The Gator Nation is everywhere certainly applies to Gator soccer alumna.

In the past year, 17 Gator soccer alumna played at the professional level – a total of active pros believed to lead the Southeastern Conference’s 14 soccer teams. 

As the current Gator soccer team readies for Sunday’s 2020 season opener versus Georgia, some UF alumna shared their experiences and how their Gator career prepared them for the next level. 

Former Gators playing pro in the U.S.

Lauren Silver wore orange and blue from 2011 through 2014. Born to parents who were marathon runners, Silver had athletic genes, but it was not until she saw her older sister playing soccer that she decided to give the beautiful game a chance.

“At a young age, my goal was never to play in the World Cup. Not because I didn’t want to, but just because I never thought that I would ever be afforded the opportunity to. I also didn’t ever see anyone at the next level that looked like me, so to be able to have an expectation that I could do something like this wasn’t really realistic because I never had a role model.”

Silver did get to play at soccer’s highest level. She was a part of the Jamaican national team that made its Women’s World Cup debut last summer in France.

“Once I had the opportunity to actually go to the World Cup, it was really memorable for me because I had the opportunity to pay it forward to other kids,” Silver said. “You want to have youth aspire to play in a World Cup.”

Despite not being drafted in 2014, Silver was invited by the Houston Dash, one of the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) teams, to join them for their preseason. She joined the Dash with hopes to secure a roster spot, but the contract was given to an international player instead. She returned to UF to finish her psychology degree in August of 2015. Then Silver agreed to her first professional contract with Swedish club Bollstanas SK.

Now, after playing for clubs in Sweden, France, Scotland and Norway for five years, Silver has come in a full circle to H-Town. Earlier this month, the U.S.-born Jamaican defender signed a short-term contract with the Houston Dash until the end of the NWSL Fall Series.

“The Houston Dash gave me a really good opportunity to be here,” Silver said. “My goal is just to step in here and to earn that position, earn that contract, make the players around me better and continue to develop my game.”

Silver will be available for Houston’s game against the Orlando Pride on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. ET at BBVA Compass Stadium. The game will be live streamed on Twitch.

Another Gator who currently plays in the NWSL, which some perceive as the world’s top women’s soccer league, is midfielder Meggie Dougherty Howard.

Dougherty Howard played under Gators soccer head coach Becky Burleigh from 2013 through 2016. During her time at UF, the All-American helped the Gators advance to the NCAA Tournament each season, with her sophomore season ending with a NCAA Quarterfinal penalty kick loss at Stanford. The Largo, Fla., native started 89 of 94 games played and recorded 14 goals and 25 assists, totaling 53 points. 

Also a NSCAA Scholar All-America, Dougherty Howard earned her management degree in December of 2016. Despite hard work and success on the pitch, Dougherty Howard says that Burleigh’s emphasis on “person greater than player” helped her get to where she is today.

“It just always kind of resonated with me because at the end of the day we’re only going to play for so long and it’s how you treat people that is going to be what people remember about you,” Dougherty Howard said. “I just loved that she always made that a point of emphasis and treated us first like people and then players.”

Dougherty Howard caught the attention of NWSL teams after her sophomore year when she played in all 23 games at the defensive midfield position. As a result, she was invited to play for the NWSL’s Washington Spirit Reserves and competed in the W-League and Women’s Premier Soccer League during the summers prior to her junior and senior years.

“Being in that pro environment was just another level and a step up from what I was used to playing in the environment at Florida and against other college players,” Dougherty Howard said. “It opened my eyes to what the next level was and gave me a good experience to what that would be like after college and helped me solidify that’s what I wanted to do after UF.”

On Jan. 12, 2017, the Washington Spirit selected Dougherty Howard as the 29th overall pick of the NWSL College Draft. And just like during her time at Florida, Dougherty Howard adapted quickly and became a regular in the first team.

The COVID-19 pandemic impacted the entire planet, including the 2020 NWSL season. League commissioner Lisa Baird and other executives came up with the NWSL Challenge Cup, which took place from June 27 through July 26. The name of the competition derived from how difficulties that arose when creating the tournament and during it. 

The players had a short window of preparation. They were not allowed to leave the hotel and were tested often for COVID-19. There were training restrictions and the tournament’s schedule was taxing and demanding. 

“It was draining from a physical standpoint, from a mental standpoint, from an emotional standpoint,” Dougherty Howard said. “We were put in an environment that really challenged us, so I definitely think I grew from the experience.”

Like Silver, Dougherty Howard will step on the field on Saturday, Sept. 26, to face the Chicago Red Stars in Washington Spirit’s third NWSL Fall Series match. The match airs live on CBS at 1 p.m. ET. 

Former Gators playing pro abroad 

Julia Lester is one of the latest Gators to join a professional team.

Lester arrived at UF from Academy of the Holy Names, a small all-girls high school located in Tampa, where she scored 75 goals in her four-year stint. Nonetheless, Burleigh and her coaching staff transformed Lester, then a forward, into a defender. She did not take long to adapt to her new role, given that she played in every match of her sophomore year, starting 14 matches on the backline. 

“I always knew that Julia had all the tools, and it was just a matter of how she was going to adapt at this level,” Burleigh said. “And she did that pretty quickly.”

Lester developed into one of the SEC’s best defenders, earning All-Southeast Region and All-SEC first team honors as a senior in 2019.

“I held that really close to my heart – being able to lead the team,” Lester said. “Once senior year was hitting, I didn’t realize how fast those three years prior went. So, I had to leave it all on the field.”

Despite her hard work and undeniable talent, Lester’s name wasn’t called at the 2020 NWSL College Draft. However, Rory Dames, head coach of NWSL side the Chicago Red Stars, gave Burleigh a phone call and expressed interest in Lester, inviting her to camp in Chicago for a chance to earn a roster spot.

Lester arrived at Bridgeview, Ill., in March 2020, after training for weeks with fellow graduate teammate Vanessa Kara. But coronavirus spoiled her stay just days after her arrival.

“I was only there for 10 days until everything had to be called off, so that was really disappointing just because everything was going well while I was there,” Lester said.

The Red Stars invited Lester for preseason training two months later, but she was not at the top of her game like she was in March.

“That time – two months at home – kind of threw me off a little bit, just not being with a team,” Lester said. “Mentally, I was going in kind of unsure where I was going to stand. I was still playing, but I was not playing as well as I was before. So that was upsetting on my part but it was a good kick in the butt for me just to get me back to where I was mentally before.”

During her time in Chicago, Lester’s agent called her with an offer that she could not turn down. 

The Tampa native joined Apollon Ladies, Cyprus’ most decorated women’s professional team. At a national level, the club has won nine consecutive doubles – league and cup trophies – and appeared twice in the UEFA Women’s Champions League at the international level.

Most importantly, Lester is joined by two Gators, Lais Araujo and Havana Solaun, who have helped her settle on the island.

“Lais is one of my closest friends, so just having someone here that I can look up to soccer-wise but also help me emotionally and mentally – really helped me big time,” Lester said. “I didn’t play at Florida with Havana, but I’m getting to know her better and she’s been a big help too. ”

Even though Lester just arrived in Cyprus, she’s thinking about her future.

“Even though I didn’t make the team in Chicago, my eyes are on the NWSL, that hasn’t gone anywhere. My dream is to play there – but I’m trying not to get too ahead of myself,” Lester said. “I just like staying in the present and using what I can take from Chicago to bring here, but also progressing as a player.” 

If you have followed the Gators since before 2009, then the name Katie Fraine will sound familiar. In 2009, Fraine, from Titusville, Fla., became the second Gator goalkeeper to earn All-SEC honors since the program’s inception in 1995. The following year, she helped the team to a Southeastern Conference Tournament win in her last season with the Gators. That year, she collected 10 solo shutouts and finished with the Gators career solo shutouts record (27). 

Fraine graduated in December 2010 with a criminology degree and was one of the two goalkeepers drafted by the Washington Freedom in the 2011 Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS) Draft just weeks later. The Freedom changed ownership and the franchise moved to South Florida. Amid all the change, Fraine was traded to the Atlanta Beat where she did not make an appearance, and a year later, the WPS folded. During these difficult times, she remained grounded thanks to a piece of advice provided by Burleigh during her five-year stint with the Gators.

“She used to always say ‘control the controllables’ which sounds really simple and really basic, but is a great reminder as athletes worry about things that we have absolutely no control over,” Fraine said. “She used to always say that to me to keep me grounded and to make sure that my mind was at the right place and I think that is something that I really carried with me.”

After talks with her agent, Fraine ended up taking her talents to Sweden, given the state of professional women’s club soccer in the U.S. at the time. Fraine joined then second division Swedish club Mallbackens IF where she started her overseas professional journey.

“It was me and one other American who came and I remember that in our first press conference they asked us what our goals were for the season. We said ‘we didn’t fly thousands of miles to lose, we’re going to get promoted,’” Fraine recalled. “That’s not a very Swedish idea. Swedes are very humble people and when they have these two Americans just saying ‘no, we’re going to win the league and we’re going to move forward’, I think it was both shocking but also amusing for them.”

Fraine achieved her goal, helping Mallbackens IF gain promotion to the Damallsvenskan – Sweden’s top-flight division – while earning player of the year honors in her debut season. The American goalkeeper remained in Sweden for most of her career, having fallen in love with Swedish culture and meeting a Swedish man.

“I’ve actually met, and I’ve been dating a Swedish guy for a long time, so that’s something that makes me want to stay around,” Fraine said. “At the same time, I just have always felt like it’s very easy to be here. I think that the Swedish culture has taken the best things the U.S. has to offer and really built it into a really easy and relaxing culture to be a part of.”

Fraine suffered from a severe injury in 2018 and had to have back surgery, ultimately keeping her away from the pitch for a year. Nonetheless, Fraine, 32, wants to continue playing and she also started her UEFA coaching courses.

Silver summed-up her experience at the University of Florida playing under Burleigh in a way that many former Gators can relate to.

“I gave everything for my teammates, for my coaches, for myself and for UF. I gave everything to them,” Silver said. “What’s great about Florida is that it was one of the best experiences because they gave a lot back to me.”