The road back: Izzi Howard returns for 'Jackets after second torn ACL

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Evan O’Kelly Director of Communications O: (406) 657-2130 E: evan.okelly@msubillings.edu Thursday, September 3, 2015 The road back: Izzi Howard returns for ‘Jackets after second torn ACL

MSUB senior Elizabeth Howard returns to the field in 2015 after fighting through a torn ACL in the offseason, a familiar battle she conquers for a second time.

MSUB SPORTS – In the very first preseason scrimmage of 2015 for the Montana State University Billings women’s soccer team, senior midfielder Elizabeth Howard made a statement.

Creating space with the ball from around 30 yards away from the goal, she unleashed a laser-like shot that buzzed past the Sheridan goalkeeper and into the net. The shot was perfectly placed, coming off the foot of one of the Yellowjackets’ most technically skilled players.

Within the context of MSUB’s 2015 season, the goal was little more than the result of good ball movement and creating a scoring opportunity. It was not counted on Howard’s stat sheet, nor was the victorious result for the team counted towards the Yellowjackets’ regular season record.

But for Howard, the sight of the ball piercing the nylon net held a much deeper meaning. Ten months after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee, it was evidence that she had returned to full strength.

Deeper still, 21 years into her life it was symbolic of her consistent ability to overcome adversity and uncertainty and thrive.

STREET BALL Howard hails from Bristol, England, where she grew up in a world surrounded by boys playing soccer – or as it is traditionally referred to in Europe as “football” – in the streets. Maturing at a young age, Howard quickly adopted independent characteristics as she was raised only by her mother, Alison Hambridge. Ultimately, it was her and her partner Pete Hale who generously made it possible for Howard to pursue her career overseas in the U.S.

Howard sneaking a soccer ball into school so she could play during recess.

“My father passed away when I was three, and without realizing it I grew up doing everything that he used to do as a kid,” Howard commented on her late father Glenn. “He and I were inseparable, and I really latched onto all of his characteristics.”

Without a father figure in her early life, Howard had to learn to stick up for herself. Naturally, she turned to the constant “kickabouts” with neighborhood kids as an outlet to stay active. “I lived in the inner city, so we didn’t have woods to explore,” Howard said. “We would just play in the street and try not to have our footballs confiscated by the neighbors.”

Sometimes using dust bins as goalposts, wherever there was room for 10 or more people there was room for an impromptu game.

Often times, however, Howard would find herself as the lone female in the group, anxiously looking on as the boys divided up sides without so much as acknowledging her presence. “They would just see this girl hanging out around them and think it was strange,” Howard recalled. “It took a while before they actually let me play.”

Howard would stand along the side of the field, anticipating a ball being cleared out of play that she could retrieve. She figured that if she could boot it back strongly enough, her fellow 10-year-olds of the opposite gender might recognize her ability and welcome her to join the game.

When Howard was eventually allowed to join the action, it was not without visible reluctance and criticism from many of her male counterparts. The boys refused to go easy on “Izzi”, perhaps even offering an extra elbow to the ribs than they otherwise would have in an attempt to prove their dull point that she didn’t belong.

The extra bruises added to her character and the dissenting language broadened her vocabulary. None of it bothered Howard; the pitch was where she belonged.

KICKING IT UP A NOTCH While opportunities for girls to play football were limited, Howard eventually abandoned the abuse of the street games in favor of joining a club team, the Bristol Rovers. Spending her prep years in one of the top developmental academies in the area, Howard wound up at Filton College, the equivalent of the junior and senior years of high school in the United States.

She attributes her most significant growth as a player to the time spent under the guidance of now-England women’s national team head coach Mark Sampson, under whom Howard and her team captured the English Schools

Championship. “Izzi quickly became accustomed to our style of play and our system,” said MSUB head coach Wojtek Krakowiak. “I believe this comes from her youth soccer back in England, and her coaches’ focus on tactical and technical abilities deserve a lot of credit in her development.”

