Semi-pro soccer player chases dream across the globe

(Gray News) - Liz Harrington laughs on camera like it’s all new, trying her hand at something unfamiliar.

But she knows exactly what to do. Harrington didn’t stumble into this moment on the field. She’s been building to it for more than two decades.

“Since I was 4, so 23 years,” Harrington said.

The game stopped being something she plays and became something she is.

“It kind of is linked to my identity,” she said.

Training after work

On this night, a public practice field belongs to the North Texas semi-pro team where Harrington works defending the goal during late-night practice. It’s not a major league stadium. It’s open to anyone who wants to run the pitch — kids, high schoolers, college students.

At 27, she’s already played for teams in leagues around the world. She goes where the game takes her, getting paid to play the sport she loves when she can. But it hasn’t been a straight line. That’s the reality of lower-tier pro soccer.

Sometimes it’s her job. She’s signed, paid and playing professionally. Sometimes it isn’t.

“I predominantly am a professional footballer, but when I’m in between professional contracts, I don’t have money,” Harrington said.

So just like many others, she works a 9-to-5 job.

Harrington builds a life around soccer, not the other way around.

“I kind of feel like I have a double life a lot of the time,” she said.

For her, quitting time is when the real work starts. Hours reserved for sleep are spent chasing something she’s caught many times. She’s played professionally in Puerto Rico, Australia, Malta and Greece.

Starting from zero

The catch is never guaranteed. Every new opportunity, she starts from zero again with new coaches, new teammates and new doubt.

“You have the same nerves as a normal job interview,” Harrington said. “You kind of, fingers crossed, hope for the best. You do what you can do, and if you get told no, sucks, cry in bed for a day.”

There’s always the chance it slips away.

“I feel like 23 years of soccer have just flown out the window,” she said.

But like many athletes hoping to go pro, she keeps coming back. Training on whatever field they can find. Late nights after work. For players like Harrington, it’s a non-negotiable sacrifice. It isn’t the dream. It’s the price of chasing it.

“I just can’t see myself doing anything else,” Harrington said. “For the love of the game, for sure. You’re going to have to pull my dead body off of the pitch.”

Some people play the game. Some people chase the dream. And some build their entire life around never letting that dream go.

Harrington finished her season in the Metroplex North Texas Premier League last month, making it to the championship match. The team lost. She now heads to Taiwan to play for a new team in the Taiwan Mulan Football League.