Olivia Smith (soccer)

Olivia Smith (born August 5, 2004) is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Portuguese club Sporting CP in the Campeonato Nacional Feminino and the Canada national team.

Olivia Smith
Personal information
Full name Olivia Smith[1]
Date of birth (2004-08-05) August 5, 2004
Place of birth North York, Ontario, Canada
Height 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m)
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Sporting CP
Youth career
Whitby SC
Oshawa Kicks SC
Ajax SC
Markham FC
North Toronto SC
NDC Ontario
North Toronto SC
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2022 Penn State Nittany Lions 16 (1)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2022 North Toronto Nitros 11 (18)
2023– Sporting CP 1 (1)
International career‡
2018 Canada U15 4 (1)
2022– Canada U20 18 (20)
2019– Canada 4 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of September 17, 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of September 26, 2023

Early life

Smith was born in North York, Ontario, but grew up in Whitby. She first played house league with the Whitby Soccer Club, before playing at the competitive level with Oshawa Kicks SC, Ajax SC, Markham FC and then North Toronto SC.[2][3] Afterwards, she joined the Ontario Regional Excel (REX) program (later renamed to the NDC Ontario),[4] before returning to North Toronto SC to train in advance of her move to college, where she committed to join the Florida State Seminoles.[5]

College career

Initially committed to attend Florida State University, she instead decided to attend Penn State University, where she played for the women's soccer team.[6][7] She made her debut on September 18, coming on as a second-half substitute against the Indiana Hoosiers.[8] She scored her first collegiate goal on September 25 against the Illinois Fighting Illini.[9] After one season, she elected to forgo her remaining eligibility to sign a professional contract.[10][11]

Club career

In 2022, she played for the North Toronto Nitros in League1 Ontario.[12] She made her debut on May 7 against Alliance United.[12] In her next match on May 14, she scored her first goal against Simcoe County Rovers FC.[13] She scored a brace on May 18 against Electric City FC.[14] She scored four goals in a 6–1 victory over BVB IA Waterloo on June 18.[15] After the season, she was named Young Player of the Season, Forward of the Year, and won the Golden Boot after leading the league in scoring with 18 goals, while only appearing in 11 games.[16] She was also named a league First Team All-Star and U18 All-Star in 2022.[17][18]

In July 2023, Smith signed her first professional contract and joined Portuguese club Sporting CP in the Campeonato Nacional Feminino on a three-year deal.[19][20] In her league debut, she scored and added an assist for the club.[21]

International career

In 2017, she made her debut in the Canada Soccer program, when she attended a youth camp at age 12.[3] She made her international debut for the Canadian U15 team at the 2018 CONCACAF Girls' Under-15 Championship.[22]

In late October 2019, she was called up to the Canada women's national soccer team for the first time.[23] On November 7, 2019, she became the youngest player ever to debut for the senior national team at the 15 years and 94 days old, when she replaced Jordyn Huitema in the 86th minute of a match against Brazil in the Women's International Tournament played in Chongqing, China, breaking the previous record set by Kara Lang.[2][24] In the same tournament, Smith got her second international cap in a match against New Zealand.[25] Following the appearance, she then attended a camp with the Canada U17 team.[26][27]

She was named the 2019 Canadian Youth International Player of the Year.[28][29] In 2022, she was named to the Canada U20 team for the 2022 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup.[30] In April 2023, she scored a pair of hat tricks during the 2023 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship qualification tournament against Martinique and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.[31]

After being a late addition to the Canadian pre-tournament camp for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, Smith was named to the final squad. At age 18, she was its youngest member.[32][33] Smith made her World Cup debut in Canada's final group stage match, as a substitute against Australia.[34][35]

Personal life

Smith is of Jamaican, Chilean and Peruvian descent.[2] In 2023, she joined the League1 Ontario Women's Football Subcommittee.[36][37]

Honours

Individual

  • L1O Forwards of the Year: 2022
  • L1O Young Player of the Year (U20): 2022
  • L1O First Team All-Star: 2022
  • L1O Golden Boot: 2022

