Sophia Smith (footballer, born 1978)

Sophia Antonia Smith (Greek: Σοφία Σμιθ; born 18 November 1978) is an American-born Greek retired footballer who played as a midfielder. She was a member of the Greece women's national team, having previously played for Cornell University and the Houston Stars.

This article is about the American-born Greek footballer. For the American soccer player, see Sophia Smith (soccer, born 2000). For other uses, see Sophia Smith.
Sophia Smith
Personal information
Full name Sophia Antonia Smith[1]
Date of birth (1978-11-18) 18 November 1978
Place of birth Houston, Texas, United States
Position(s) Midfielder
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1997–2001 Cornell Big Red
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2004 Houston Stars
International career
2004 Greece 31 (?) (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

College career

Smith played for the Cornell Big Red women's soccer team as a striker noted for her speed.[2] During her junior year in 1999, she was the leading scorer on the team, with seven goals and four assists.[3] She lettered for three years, for a college career total of nine goals and seven assists, including two game-winning goals for Cornell.[3] She was unable to return to competition for her senior year due to an invasive knee surgery for a torn ACL, sustained during the previous year's season finale against Yale.[2][4][3]

Club career

Smith played for the Houston Stars in the Women's Professional Soccer League and the Houston Women's Soccer Association in the United States.[5][6]

International career

Smith played for Greece in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens as a midfielder, taking a leave of absence from her final semester of law school to train with the national women's team,[7] which automatically qualified for the competition as the Olympic hosts.[3] She was one of eight American players of Greek ancestry on the team who had college soccer experience.[7] Due to the Greek Soccer Federation's sensitivity about players on the team with American-sounding surnames, her jersey simply read "Sophia".[7] On August 11, 2004, she started in Greece's opening match against the United States, which was won 3–0 by Team USA.[3]

See also

References
  1. "Olympic Football Tournaments Athens 2004 – Teams: Greece". FIFA. Archived from the original on 12 February 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  2. "Aspirations Remain Firm in Face of Injuries". The Cornell Daily Sun. September 8, 2000. Retrieved 2023-07-22.
  3. "Cornell grad plays for Greece". The Ithaca Journal. August 12, 2004. Retrieved 2023-07-22 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. "Women's Soccer Get One Final Opportunity". The Cornell Daily Sun. November 3, 2000. Retrieved 2023-07-22.
  5. Davis, Glenn (August 8, 2004). "Soccer Notebook: Copa de Tejas leaves lasting memory". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2023-07-22.
  6. "Olympic Women's Football Tournaments Athens 2004 – Squad List: Greece (GRE)". FIFA. Archived from the original on January 28, 2013. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  7. Whiteside, Kelly (August 11, 2004). "Kicking off a future? ; Greek women want to mimic U.S. success". USA Today. Retrieved 2023-07-22 – via ProQuest.
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