Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Sophia Antonia Smith [1] | ||
Date of birth | 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 |
Sophia Antonia Smith ( Greek: Σοφία Σμιθ; born 18 November 1978) is a retired footballer who played as a midfielder. Born in the United States, she was a member of the Greece national team, having previously played for Cornell University and the Houston Stars.
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]
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]
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]