FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – New England Revolution forward Taylor Twellman approached his concussion problems exactly how he approached his playing career.
He fought and he scrapped until the last glimmer of hope faded away.
Twellman announced his decision to end his playing career on Wednesday afternoon after nine years with the Revolution.
“It's unfortunate to lose your career to an injury,” Twellman said. “It's not a choice. I don't have a choice, unfortunately. When you're told that if you want to live your life and be healthy, then soccer needs to stop, the decision is made for me.”
WATCH: Twellman announces he's stepping off field
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Twellman departs the Revolution as one of the most formidable marksmen MLS has ever seen. The 30-year-old striker scored 101 goals in 174 games during his eight seasons with the Revs, the sixth-highest total in MLS history.
Those goals powered New England to four MLS Cup appearances between 2002 and 2007 and led to a host of personal accolades – the 2005 MVP award, two Best XI selections, five All-Star nods and 30 caps with the US national team – for the former Maryland star.
[inline_node:322471]“For me, the biggest compliment I can pay him is that in all of my time in MLS, he has been the purest and the best goal-scorer in the league without a doubt,” Revolution coach Steve Nicol said.
A promising career went off the rails from the moment Twellman collided with then-Los Angeles goalkeeper Steve Cronin on Aug. 30, 2008. The resulting concussion and associated injury at the base of his neck did not keep Twellman from playing the final eight games of the 2008 season, but the persistent symptoms restricted him to just two matches in 2009.
Twellman entered the 2010 season hoping to suit up for a ninth campaign with the Revs, but the early optimism faded after he increased the intensity of his workouts. He subsequently landed on the season-ending injury list in June and started to ponder his future with the team.
“When I was in North Carolina during the preseason, I had a pretty good workout,” Twellman said. “I thought that I had a chance at this. The moment I went from working out a little bit to stepping up and playing a little bit in possession games, I could never get there. It was like studying for an exam for eight hours. I just couldn't get there.”
With medical personnel advising him to conclude his playing career, Twellman eventually decided to stop his two-and-a-half-year battle to return to the field and move on to the next stage of his life.
“I had been fighting so hard and working out, but I am sick,” Twellman said. “I will have an injury that will be with me for the rest of my life. It's unfortunate.”
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