Everything worked out for Libertyville’s Ellie Rebmann in the end.
She committed to Milwaukee in September, and in her only season playing high school soccer, she became a star as the Wildcats won the Class 3A third-place game.
But things could have turned out differently after Rebmann suffered a spiral fracture in the fibula and a complete tear of the deltoid ligaments in her left leg during a winter showcase in California during her junior year.
“It really freaked me out, and the injury took a toll on me mentally,” she said. “It happened in the middle of my recruiting, so I was watching my teammates commit to college.
“But I learned that definitely if I put my mind to it, I can really overcome any hard challenges. It got really hard for me at some points, but I continued to get back up and worked really hard.”
Rebmann considers that a turning point in her soccer career.
“I thought I would be out nine to 12 months minimum,” she said. “But that injury made me rally, and I became more dedicated to coming back.
“It was a mental challenge. It was just crazy. I tried to keep motivated during that process. I went through a lot of pain to get back in just three months.”
Rebmann, a longtime defender, returned to the field for her travel team in spring 2022 and committed to a Division I program in the fall.
Then Rebmann, the 2023 News-Sun Girls Soccer Player of the Year, decided to join the Wildcats for her senior season. Playing forward for the first time, she recorded 21 goals and 17 assists while leading Libertyville (18-3-2) to a 15-game unbeaten streak, the North Suburban Conference title and the third-place trophy at state.
Libertyville coach Daniel DePaz said Rebmann is the rare player capable of affecting a game with her defense, passing and goal scoring.
“She’s very unselfish and has a lot of athleticism and skill,” DePaz said. “She’s a very intelligent soccer player and knows how to move with and without the ball.
“I don’t think I’ve had a player at the high school level change position from a defensive position to forward like she did. That’s not easy to do.”
Rebmann credited her desire to play soccer in college for the motivation she needed to recover from her leg injury. Her mother, Dr. Anne Gordon, who works at the Chicago Chiropractic Center, was heavily involved. Rebmann did most of her physical therapy at her mother’s office in downtown Chicago.
“Ellie was remarkably strong in recovering from her injury,” Gordon said. “She started physical therapy three days post-surgery. … Ellie is very resilient, so there’s no laying around for her. Two weeks post-surgery, she joined a local gym and would work out her upper body.”
Rebmann joked that spending so much time with her mother led to some interesting moments.
“It was tough,” Rebmann said. “We had our ups and downs, especially when I didn’t want to do the treatment. I’m grateful for it.”
Gordon said she saw a different side of her daughter.
“It was a bit of a shock to me that she was back so soon,” Gordon said. “She put a lot of hard work into her recovery, and with the plan I made for her, I knew she could do it.”
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Libertyville senior midfielder Jenna Krakowski, who joined the program as a sophomore, suggested Rebmann’s addition pushed the Wildcats to another level.
“Her work ethic and overall effort make her such a talented player,” Krakowski said. “She has so much grit and just never gives up.”
Rebmann said she was happy to play with her classmates and succeed with them too.
“I thought it was a blast this year,” she said. “I had a lot of stress going on, in soccer and not in soccer. It was fun to play with my friends that I used to play with when I was 10 to 12 years old and reconnect with them. It was amazing.
“The team really connected right away. We had a bunch of really young players, but we were able to come together as a team, which made my senior year special.”
Bobby Narang is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun.