GETTYSBURG, Pa. – A friendly sibling rivalry has blossomed into successful careers on the lacrosse field for Sara '21 and Kyle '23 Howard as the dynamic duo gained All-America recognition this past spring and became the first siblings to earn national accolades at Gettysburg College in the same season.
 
A three-year starter on the Bullets' nationally-ranked women's lacrosse team, Sara was tagged third-team All-America as a defender by the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA). Sara was also named All-Centennial Conference First Team and All-Metro Region First Team this spring, capping an outstanding career.
 
Kyle joined his sister as a first-time national award winner after garnering All-America Honorable Mention as a midfielder from the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA). The younger Howard was also named All-CC First Team and picked up honorable mention all-region status from the Intercollegiate Men's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IMLCA).
 
The two siblings from Skillman, N.J., joined the conversation to talk about their sibling rivalry and gaining All-America status in the same season. They also discussed the trials and tribulations of the last year during the pandemic and getting back on the turf this spring. Finally, Sara and Kyle break down what it was like playing for two lacrosse coaching legends in Carol Cantele '83 and Hank Janczyk.
 
Below are some highlights from the 20-minute interview with Director of Athletic Communications Corey Jewart.
 
CJ: I'm dying to know, is there a sibling rivalry since you guys play the same sport?
 
KH: Yeah I mean to an extent there is. Obviously we support each other, and we want each other to do the best possible in each of our sports and it's nice to come out on top every once in a while, but it's even better to see us both do it.
 
SH: There's definitely some competitiveness; it runs in the family.
 
CJ: Well, obviously, that competition has made you even better on the lacrosse field itself, as I said, you were All-Americans this year and, as far as I can tell you guys are the first siblings to be All-Americans in the same year at Gettysburg. Sara I'll start with you as the elder statesman here since you just graduated. What was it like when you found out you were named an All-American and what did you think when Kyle was also named an All-American a week or two later?
 
SH: I mean, to be honest, I was kind of surprised just because my stats don't necessarily show a lot of what I do on the field. I think I come at it from more of a leadership standpoint, and I use my knowledge, more than I do my performance sometimes. I was honored to be named an All-American. It definitely gave me that satisfaction that I left the impact that I wanted to on the team and I was very excited. Of course Kyle got named All-American too, so I was happy for him as well. It was good for our family.
 
CJ: Kyle same question. You were a sophomore at Gettysburg and this was kind of half of a season with six total games for both of you. You did what you needed to do out there and of course your sister was named an All-American too. Talk a little bit about that.
 
KH: Like Sarah said, I'm extremely honored to receive the honorable mention for All American and it's definitely really cool. It's a great feeling to see a lot of the hard work pay off with a really cool award. This year didn't end the way we wanted, but I'm just really happy that I was able to contribute in the ways that I wanted to my team and help my team be successful in certain games. It's a really great feeling to just see your hardwork kind of pay off, you know. As far as Sara being named All-American also I thought it was really cool. A lot of people don't get to say that their sister was an All-American the same year. I just think the whole thing's really cool.
 
CJ: Your last two seasons were cut in half due to the pandemic. Talk about how the team pulled through and shined through adversity.
 
SH: I think it tells a lot about the character of our program and our team that we really just love spending time together and pushing each other, and so we knew coming back it wasn't going to be normal and any means. We were just thankful to have the opportunity to be together again and get back to you to get back on the field. For me, coming back my main goal was to obviously play, but more than that, just to try and make an impact on the program so I can set people up that are below me to continue to succeed and continue the program's legacy.
 
KH: I know for the men's lacrosse team, you have to give a lot of credit to our coaching staff. I know it was definitely a really difficult year for them with everything going on. All they wanted to do was play, but some things you just can't control, but I do give a lot of credit to the way Coach J has built this program since I've been here or since he's been here. These are my best friends, I mean everybody on the team wants to be here, everybody wants to win. I know some guys didn't come back, but you have to respect their decision, because they thought it was best for them. We were given what we got this year and we made the most of it. The people that were here I'm super proud of for sticking through and being resilient and ultimately getting the chance to play six games and play for a conference championship in a year of uncertainty. I give a lot of credit to our coaching staff – Coach Hoff, Coach J, and Coach DiBartolo.
 
