The future is bright for this Port Washngton soccer star as she heads to play at Vanderbilt University

Few things are more tenuous than an elite athlete's mercurial prosperity. One moment, you could be pinching yourself as you fly up the field, living a childhood dream competing against your heroes; the next, you could be prone on your back, staring up at the bright blue sky as a trainer wipes the sweat from your brow—your future flashing before your eyes, your vision blurred by pain. Fifteen months ago, the soccer world was midfielder Eloise Rubenstein’s oyster. Elite Division I soccer coaches jockeyed for pole position in the Eloise Rubenstein recruiting race, filling her mailbox with mock jerseys and love letters, telling her that, from the Ivies to the ACC and SEC, they alone were the best place for her to take her talents. “The mail was nice,” said Rubenstein, a senior at Port Washington Schreiber High School. “Schools would send some nice packages.

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