hoping both James Hilaire and Robbie Sabadoz can overcome those few seconds on the soccer field when two worlds collided and two lives were changed.


John Nash is The Stamford Times sports editor. He can be reached at 354-1051, or by e-mail at johnnash@ thestamfordtimes.com.

COMMENTING RULES: We encourage an open exchange of ideas in The Stamford Times community, but we ask you to follow our guidelines. Basically, be civil, smart, on-topic and free from profanity. Don't say anything you wouldn't want your mother to read! And remember: We may miss some, so we need your help to police these comments. Please identify the comment, the story and why you think it's objectionable.
Read the commenting guidelines

Add a new comment