University of New Hampshire Athletics
Kaylan Williams Signs Pro Contract to Play in Israel
10/21/2020 10:12:00 AM | Women's Soccer
DURHAM, N.H. -- University of New Hampshire women's soccer alumnae Kaylan Williams '20 became the fourth player in program history to sign a professional contract when she recently signed with WFC Ramat Hasharon in Israel. The club will be competing in the UEFA Champions League to start the season Nov. 4.
WFC Ramat Hasharon was established in 2005 when they joined the Ligat Nashim league.
An agent reached out to Williams during the summer, which led to the possibility of her playing professionally as opposed to going back to school.
"I was already enrolled in graduate school at Ball State at the time, so I debated it for a while," Williams said. "Then after a couple weeks of grad school another opportunity came about to play for WFC Ramat Hasharon in Israel. I thought that school will always be an option, but this won't. I ended up signing with the agent, the team and then was on a flight three days later to Tel Aviv."
During her time with the Wildcats, Williams was a two-time member of the America East Honor Roll, was named to the America East All-Conference Second Team in 2017 and was named to the 2019 America East All-Championship Team. The forward recorded 15 career goals including six from a season ago, which ranked second on the team. Williams led the team in assists, shots and shots on goal as a senior. She played each of the 18 games in 2019 and started 17 of them.
"We are very proud of what Kaylan has been able to accomplish on and off the field," said Steve Welham, seventh-year UNH women's soccer head coach. "Kaylan certainly grew in stature throughout her career and continued to add to her game every season. This achievement is a culmination of the years of hard work and sacrifice that she put in. We are very excited to watch her develop further and take the next step in the professional game. We wish her the best of luck and great success now and in the future."
Since getting to Israel, Williams noted that the team trains about five days a week and spends a lot of time with the fitness coach. It's currently the preseason and the first match is on the horizon.
The former Wildcat was also sure to thank all the people who have helped her reach this point in her playing career.
"I'd like to thank all the clubs, coaches and teammates that took me in and shaped the way I play today."
All four UNH women's soccer pro contract signees have been in the past five years. In addition to Williams, both Brooke Murphy '18 and Kendra Prince '18 signed to play in Sweden, and Caroline Murray '16 played professionally in Finland, Iceland and Sweden.
