All-First Coast girls soccer: From Florida to Turkey, SJCD's Sydney Schmidt tough to stop

Just try telling Sydney Schmidt that soccer isn't a contact sport.

Yes, it's called the beautiful game by some. But for Schmidt, soccer also means life on the receiving end of the latest push, pull, bump or trip from the opposing defenders trying to slow her down — not that it's stopping her.

"I'm getting hit," she said, "but I keep telling myself to get back up and keep fighting."

The St. Johns Country Day sophomore kept fighting and kept scoring, two dozen times in all, on her way to the Times-Union's All-First Coast player of the year award for high school girls soccer in the 2023-24 season.

For St. Johns Country Day head coach Mike Pickett, Schmidt's fighting spirit is no surprise.

"She's a winner," he said. "She wants to win the warmup drill."

The premier attacking threat on a Spartans team that leaned on its strength in defense, Schmidt led the 14-time Florida High School Athletic Association champions with 24 goals and 10 assists, including an eight-game scoring streak at one point.

She helped the Spartans spend much of the season in the upper regions of the national rankings, and only a sensational performance in the Class 2A semifinal by Shorecrest Prep and U.S. Under-20 goalkeeper Sonoma Kasica — Pickett described Kasica as "the best high school keeper I've gone up against" — denied them a chance at a 15th title.

Schmidt joins a long line of Spartan sensations to earn the Northeast Florida award in the past two decades: Anna Martorana, Amanda Martorana, Annie Bobbitt, Carson Pickett, Ellen Crist, Chelsea Burns and Abbey Newton.

FROM NEW SPARTAN TO TEAM LEADER

For Schmidt, the road to soccer started with a recreational league when she was 3 years old. The soccer bug bit then, and didn't let go.

"Soccer was always the one that I just really had a passion for," she said. "I'm definitely a competitor, I love to win and I love running."

Pretty soon, she was at St. Johns Country Day, becoming the latest middle school athlete to thrive for the Spartans against high school opposition, going back to the days when Newton, Payton Crews and Alisa Detlefsen won FHSAA titles in every year from sixth grade to twelfth.

Pickett said he immediately recognized Schmidt's skills with both feet and her confidence in possession against defenders. She just needed a little more time to grow.

"She was doing bits and pieces for us in seventh grade, but she was so, so small," Pickett said.

That changed in 2021-22, when she worked her way into a key attacking midfield post with seven goals and 11 assists as an eighth-grader. She hasn't slowed down, and as a sophomore this winter, she suddenly found herself in bigger roles: a top performer in the heading game and one of the Spartans' most experienced regulars.

"I had to take a lot more leadership responsibilities this year," she said. "I feel like I really grew in that aspect."

A 'JAW-DROPPING' START

Opponents knew the scouting report on St. Johns: Don't let Schmidt near the ball in the attacking end.

Stopping her, though? Next to impossible.

She began the season with an instant statement /against eventual Class 6A champion Ponte Vedra, already projected as a potential national title contender. Even with the Sharks' defense doing its best to surround Schmidt from start to finish, she still broke free to score both Spartan goals in a 2-2 draw.

"That game was jaw-dropping," Pickett said. "The first goal she scored was as good as I've seen."

The stories from games like that spread quickly, and pretty soon, defenders were trying different — sometimes unwelcome — methods to contain her. As the year rolled on, opponents tried to fluster Schmidt with tight one-on-one marking from the first minute to the 80th, more than a few times whacking her to the turf with physical challenges.

That didn't stop her, though. Then came the goal streak: Tallahassee Lincoln (one goal), Stanton (one), Lakewood Ranch (two), St. Joseph (three), Christ's Church (two), St. Joseph (two), University Christian (three) and Christ's Church (two).

"Every game, every week, she gets that one chance and she scores it," Pickett said. "She wowed me a lot this year."

SHINING BEYOND THE SUNSHINE STATE

By now, Schmidt's skills are drawing accolades far beyond Florida.

Earlier this month, the United States Soccer Federation called her into the Under-16 women's national team for a 10-day tournament in Turkey, matching up against three national teams. Eventually, that could land her a trip to a FIFA Under-17 or Under-20 Women's World Cup.

That Turkey trip is already her fourth with the national youth system, on top of prior camps in Kansas, West Palm Beach and San Diego. She's also looking forward to a camp later this spring in San Diego, training alongside professional players in the National Women's Soccer League.

"It's really amazing, because these are some of the best players that I've ever played with in my life," Schmidt said. "I feel like, even just being with them for a week, I get so much better and I learn so much."

In the long run, Pickett said Schmidt has all the makings of a future pro.

"Her tactical sense is really high-level," he said. "She reads the game two or three passes ahead of most players on the field."

A college decision is still some distance away for Schmidt: Under NCAA regulations, her formal recruitment process doesn't open until the summer preceding her junior year.

But before the next level arrives, she still has unfinished business in the high school game, eyeing more trophies to add to her collection from the 2021 and 2022 FHSAA title teams. Maybe next year means the start of a new title streak at the Clay County school.

"Definitely next year, I want to be back in that state final," she said. "That's the biggest goal."

ALL-FIRST COAST GIRLS SOCCER PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Sydney Schmidt

Sophomore, St. Johns Country Day

Age: 16

Resume: Scored 24 goals and 10 assists against the nation's No. 1 strength of regular season schedule as rated by MaxPreps. … Earned Region 1-1A championship. ... Previously won two FHSAA championships with Spartans in 2021 and 2022. ... Selected for United States national team at U-16 level. ... Still evaluating college options.

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This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Sydney Schmidt, St. Johns Country Day: All-First Coast girls soccer