Ashely Marra a model of resilience, toughness for Yellowjackets

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Evan O’Kelly Director of Communications O: (406) 657-2130 E: evan.okelly@msubillings.edu Friday, October 30, 2015 Ashely Marra a model of resilience, toughness for Yellowjackets

Wrapping up a four-year career with the Yellowjackets, senior Ashely Marra has overcome injuries throughout her career and become an invaluable leader for MSUB. MSUB SPORTS – In one of the earliest soccer games she can remember playing in, Montana State University Billings senior Ashely Marra received an ultimatum from her father.

One of two five-year-old girls in the game at the time – the rest were boys – Marra and her female teammate elected to take a seat in the middle of the field and work away at the dandelions scattered around the grass.

Though Marra and her friend were oblivious to the game moving in a circle around them, her father Ernie was less sympathetic to his daughter’s weeding efforts.

“He said I could never play soccer again,” Marra said with a smile.

Not only did Marra defy her father’s words and continue playing soccer – intended as a mild paternal warning more than anything – she has grown into a senior leader for the Yellowjackets and is completing her career as a collegiate soccer player.

Marra credits her family getting her started with soccer at a young age and the support they have shown throughout her life with allowing her to pursue soccer at the next level. Her sister Amanda has been there the entire way, guiding her as a teammate in high school and as a mentor off the field as well.

Her parents’ involvement in the Air Force has molded Marra’s work ethic to be rigid and tenacious, traits she has needed time and time again throughout her career at MSUB. Now with one match left in her career, Marra will reflect on her time wearing the navy and gold on Saturday as the ‘Jackets host Central Washington on Senior Day. MSUB is still fighting for the fourth and final berth into the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships, making the final game at Yellowjacket Field for MSUB’s four seniors a high-stakes affair.

Marra’s road through four years has been anything but straight and narrow, as she has been required to answer time and time again with adversity staring her straight in the face. Despite opening and closing her career with injuries, Marra’s resilience has prevailed and she has never given up. It is because of her determination and dedication to her team and university that teammates and coaches alike hold high respect for Marra, and value the leadership role she owns within the team.

FRESH START Two weeks into Marra’s freshman campaign with the Yellowjackets, her ability to kick a soccer ball vanished. The pain coursing through her leg had her sidelined, but determining the exact injury and how much time she would miss proved to be more complicated than she initially thought.

“At first everyone thought it was my groin so I sat out and took care of it,” Marra said. “It wasn’t getting better though. I started to have MRIs and X-Rays, and it was a month and a half into the season and no one could figure out what was wrong.”

Ultimately, Marra’s injury stemmed from misaligned hips, contrary to the early suspicions of a pulled groin. The Yellowjackets got off to a 9-0 start that season, and were well on their way to a berth in the inaugural GNAC Championships. Midway through the season, MSUB head coach Wojtek Krakowiak pulled Marra into his office, to have what would end up being the most difficult conversation of her life to that point.

“Wojtek brought me in and we decided that I was going to have a medical redshirt that season,” Marra said. “I busted into tears. Not playing my freshman year was probably the toughest thing I’ve had to overcome in my life this far.”

In many ways the freshman season is a crucial one, after which players often determine if they have what it takes to continue as a college athlete. The season-long injury nearly pushed Marra to return home to Las Vegas and give up on her college soccer dream. Remaining in Billings during team road trips meant missing out on bonding time with her teammates, as Marra felt herself become distanced from the program.

Phone calls home every weekend started out with a request for Marra’s parents to come pick her up. Ernie Marra, who grew up playing soccer and competed on the Air Force team during his service, and his wife Lisa hadn’t left an option for their two daughters in terms of attending college. Giving up was not an option in their eyes.

Marra’s freshman year of high school, she and her sister played together for one season before Amanda continued her career at Lyon College in Arkansas. After watching her sister have a successful four years at the NAIA school, Marra was driven to have the same kind of college experience despite her early setback.

Reaching out to Marra was a sophomore on the 2012 team, defender Jessie Mancilla, who encouraged Marra throughout her rehab. “Jessie took the time outside of soccer to get to know me as a person,” Marra said. “That really helped me because she didn’t treat me like I was someone who just couldn’t handle college soccer.”

Looking on as Mancilla scored the game-winning goal in MSUB’s 1-0 win over Seattle Pacific in the semifinals of the GNAC Championships that year, Marra knew she wanted to have that experience on the field as a player. “I decided to stay my sophomore year because if I went home, I wanted to be able to say that I had at least played college soccer, even if it was just for a year,” Marra said. “Sophomore year wasn’t as great as freshman year, but winning or losing is not what makes you stay. I stayed for the team, and I still had a passion for the game.”

STUD IN THE MAKING “I was extremely impressed with Ashely’s attitude her freshman year, as it is not easy to sit out and push yourself off the field in your first year in college. She did a tremendous job of getting back on the field and came back in unbelievable shape. I really admire her for sticking with it and finishing her career at MSUB.” – MSUB head coach Wojtek Krakowiak on senior Ashely Marra.

Marra’s determination to get back on the pitch her sophomore season was noticed by teammates and coaches alike, as she elevated herself into a starter for the majority of the 2013 season. Racking up 875 minutes in her first year on the field, Marra started 11 matches and played in all 16 as a midfielder for the ‘Jackets.

Though Marra was not initially sold on the idea of moving to Montana, her success as a sophomore reinforced her decision to enroll at MSUB. “I knew I wanted to leave Las Vegas, but I had no ambition or desire to come to Montana,” Marra commented on her college decision. “Wojtek saw me play at a tournament and he kept emailing me saying I would fit well within the system here.”