In her first game after winning the prestigious title as a 17-year-old, Howard was inserted as a late-game substitute in a showcase game for a college team from the United States that was traveling to England. With around two minutes left on the clock, Howard collapsed on the field in agony, her hands reaching for her right knee.

“Initially I didn’t know what had happened, but something felt extremely unnatural in my knee,” Howard remembered.

Later that evening at the hospital, it appeared that Howard was simply dealing with a bruised knee, nothing a few weeks of rest couldn’t cure. But on her way out, a surgeon caught a glimpse of her compromised stride and wasn’t convinced that a bruise was the proper diagnosis. “When I was leaving the clinic, one of the surgeons stopped me and did a Lachman’s test on my knee,” said Howard. “Right away he told me that I had a torn ACL and that I would need surgery.”

The news came as a shock to Howard at first, and when she realized that she was going to miss her second and final year at Filton she was overcome with emotion. “I went through the cycle of feelings slowly when I tore my ACL the first time,” said Howard. “Denial for two months, anger for two months, then two months of depression.”

It was not the first time in Howard’s life that she faced adversity, but this time she could not reach for the one avenue which had always been available to escape and relieve tension and anxiety. As long as Howard’s knee couldn’t properly support her steps, football was on the shelf as well.

Caught in between staying in England for an extra year and seeking out an opportunity to play in the U.S., a late offer from NCAA Division I Arkansas State University swayed Howard to take a chance at pursuing her game at the next level.

“I signed a letter of intent four weeks before the preseason started, cancelled all of my summer plans, and jumped on a plane to Jonesboro, Arkansas,” said Howard. “I got cleared to play the day before our first exhibition game, and that was the first bit of contact I had in sixteen months. It took me awhile to adapt to the American game, but eventually I got into the swing of things. I was fit and healthy, and didn’t have any setbacks.”

After competing in 31 games for the Red Wolves, Howard began to realize the fit wasn’t right. She began exploring other options in the area, targeting Division II schools in the west region with plans of transferring for her final two collegiate years.

“I had been to Montana before and I knew that the GNAC was a very competitive conference,” Howard said regarding her decision to become a Yellowjacket. “Coming here was a redemption for me, it gave me a chance to do what I knew I had to do.”

JOINING THE ‘JACKETS “There are things in soccer that one cannot coach, things that come from within a player’s heart. Elizabeth definitely possesses those abilities. Our program has grown from her presence, and I believe we can all agree we are lucky to call her a teammate.” – Yellowjacket head coach Wojtek Krakowiak on senior Elizabeth Howard.

The final buzzer sounded at Yellowjacket Field on Oct. 4, 2014, and Howard and her new MSUB teammates gave a frustrated final glance at the scoreboard which read 1-0 in favor of the visitor. Reigning Great Northwest Athletic Conference champion Western Washington University had squeezed out a narrow victory over the ‘Jackets, and Howard’s competitive fire overtook her in the team’s very next training session.

“I went into that practice furious,” Howard said. “(WWU) is so idolized by the conference and for us to lose at home by one scrappy goal to them was annoying. I was mad and exhausted, but I decided I was going to treat that training session like it was the GNAC final.”

During a game of possession during practice, the unimaginable became reality again for Howard. She describes it as a “pop,” then a “crunch,” and immediately she knew what had happened. This time reaching for her left knee, Howard again found herself in a heap on the turf, the ligaments supporting her severed at the hands of a hard cut.

This time the emotions came quickly, and stronger than ever. On the field – denial. In the car on the way to the training room – anger. Lying motionless on the training table – depression. Kyle Emerick, MSUB men’s soccer senior captain, was enjoying a post-training ice bath when Howard burst through the door to the training room. No words were exchanged, just a hug from one athlete to another in recognition of what was about to be another seemingly endless road to recovery. “He just knew,” Howard said of Emerick. “He didn’t say anything like, ‘you’ll be ok.’ It was the best thing anybody could have done for me that day.”

A sequence that took six months the first time Howard experienced a torn ACL, this time the emotions came and went in a matter of hours. By that evening, she realized that she knew what it took and she determined she was going to be healthy for her final collegiate season.

