Senior Stories: Dalton is a Tale of Reslience
10/11/2025 10:19:00 AM | Women's Soccer
By George Cronen, special to MSUSpartans.com
WILX Feature on Regan Dalton
Regan Dalton, a graduate student midfielder, has seen the game in ways that most players don't get to experience until they are done playing the sport.
But Dalton's journey to get to this point has been anything but expected. It's a tale of survival, resilience, injuries, and the focus to keep coming back to play.
Dalton came to campus during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic sports season shutdown, which pushed her freshman season back to the spring 2021 instead of the fall. However, her delayed freshman season took a significant hit when she tore her left ACL.Â
She was sidelined by the surgery, and then months of rehab, until 2022.
During that period, Michigan State's long time women's soccer coach, Tom Saxton, retired and Jeff Hosler took over as the new coach. Now Dalton had to rehab and learn what a new coach expected of her.
"I knew what her ability and potential was, but if I am being honest, I thought she had a lot of maturing and professionalism to grow into. To her credit, she did that really fast," said Hosler. "I think she needed someone to provide clear direction for what expectations were, and once she had that, everything changed quickly."
Dalton was ready to play in 2022. She made a big impact coming off the bench most of the season, but her growth not only as a player, but also as a person and leader, helped earn her the very first start of her career.Â
That start came in Michigan State's second-round matchup in the NCAA tournament against Texas Christian University on Nov. 18, 2022. While TCU went on to win that game 1-0, Dalton still was excited to get her first start.
"I honestly did not see it coming because it could be the last game we played as a team…but when he (Coach Hosler) said my name, I was just ecstatic and super pumped to help the team. It was like everything came together in that moment of me working hard and proving myself and him finally trusting me with a starting spot," said Dalton, who is a native of Rockford, Mich.
The following year she played a full season as not only a starter, but as one of the key players on a Big Ten championship-winning team. She was an integral part in what this team was trying to do on the field, and still had one more year left to keep on building the success. Â
And then, another twist in her journey happened. Thirty minutes into the 2024 season opener, Dalton tore her right ACL. The serious injury and recovery again kept her from playing the rest of the season.
"It was heartbreaking – it was a bonus year for her to come back and help lead the team to take another step forward, and then her season was cut short in the very first game," remembered Hosler. "She had been so committed and bought into what we were doing here and was such a key part to taking us in this direction.Â
"It's was a lot. It's difficult. And I think it shows her maturity to work through it and still be a leader for us throughout her rehab. It was like having an additional coach on the sideline."
Working through any major injury is difficult for a player. However, working through a second ACL tear in just a few years is brutal on mind and body.
"If I am being completely honest, athletes who suffer an ACL tear have always been a little scared whenever their knee gets hit or something happens that it is going to tear again," said Michigan State Athletic Trainer Jessica Carr, who joined the soccer program in advance of this season. Â "That is my experience with people I have worked with in the past."
Dalton refused to give up playing. She was granted a medical hardship waiver to come back for another year and is now healthy and once again participating as a leader on the field for her team.Â
The two years she has spent on the sidelines rehabbing and learning the game from a different level has given her an advantage, she thinks, and will help her explain to her teammates what needs to be done.
"I mean, it's awesome, I like teaching the game. I have a great understanding of it, and I know what Jeff wants. If my teammates ever have any questions, they can come to me and I can tell them more information," said Dalton. "I feel like I am a second person they can go to when they do not want to go to one of the coaches. It's great and being around them keeps me young."
Â
WILX Feature on Regan Dalton
Regan Dalton, a graduate student midfielder, has seen the game in ways that most players don't get to experience until they are done playing the sport.
But Dalton's journey to get to this point has been anything but expected. It's a tale of survival, resilience, injuries, and the focus to keep coming back to play.
Dalton came to campus during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic sports season shutdown, which pushed her freshman season back to the spring 2021 instead of the fall. However, her delayed freshman season took a significant hit when she tore her left ACL. She was sidelined by the surgery, and then months of rehab, until 2022.
During that period, Michigan State's long time women's soccer coach, Tom Saxton, retired and Jeff Hosler took over as the new coach. Now Dalton had to rehab and learn what a new coach expected of her.
"I knew what her ability and potential was, but if I am being honest, I thought she had a lot of maturing and professionalism to grow into. To her credit, she did that really fast," said Hosler. "I think she needed someone to provide clear direction for what expectations were, and once she had that, everything changed quickly."
Dalton was ready to play in 2022. She made a big impact coming off the bench most of the season, but her growth not only as a player, but also as a person and leader, helped earn her the very first start of her career.Â
That start came in Michigan State's second-round matchup in the NCAA tournament against Texas Christian University on Nov. 18, 2022. While TCU went on to win that game 1-0, Dalton still was excited to get her first start.
"I honestly did not see it coming because it could be the last game we played as a team…but when he (Coach Hosler) said my name, I was just ecstatic and super pumped to help the team. It was like everything came together in that moment of me working hard and proving myself and him finally trusting me with a starting spot," said Dalton, who is a native of Rockford, Mich.
The following year she played a full season as not only a starter, but as one of the key players on a Big Ten championship-winning team. She was an integral part in what this team was trying to do on the field, and still had one more year left to keep on building the success. Â
And then, another twist in her journey happened. Thirty minutes into the 2024 season opener, Dalton tore her right ACL. The serious injury and recovery again kept her from playing the rest of the season.
"It was heartbreaking – it was a bonus year for her to come back and help lead the team to take another step forward, and then her season was cut short in the very first game," remembered Hosler. "She had been so committed and bought into what we were doing here and was such a key part to taking us in this direction. "It's was a lot. It's difficult. And I think it shows her maturity to work through it and still be a leader for us throughout her rehab. It was like having an additional coach on the sideline."
Working through any major injury is difficult for a player. However, working through a second ACL tear in just a few years is brutal on mind and body.
"If I am being completely honest, athletes who suffer an ACL tear have always been a little scared whenever their knee gets hit or something happens that it is going to tear again," said Michigan State Athletic Trainer Jessica Carr, who joined the soccer program in advance of this season. Â "That is my experience with people I have worked with in the past."
Dalton refused to give up playing. She was granted a medical hardship waiver to come back for another year and is now healthy and once again participating as a leader on the field for her team.Â
The two years she has spent on the sidelines rehabbing and learning the game from a different level has given her an advantage, she thinks, and will help her explain to her teammates what needs to be done.
"I mean, it's awesome, I like teaching the game. I have a great understanding of it, and I know what Jeff wants. If my teammates ever have any questions, they can come to me and I can tell them more information," said Dalton. "I feel like I am a second person they can go to when they do not want to go to one of the coaches. It's great and being around them keeps me young."
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