Twins Laveni and Daviana Vaka have been joined at the hip for most of their lives — and soccer careers.

While it’s not unusual for siblings to play the same sport and even play on the same teams growing up, not many can say they’ve been teammates at every level of the sport like Laveni and Daviana can.

The twins, who grew up in Sandy, Utah, were teammates at the youth, high school (Juan Diego), international (Tonga) and collegiate (BYU) levels, and this summer, they added professional teammates to that list.

Special Collector’s Issue: “1984: The Year BYU was Second to None”

Get an inclusive look inside BYU Football’s 1984 National Championship season.

“We love being together. We never get sick of each other,” Daviana Vaka said.

But the opportunity to be professional teammates wouldn’t have happened without the inseparable twins carving their own paths.

Finding a new homeBYU’s Daviana Vaka battles against Colorado in August of 2022. | Jaren Wilkey, BYU

When BYU lost to North Carolina in the Sweet Sixteen of the 2022 NCAA Tournament, it marked the end of the Cougars’ season and the Vaka sisters’ streak as teammates.

While Laveni (“Lava”) Vaka stayed in Provo for another season, Daviana (“Davi”) Vaka elected to use her remaining two years of eligibility for a fresh start at another program.

“It was our first time in 21 years separating,” Daviana Vaka said.

She felt she needed to play more consistent minutes than she was getting at BYU if she wanted to reach her goal of playing professionally, and that meant she’d have to leave BYU and her sister.

“In order to go pro, I had to find a better environment for me to play to the best of my ability,” she said.

So, she transferred to the University of Florida.

At Florida, Daviana Vaka rejuvenated her career. She felt she was able to play confident and free again, something she said she hadn’t done “in a long time.”

“Being able to feel free is what really helped me,” she said.

Daviana Vaka earned All-SEC First Team and All-Southeast Region Second Team honors for her 2023 season. She also received the nickname “Swamp Queen.”

She finished up her collegiate career with the Gators in October 2024.

The road to professional soccerBYU’s Laveni Vaka outruns Gonzaga during a match in October 2022. | Christi Norris, BYU

While her sister left for a new beginning in Gainesville, Laveni Vaka stayed in Provo for the 2023 season.

That year, the Cougars went on to the NCAA semifinal, and Laveni Vaka earned First Team All-American and All-Big 12 First Team honors and was a semifinalist for the MAC Hermann Trophy, which goes to the country’s top players.

Though she flourished on the field and was happy to see her twin blossom at Florida, Laveni Vaka struggled personally with the distance between them.

“I struggled really hard. I gained a lot of weight when she left. It was really hard. It was kind of like twin separation anxiety almost, so I kind of had to find myself a little bit,” she said.

While apart, the sisters FaceTimed and texted every day, and the pain of separation eventually improved.

“We’ve gotten really close because of it,” Laveni Vaka said.

In January 2024 — just over a month after BYU’s semifinal loss — Laveni Vaka was in Anaheim, California, to attend the 2024 NWSL draft in person.

With her family, including her twin, by her side, Laveni Vaka waited nearly all night to hear her name called.

Then with the second-to-last overall pick in the draft, expansion club Bay FC called her name.

Unfortunately, the Bay FC opportunity didn’t last long, with the team waiving the former Cougar during the preseason.

“Going into camp, I wasn’t confident, and so it was kind of just hard overall getting waived,” Laveni Vaka said.

Other teams expressed interest in her, but the center back faced a bigger decision: Did she even want to continue playing?

“It was just a matter of like, ‘Do I really want to continue playing soccer?’ because my confidence was so low and, it was really just like taking a step (and) believing in myself if I wanted to continue playing,” she said.

In May 2024, she signed with Fort Lauderdale United FC in the USL Super League — the U.S.’s second Division I professional women’s league alongside the NWSL — for the team and league’s inaugural season.

“I chose to just take that step with Fort Lauderdale, and I’m really glad I did because it’s really boosted my confidence and pushed me to continue my soccer career,” she said.

‘What are the odds?’

When Laveni joined Fort Lauderdale, both twins were finally playing in the same state again.

“When we found out Lava was going to Fort Lauderdale, we were like, ‘What are the odds that we’re both in the state of Florida?’ It’s just crazy. God’s timing has showed a lot in our careers,” Daviana Vaka said.

But in March, Laveni Vaka tore her ACL in Fort Lauderdale’s match against Brooklyn FC, ending what had become a breakout rookie season.

She had started each of the 18 matches up until her injury, tallying 65 clearances, 14 blocks and five interceptions and boasting a 89.4% passing accuracy rate with her 873 completed passes.

Those numbers were enough to earn Laveni Vaka All-League Second Team honors despite missing the last three months of Fort Lauderdale’s season, which ended with a loss in the championship.

“Lava was really shocked, but we weren’t surprised. If she didn’t tear her ACL, she would definitely be first team,” Daviana Vaka said.

Laveni Vaka’s injury inadvertently opened the door for a twin reunion.

Roughly two years after their final season together at BYU, an opportunity presented itself for the sisters to be teammates again.

After Daviana Vaka’s collegiate career ended in October, she trained with Fort Lauderdale for a couple of weeks. The team invited her back in January, but she declined in order to take a short break from playing and wait for the next free agency signing period.

Then her sister tore her ACL.

Laveni Vaka’s injury left a hole in Fort Lauderdale’s roster, so she told the team that her sister would be in town to visit and help take care of her if they were interested in giving her another look.

Fort Lauderdale added Daviana Vaka on a week-long trial and later signed her to the roster, reuniting the twins on the same team again.

“It’s rare to be on the same team in college, but like, let alone professional,” Daviana Vaka said. “So I was really excited.”

Being teammates again was a goal for the sisters, she added, as well as “to actually be able to play together on the back line” now that they both play center back.

But that dream lineup will have to wait.

Earlier this month, Daviana Vaka signed with Sporting Club Jacksonville, a new USL Super League team,

Her signing means the twins are no longer teammates, but it will keep them playing in the same state once Laveni Vaka, who is three months post-surgery, is healthy again.

Making history for Tonga

The Vaka sisters’ soccer careers are historic and not just because they’re twins.

When Bay FC drafted Laveni Vaka, she became the first female professional Tongan soccer player. A year later, Daviana Vaka became the second when she signed with Fort Lauderdale.

“It was never our intention to ever be the first or the second,” Daviana Vaka said.

In fact, they didn’t learn Laveni Vaka was the first until an internet search after she was drafted. It has since become a title that Laveni takes seriously.

“I just want to be able to represent my culture in the most respectful way that I can and be a role model for those little girls and little boys as I possibly can be, and just show them back in the islands, like what’s possible with soccer and education and how far they can go,” she said.

The sisters had been representing Tonga long before the 2024 draft night as members of the Tongan national team.

In 2022, they traveled to Fiji to play for Tonga in the OFC Women’s Nations Cup, a World Cup qualifying tournament. There, Daviana Vaka scored her first national team goal on an assist from her twin.

The sisters’ story has caught the attention of parents and even members of the Samoan national team, who have shared with the sisters how much of an inspiration they’ve been.

“You don’t see a lot of people who look like us in this sport. You might see them in basketball or softball or volleyball, but never soccer,” Daviana said.

From BYU and Florida to the USL Super League, the twins have experienced firsthand where the sport can take them. They hope their journeys can inspire other Tongans, especially their national team teammates, to chase their soccer dreams, too, Daviana Vaka said.

“I always tell those girls … it’s so rewarding what soccer can do for you and if they have a dream to play in the States, to keep playing the game of soccer because it can take you anywhere you want.”