In hopes of not worrying her mother, Howard held off informing her of the bad news until she had arranged for the surgery. “I don’t think she was pleased with me, but I reassured her that I was ok,” said Howard. “Next, I had to start finding my fun.”

While the team was away on road trips, Howard had to find ways to keep herself occupied in her room on campus. “I formed an obsession with rearranging my bedroom, starting a week after I had surgery,” Howard said. “I moved the beds around and the room kept changing. I didn’t want to get used to what felt like a paralyzed situation I was in, so I kept changing everything around me.”

Howard cheering on her team at the field while on crutches.

Howard’s roommate, Kari Kastelic, would often times return from a road trip to find a completely different setup in the room they shared. “Izzi is such an independent person that it was hard for her to have everyday tasks become strenuous,” Kastelic said. “I can’t imagine what she had to go through in terms of balancing rehab, school, and carrying crutches around everywhere, but I think she handled it better than anybody else could have.”

Like Howard, Kastelic was a new transfer into MSUB’s program last season, and the two clicked instantly and bonded together on and off the field. “We both had a good vibe, and having her as a midfielder in front of me created a good bond between us,” said Kastelic, a center defender for the ‘Jackets. “Izzi is definitely one of the strongest women I know, and if anyone could handle this injury it is her. No matter what she was still supporting the team, always cheering us on from the sidelines, and she had great feedback for all of us.”

The consensus among the Yellowjackets when Howard first arrived was that her lovable and energetic personality would add a valuable dynamic to the squad. “She was so outgoing and bubbly, and she wasn’t afraid of meeting new people,” commented junior Brittney Greenback on her first impressions of Howard. “We knew she had a ton of talent and all of us were excited that she was coming here.”

Howard had played in all eight games as a holding midfielder leading up to her injury, and when her season ended it was Greenback who stepped into the crucial role in the center of the field. “I knew that role meant just as much to Brit as it did to me, and I was happy for her to have that opportunity when I couldn’t play,” Howard said. “She would always send me photos and things to motivate me and recognize me as a player while I was hurt.”

Similar to her previous injury, Howard once again felt the frustration of being immobile as she watched her team put together a memorable season. The Yellowjackets took second place in the GNAC, advancing to the conference championship tournament and finishing the year with a record of 11-4-2.

REDEMPTION “That goal was surreal for me. For the first time, I felt like I deserved to be selfish for once after what I’ve been through and put myself through. I needed that moment to solidify everything.” – Izzi Howard on scoring in her first scrimmage back on the field after recovering from her second torn ACL. As far as Howard was concerned, a full recovery was the only option on her radar. Electing to remain in Billings over the summer, Howard diligently worked through the excruciating rehabilitation with MSUB’s athletic training staff, and kept her sights on returning to the pitch in the fall.

“The training room became my mecca and it felt like the only place where I was getting better,” Howard said. “Tom (Ebel) helped push me during my recovery and Lindsay (Sullivan) was the most reliable person I went to in terms of her knowledge about the injury.”

“Izzi never stopped asking questions, and she always wanted to have a better understanding of the inner workings of her knee in order to prevent a tear from happening again,” said Sullivan. “Her path back to the soccer pitch was one of knowledge and understanding first, and then putting it into action to complete her rehabilitation. She has worked tirelessly, always pushing herself, from the day she started working on range of motion to her first game where she scored a goal.”

When Howard and the Yellowjackets take the field and open their 2015 season on Thursday against Carroll College, her appearance will represent a recurring theme of triumph throughout her life stemming from her earliest childhood memories. As her name is announced over the public address system, the memories of being pushed around by the boys on the gritty street fields will flash through her mind. The whirlwind of emotions she endured once for each of her knees will momentarily rise up through her.

Her father’s presence will lead her every step along the way.

“My dad has been my unconditional motivation throughout my whole life,” said Howard. “I haven’t got him to tell me what is right or wrong, but whatever I am feeling I know he is guiding me.”

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