KITCHENER — It's certainly not easy, and her version of professional soccer lacks the glamorous lifestyle her male counterparts might enjoy.

But Alyssa Lagonia is doing something few women have managed to accomplish.

The 26-year-old Kitchener native is making a decent living playing a team sport.

Lagonia is about to embark on her fourth year playing pro soccer in Europe. After making stops in England, then Italy, Lagonia has found a temporary home in Switzerland.

The former Wilfrid Laurier University standout is on Christmas hiatus from her Swiss premier league team, FC Neunkirch, and was in her hometown recently to visit family.

Lagonia, a two-time all-Canadian midfielder at Laurier and named Canadian Interuniversity Sport's player of the year in 2011, is the only Canuck on her team.

She was named captain of her pro club earlier this season.

In short, that means she must stay longer at team functions than her teammates and play harder.

"At the beginning of the season, I was like, man, this captain thing is going to be hard.

"It's gotten easier now because I know what I'm doing," said Lagonia who was briefly with Canada's senior national team.

With the added on-field responsibility of steering her team, Lagonia also has to write regular team updates for the squad's sponsors, motivate and mentor her teammates and maintain open lines of communication with her coaches and on-field officials.

It's a six-day a week job and all of it conducted in her third language.

She already mastered Italian during her season playing with Verona.

And now, Lagonia is taking German lessons four days a week for two hours a day.

"I've had to really pick up my German and get a lot more involved in the team. It's been great for me. I love the responsibility and the challenge."

Her schedule must agree with her because Lagonia is third in league scoring with eight goals in 10 games.

"I'm scoring more than I ever have," said the Grand River Collegiate graduate.

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And her small-town team is in second place, one point behind powerhouse Zurich which features most of the country's national team players.

Lagonia has her living expenses paid for by FC Neunkirch and she earns a bit more for her savings account. Her contract with the club expires in May. After that she has no idea where she'll be.

"I'm not getting rich off this. But it is the thing that I love the most. And if I can keep playing, I'll keep doing it."