References
  1. "Squad List, FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup Costa Rica 2022: Canada (CAN)" (PDF). FIFA. 3 August 2022. p. 3. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
  2. Fanfair, Ron (December 18, 2019). "Olivia Smith makes history as Canada's senior team youngest soccer player". RonFanfair.
  3. Olivia Smith at the Canadian Soccer Association
  4. Reid, Brady (February 13, 2021). "Exclusive: 16-year-old standout Olivia Smith a prototype for the future of Canadian soccer". Waking The Red.
  5. "Olivia Smith". North Toronto Nitros.
  6. "Penn State signs three women's soccer transfers from Texas Tech, USC, Florida State". Soccerwire. June 1, 2022.
  7. "Olivia Smith Penn State profile". Penn State Nittany Lions.
  8. "No. 8 Women's Soccer Draws with Indiana". Penn State Nittany Lions. September 18, 2022.
  9. Woloson, Sam (September 25, 2022). "Penn State women's soccer flexes depth, young talent in decimation of Illinois on Sunday". The Daily Collegian.
  10. Rhodes, Benedict (June 8, 2023). "'The time is right now': Olivia Smith set to sign professional contract with top European club". Canadian Premier League.
  11. Hendry, Glenn (June 9, 2023). "European pro career awaits Whitby soccer star". inDurham.
  12. "Olivia Smith 2022 L1O Stats". League1 Ontario.
  13. Mota-Pyette, Christian (May 16, 2022). "Barrie Sports: Weekend Recap May 16". Barrie Uncovered.
  14. Bui, David Tuan (May 19, 2022). "Electric City Football Club Women's Team Fall to North Toronto Nitros, 3-1". PTBO Canada.
  15. Bates, Matt. "L1O Weekly Rewind". League1 Ontario.
  16. "Julia Benati and Olivia Smith highly commended as Women's Premier Division 2022 awards are confirmed". League1 Ontario. November 15, 2022.
  17. "Simcoe skipper Cloey Uddenberg at the heart of the 2022 Women's Premier Division All-Star team". League1 Ontario. November 17, 2022.
  18. "2022 Women's Premier Division U18 All-Star team littered with CANWNT potential". League1 Ontario. November 18, 2022.
  19. "Olivia Smith reforça Sporting até 2026" [Olivia Smith reinforces Sporting until 2026]. Record (in Portuguese). July 21, 2023.
  20. Nightingale, Tom (July 21, 2023). "Teenage Canada talent Olivia Smith signs first pro deal with Portuguese giants Sporting Lisbon". Canadian Soccer Daily.
  21. Callaghan, Joe (September 24, 2023). "'A little bit fearless:' Why the Canadian women's soccer team needs Olivia Smith now more than ever". Toronto Star.
  22. Davidson, Neil (November 28, 2019). "Whitby's Olivia Smith 'special' force for Canadian U-17 soccer team". Toronto Star.
  23. Davidson, Neil (October 30, 2019). "15-year-old Olivia Smith could become youngest to play for Canada's women's soccer team". CBC Sports.
  24. Johnson, Meaghen (June 9, 2021). "Smith sets sights on becoming mainstay for CWNT". TSN.
  25. "15-year-old Olivia Smith makes history as youngest to play for Canadian women's soccer team". CBC. November 7, 2019. Retrieved December 14, 2019.
  26. "Soccer starlet Olivia Smith to lead Canada's U-17 team after senior debut". The Hamilton Spectator. November 28, 2019.
  27. Davidson, Neil (November 28, 2019). "Soccer starlet Olivia Smith back with her peers after Canada senior team debut". The Globe & Mail.
  28. "Jayden Nelson and Olivia Smith named Canada Soccer's Youth International Players of the Year". Canadian Soccer Association. December 10, 2019.
  29. Kelly, Tim (December 12, 2019). "Whitby's Olivia Smith, 15, chosen as Canadian Youth International female soccer player of the year". Whitby This Week.
  30. Hayes, Jacob (July 30, 2022). "Incoming Penn State women's soccer freshman Olivia Smith secures spot on Canadian U-20 World Cup team". Daily Collegian.
  31. Hendry, Glenn (April 17, 2023). "Whitby's Olivia Smith scores six in pair of CONCACAF U-20 soccer qualifiers". inDurham.
  32. Davidson, Neil (July 9, 2023). "Canadian roster revealed for upcoming Women's World Cup". CBC Sports.
  33. Lopopolo, Anthony (July 9, 2023). "Canada's WWC squad: Desiree Scott ruled out, Olivia Smith, 18, called up". The Score.
  34. Davidson, Neil (July 31, 2023). "Canada left searching for answers in wake of early exit from Women's World Cup". Globe & Mail. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
  35. Ristic, Raine (August 1, 2023). "3 KEY TAKEAWAYS from Canada's performances at 2023 World Cup". OneSoccer. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
  36. ""So many areas that we can grow" – Chelsea Spencer introduces the L1O Women's Football Subcommittee members". League1 Ontario. July 6, 2023.
  37. "Former L1O players Smith and Gilles are heading to the Women's World Cup". League1 Ontario. July 11, 2023.
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