Her curiosity piqued, Marra and her mother headed north on a visit to MSUB’s campus. After watching the ‘Jackets in a home game against Western Oregon, it was a personal touch that ultimately stood out to Marra and made her decision to join the program an easy one.

“What sold me was that Wojtek took me and my mom to lunch in the cafeteria, and he sat with my mom at a table while I was with the team,” Marra remembered. “I got to know the women’s and men’s teams, and he made it really personal which stood out to me.”

Jump ahead to Marra’s junior season, and a familiar aura surrounded the team that reminded her of her freshman season. The ‘Jackets had missed out on the GNAC tournament her sophomore year, but it wouldn’t be long before

Marra got to find out for herself what it would be like to toe the turf at Starfire Sports Complex under the lights on the conference’s top stage.

Playing in all 17 of MSUB’s matches, Marra helped the team to an 11-4-2 record and had her first two assists. In a home match against Northwest Nazarene on Oct. 2, 2014, Marra fed a pass to Kari Kastelic, and watched as her teammate scored the game-winner in a tight 1-0 victory.

Marra also had an assist in MSUB’s 2-0 shutout of Saint Martin’s, as she played a big role in the Yellowjackets’ outstanding 6-1 home record during the season. Finishing second in the regular season, MSUB advanced to the conference tournament for the second time in three seasons.

“My junior year is probably what I will remember the most when I leave MSUB, because of our record and the girls that I played with,” Marra said. “Just to make it that far to the GNAC tournament is something I will definitely remember.

Sitting on the bench watching it my freshman year was way different than being able to play in the game.”

One of the keys to Marra’s junior season was the addition of MSUB assistant coach Stephen Cavallo, who Marra credits with having a major impact on the team’s mentality all season long. “I don’t think a lot of people give Stephen the credit he deserves,” Marra said. “He came in and really made a difference, and he has such a positive attitude. There is a mutual feeling of respect between the players and Stephen, and he is someone any of us can always go talk to.”

MARRA MENTALLY TOUGH Starting the first eight matches of her senior season, Marra was well on the way to putting together her best campaign yet. Midway through however, her final year was brought to a halt with a major foot injury that has kept her on the sidelines since early October.

The recently revitalized memory of her ill-fated freshman campaign has not deterred Marra from being an important leader as one of four seniors during the 2015 season. With the ‘Jackets on the cusp of another GNAC tournament berth, her guidance and support down the stretch has been what players new and old have needed to overcome setbacks.

“Even when she is off the field injured you can still hear her voice, and she is the loudest one out there,” said freshman forward Alycia Wright, who is tied for the team lead in goals with five. “She is supportive off the field pushing us, and I have looked up to her because she has a big heart and is aggressive. She has helped influence my play a lot.”

Throughout the years by Marra’s side has been fellow four-year senior Katlyn Lokay, who admires the grit Marra has displayed despite not being able to contribute on the field over the past month. “Ash is one of the most mentally strong girls I have played with here,” Lokay said. “Through her injuries she will still insist on playing and working her hardest to get onto the field. She always brings and gives everything for the team and makes being a positive influence her number one priority. That’s something you can really respect about her.”

“Ashely has been fantastic with our younger players, and it is absolutely essential to have a person like that on our team who is not afraid to speak her mind,” Krakowiak said. “She is fully aware of how much work you need to do in order to put yourself in a position to make the GNAC tournament in our exceptionally-competitive conference, and she can share that with the younger players. All-in-all her leadership this year has been impeccable and will be greatly missed.”

WHAT’S IN A NAME? When MSUB’s four graduating seniors – Marra, Lokay, Teegan Koster and Elizabeth Howard – are honored in a pregame ceremony Saturday, Marra will be accompanied by her parents and sister. Marra receives a text message after every game from her father, who was the first to take her off the field when the glow of dandelions was more important than the game itself.

Even after mistakenly switching the ‘E’ and ‘L’ on her birth certificate, Ernie Marra remains as his youngest daughter’s biggest role model through the example he has set throughout her life.

“After every game he tells me the good and the bad, and everything I did,” Marra said. “He is still my coach, and he’s my biggest support. He’s the first person I call if I ever have an issue.”

Marra with her sister Amanda (bottom, right), and her father Ernie posing with the Air Force soccer team (bottom row, second from right).

A business management major at MSUB, the lessons Marra has learned throughout her four years in the program figure to impact her life well after her time wearing No. 15.

“Not being able to have everything go your way, but still remaining positive and reminding yourself that you still have a huge impact on the team is what I hope to leave behind,” Marra reflected. “For the incoming players and freshmen, they should come in thinking they will play 90 minutes, but if it doesn’t happen, you need to stay positive and give whatever you can.”

Just as Mancilla took Marra under her wing four seasons ago, the senior has returned the kindness in her own way and impacted this season’s freshman class. The first road game Marra missed after her injury, Wright scored MSUB’s lone goal in a tough 2-1 loss at Northwest Nazarene. Though her spirits were not high after the defeat, the first thing Wright saw on her phone after the match gave her a sense of encouragement.

“I received a text from Ash saying that I did a good job and to keep my head held high,” Wright said. “That boosted my confidence and that was very kind of her. She didn’t have to reach out to me, but that brightened my day after that loss.”

The message of motivation is a testament to the teammate and mentor Marra has become for MSUB, and is a mark of the lasting impact she will have on the soccer program for years to come.

--@MSUBSports | #JacketNation--