My soccer career started by watching. I grew up being dragged to my mom’s women’s league games and spending a lot of time around soccer. Apparently, by the age of five I was asking when it would be my turn. This behavior of initiating the next level soon became a theme throughout my entire career.
Youth Soccer
The details of my youth soccer career are not all that interesting, but I played for my local club in Germantown, WI. I felt the doubt and butterflies during my first select U-11 tryout, and the excitement of making the first team. Within a couple years of playing for that local select team, I wanted more of a challenge, and I asked for it.
I begged my parents to let me join a more advanced local club, and by this time I knew I wanted to play college soccer. I was dead set on playing at a D1 school in a power 5 conference. I played on that club team before following my coach to a new club. This club, North Shore United, is where I would spend my four high school club seasons and earn two state-championships and a regional finalist.
High School and Club
I played high school soccer in the spring of my freshman and sophomore years before opting to play club year-round for a more competitive environment that would help me prepare for college. The spring of my junior and senior year I played with the boys team of my club.
College Soccer
After high school, I went on to play at the University of Minnesota. This was one of the most challenging, rewarding parts of my career. It was not until my junior year that I realized playing after college at the professional level was something I could really do. I went from a freshman who got limited minutes on a team in the middle of the conference to a 2x Big Ten Champion, 2x All-Big Ten recipient, 2x All-Great Lakes Region recipient, Big Ten Defender of the Year, and All-American.
Beginning My Professional Career
I graduated a semester early to pursue my playing career. After my senior year, I was drafted to FC Kansas City. I was unable to make the final roster, but received an offer to stay as a reserve player. I trained with the team every day and played for the reserve team GSI Pride in the WPSL where we went 9-1 that season.
Injury and Setback
I planned to stay all season as a reserve, or maybe leave partway through for a team overseas. Everything changed when I developed a partial tear in my knee from extended patellar tendinitis, and my 19-year-old brother got in a fatal motorcycle accident. For those reasons, I knew I had to go home.
Upon returning home I had many personal battles while also experiencing my first major injury. I worked for the next six months to rebuild myself mentally while also healing my tendinitis. During this time I worked part time as a content marketing assistant.
After building back for over six months, I was finally healthy and got an opportunity to play in Norway. After being sent a contract, I was then told three days after getting there that they would not be giving me a contract. The college teammate I was there with and I went to try out with another team. I was doing quite well at the tryouts, but then pulled my hamstring. The team would not sign me while “injured”. I came back home, frustrated but motivated.
After returning home from Norway, I went straight back to my former college to train. On the first day of practice, I received a direct blow to the outside of my left knee which tore my ACL and medial and lateral meniscus.
In that moment, I felt like quitting my pursuit for professional soccer. Instead, I spent the next 11+ months on a grueling recovery and started my coaching career. I worked as a social media manager and I also coached a U11 girls team, a U10 boys team, a local D3 college team, and a JV2 high school team. By the end of my recovery, I had a WPSL team lined up (Fire and Ice) and was getting some responses from teams oversees who were interested.
Only a few months after being cleared to return back to sport and one week before I was supposed to leave for Fire and Ice, my medial meniscus repair failed. Back to surgery.
I missed the entire summer season and summer transfer window, but was able to play again within a little over three months. This recovery was much shorter and less intense, but even more frustrating.
My First Professional Contract
Finally, this past winter I got an opportunity to play in the Bundesliga 2. We were only able to play two games before everything was put on hold for the COVID-19 pandemic.
The start to my professional soccer career has certainly been a lot different than most, and has had no shortage of challenges. While the experience has been very difficult, I have learned a lot along the way that I am excited to share with other athletes.