CJ: Kyle great segue with Coach J. Your sophomore season might stand out the most because it was Coach Janczyk's final year. What was it like playing for Coach J and your takeaways from your two years playing for coach?
 
KH: Coach J, he's not only an amazing coach but he's just an amazing person to be around. Being a freshman coming into college isn't the easiest thing, especially when you're playing a sport and you had never done it at that level before. Coach Janczyk was amazing just guiding me in the right direction, not only on the field, but just as the person that I am off the field. One of my biggest takeaways from Coach J is he talks a lot about relationships, the relationships you make, and the importance of having those relationships, I think that's something that he's instilled in all of us just and that's why we're so close as team. We trust each other and we trust each other on the field and off the field. Coach J has done a lot for all of us and there's not one person on the team that doesn't look up to him and admire him. We definitely thank him for all the time he's contributed. Even though I've only been here for two years, I still appreciate him more than anything.
 
CJ: Sara we're going to bounce from one Hall of Famer to another Hall of Famer. What has it been like playing for Coach Carol Cantele over the last four years?
 
SH: I mean it was incredible. I wouldn't have had the same college experience I had without her. From the second I got to school as a freshman she made me feel like I was a part of something really special and it's just the way that she has developed the program and selected the people that she wanted to become a part of the team. Just the way that she runs practices and team meetings, it just makes you feel very included and very important. She's always gone out of her way to make everyone on the team the best version of themselves and I definitely felt that during my four years here. She not only cared about me on the field but off, so I think it really fostered an important environment that we need to be successful. And obviously Barb was a great defensive coach I never really had that coaching style or coaching leadership throughout my high school and middle school experiences until I really got to college, I never really had that direction so that was great coming into having someone like Barb really work with me and coach me and push me to be a better player. Charlotte worked with us on conditioning and she was awesome also, even though I only got her for a couple years. Overall it was a great experience and an awesome coaching staff. I could talk forever about them, obviously.
 
CJ: Where are you going next? Where's the wind taking you following your graduation?
 
SH: So I actually interned for a communications company during my senior year of school and got lucky enough to be offered a full time position with them. I started with them actually two weeks ago, so I'm currently full time. It's a company that works with a lot of the bigger public health companies so it's more like a health communications company. So far, so good and we'll see where it takes me after that.
 
CJ: Kyle, obviously you are entering your junior year. In your final two years at Gettysburg what are you looking to do?
 
KH: On the lacrosse field, we have the same goals every year, which is win the conference, get to the NCAA tournament, and win the NCAA tournament. I'm looking to accomplish that before my next two years are up. I know we have a lot of players that are excited to get back on the field and hopefully things return to normal next year. We have a lot of guys that are definitely eager to get back out there all together and I think we can find a lot of success with the team we have. Obviously we have a lot of great players. I'm just looking forward to getting back on the field and start playing again and trying to achieve those goals that I have set before my time is done at Gettysburg.
 
CJ: Obviously we hinted at the fact we're bringing in a new head coach. We don't know who that head coach is yet, but what are you looking for in the head coach coming in?
 
KH: The people that we're talking to are all great guys with experience and know a lot about lacrosse and that's ultimately what we're looking for. We're looking for somebody that can come in to a program that's been historically very successful and has a really good foundation that Coach J has built over time and take that and take us to where we need to be, which is win the conference and NCAA tournament. We are looking for a coach that can connect well to the players and motivate his players to be the best versions of themselves on and off the field, just like Coach J did. We're just looking for a guy that's going to come in and wants to make everybody better, wants to engage the team with the campus community, and just bring a positive image to everybody that is involved with this program.