Samuel O'Connell Howard (born December 23, 1992) is an American

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

player who currently plays as a

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

for

Hartford Athletic Hartford Athletic is an American professional association football, soccer team based in Hartford, Connecticut. The club was founded in 2018 and started play in the USL Championship in 2019. It is the only pro soccer team in Connecticut (thoug ...

in the

USL Championship The USL Championship (USLC) is a men's professional association football, soccer league in the second tier of the United States soccer league system#Men's leagues, United States league system. It is organized by the United Soccer League (USL) a ...

Career

Howard attended

La Salle University La Salle University () is a private university, private, Catholic university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The university was founded in 1863 by the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools and named for St. Jean-Bapt ...

from 2013 to 2015. He graduated in 2015 and spent a graduate year at Howard University, making 92 saves in 18 appearances during the 2015 season. Howard also competed in the

National Premier Soccer League The National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) is an American men's association football, soccer league. The league is officially affiliated to the United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA) and has automatic qualification for the U.S. Open Cup. ...

for the

ASA Charge ASA Charge was an American soccer club based in Gambrills, Maryland that played in the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL), the fourth tier of the American soccer pyramid, from 2014 to 2016 in the Mid-Atlantic Conference of the South Region. T ...

in 2015. Howard spent the 2016 and 2017 seasons with

IFK Åmål IFK Åmål is a Swedish football club located in Åmål in Västra Götaland County. Background Idrottsföreningen Kamraterna Åmål is a sports club from Åmål that was founded in 1908. The club specialises in football and handball. At one ...

in the Swedish lower leagues. He made 68 appearances for the Swedish club, compiling a 48–15–5 career record that included 16 total clean sheets. Howard was signed by

Fresno FC Fresno Football Club was an American professional soccer team based in Fresno, California. Founded in 2017, the team was a member of the USL Championship, a second-tier league in the American Soccer Pyramid. Their first game took place on March ...

of the

United Soccer League The United Soccer League (USL) is an organizer of various professional and amateur soccer leagues in the United States league system. It currently organizes its Championship, League One, and League Two for men, its Super League and W Leag ...

on April 13, 2018, for the remainder of the USL Season. Howard was signed after trialing with the Chicago Fire prior to the start of the 2018

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

season. Howard was re-signed for the 2019 season, which was announced on 29 November 2018. Howard made no USL Championship appearances during the 2019 season, however he started both

US Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a knockout cup competition in men's soccer in the United States. It is the country's oldest ongoing national soccer competition. The competition was first held duri ...

matches for the club, a 1–0 win again

El Farolito El Farolito is an amateur soccer club based in San Francisco, California. It currently plays in the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL), generally considered the fourth tier of U.S. Soccer, within the Golden Gate Conference. The team is best k ...

in San Francisco, and a 1–0 extra time loss against

Sacramento Republic Sacramento Republic FC is an American professional soccer team based in Sacramento, California, that competes in the Western Conference of the USL Championship, the second level in US soccer. Co-founded by Warren Smith and Joe Wagoner in 2012, t ...

. On April 9, 2020, Howard joined

USL League One USL League One (USL1) is a professional men's association football, soccer league in the United States that had its inaugural season in 2019 USL League One season, 2019. The United States soccer league system, Division III league is operated ...

side

Union Omaha Union Omaha Soccer Club is an American professional association football, soccer team based in Omaha, Nebraska. Nicknamed the Owls, the team made its debut in USL League One (USL1) in 2020. In the clubs first five seasons, the Owls finished in ...

ahead of their inaugural season. He was released by Omaha following their 2020 season. On February 24, 2021, Howard joined USL Championship club

OKC Energy FC Oklahoma City Energy Football Club, or simply Energy FC, is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The club is a member of the USL Championship, the second division of the American soccer lea ...

. Howard signed with

of the

on July 22, 2022.

References

External links

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NISA profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Howard, Sam 1992 births Living people American men's soccer players Men's association football goalkeepers La Salle Explorers men's soccer players Howard Bison men's soccer players Northern Virginia FC players Fresno FC players Union Omaha players OKC Energy FC players American expatriate men's soccer players Expatriate men's footballers in Sweden National Premier Soccer League players USL League Two players USL League One players Soccer players from Maryland National Independent Soccer Association players 21st-century American sportsmen