Sophie Diana Schmidt (born 28 June 1988) is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

for National Women's Soccer League club

Houston Dash The Houston Dash is a professional women's soccer team based in Houston, Texas. It joined the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) in the 2014 season, and is affiliated with the MLS team Houston Dynamo FC. History Establishment On November ...

and the Canadian national team, with whom she won an Olympic gold medal in

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

and bronze in both

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

and

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

. She previously played her club soccer for German club FFC Frankfurt and

Sky Blue FC NJ/NY Gotham FC is a professional women's soccer team based in Harrison, New Jersey. Founded in 2006 as Jersey Sky Blue, the team was known as Sky Blue FC from 2008 until 2020. A founding member of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) in 2013 ...

in the NWSL.

Early life

Schmidt was born in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749, ...

Manitoba , image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg , map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada , Label_map = yes , coordinates = , capital = Winn ...

, to Elmer and Cornelia Schmidt. Her parents immigrated to Canada from Paraguay before she was born, while her grandparents were originally from Germany. She speaks German fluently and studied German in

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

. She attended W. J. Mouat Secondary School in Abbotsford,

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

and played for the Abbotsford Rush club team in 2004. She grew up in a

Mennonite Mennonites are groups of Anabaptist Christian church communities of denominations. The name is derived from the founder of the movement, Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland. Through his writings about Reformed Christianity during the Radi ...

community and has described her faith as the most important thing to her.

College career

Schmidt attended the

University of Portland , mottoeng = The truth will set you free , established = 1901 , type = Private university , religious_affiliation = Catholic (Congregation of Holy Cross) , endowment = $218 million , president = Robert D. Kelly , students = 3,731 (fall 20 ...

and played for the

Portland Pilots The Portland Pilots is the nickname for athletics at the University of Portland. The Pilots compete in the West Coast Conference (WCC) at the NCAA Division I level. History The Pilots started to gain attention when Clive Charles began coachi ...

from 2007 to 2009. She did not play during the 2006 season due to her Canadian national team commitments. As a second-year student, Schmidt played forward for the Pilots despite having never played the position at a competitive level. She finished the season with seven goals and seven assists in 14 games. Schmidt was fourth in the West Coast Conference in total points (21), sixth in goals and third in assists. She scored the lone goal in a 1–0 NCAA second round win at Colorado. In 2009, Schmidt finished the season tied for first on the team with 12 assists and third on the team with 12 goals. She was named to the Soccer America MVP Team (All-America) First Team, NSCAA First Team All-American, NSCAA All-West Region First Team, and ll-WCC First Team. She ranked ninth in school history for career points per game (1.60) and assists per game (0.46) and tenth in Pilots' history in goals (33) and goals per game (0.58) in 57 matches.

Club career

Early career

Schmidt played for the

Vancouver Whitecaps Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer team based in Vancouver. They compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The MLS iteration of the club was established on Mar ...

from 2005 to 2006, alongside former Pilots Christine Sinclair and

Tiffeny Milbrett Tiffeny Carleen Milbrett (born October 23, 1972) is an American former professional soccer forward who was a longtime member of the United States women's national team. In May 2018 the National Soccer Hall of Fame announced Milbrett will be en ...

. She appeared and started in eight games for the Whitecaps, recording three assists. In 2011, she played for magicJack in the WPS, followed by a short-term contract with

Kristianstads DFF Kristianstads DFF is a women's association football club from Kristianstad, Sweden. The club is affiliated to the Skånes Fotbollförbund. History The original club Wä IF played in from 1989 to 1994 in the Damallsvenskan. The club was reformed ...

in 2012.

Sophie Schmidt 2013-04-27 Spirit - Sky Blue-43 (8955270244)

Sky Blue FC

On 11 January 2013, she joined

in the new National Women's Soccer League, Schmidt played two seasons with Sky Blue, making 42 appearances and scoring 8 goals.

FFC Frankfurt

Schmidt signed a one-year deal for German club 1. FFC Frankfurt of the

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...

on 31 July 2015. Schmidt left 1. FFC Frankfurt following the 2017–2018

season.

Houston Dash

After three seasons with Frankfurt, Schmidt would sign with NWSL club

in 2019. During the 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup Final, she would score a penalty, helping the Dash defeat the

Chicago Red Stars The Chicago Red Stars are a professional women's soccer club based in Bridgeview, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. A founding member of the Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) league, they have played in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) sin ...

for the club's first major trophy. In December 2020, she would re-sign with the Dash through the 2022 season, with the Dash having an option for the 2023 season.

International career

Schmidt has represented Canada at both the U-17 and U-20 level, and captained Canada at the

2006 FIFA U-20 Women's World Championship The 2006 FIFA U-20 Women's World Championship was held in Russia from 17 August to 3 September 2006. It was the officially recognized world championship for women's under-20 national association football teams. Matches were held in four Moscow sta ...

in Russia. She made her senior debut against

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

on 19 April 2005. In her first

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

she scored against

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

on 15 September 2007. She subsequently started all four Olympic matches at

Beijing 2008 The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nat ...

, and played at the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup. Schmidt and her team won a

2011 Pan American Games The 2011 Pan American Games, officially the XVI Pan American Games, was an international multi-sport event that was held from October 14–30, 2011, in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. Some events were held in the nearby cities of Ciudad Guzmán, ...

gold medal. On 28 February 2012, Schmidt made her 30th consecutive international appearance in a match against

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

in Cyprus and had her first two-goal game. Schmidt and her teammates won an Olympic bronze medal at

London 2012 The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. She scored two goals in a 3–0 win over

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

at the

2014 Cyprus Cup The 2014 Cyprus Women's Cup was the seventh edition of the Cyprus Women's Cup, an invitational women's football tournament held annually in Cyprus. It took place between 5–12 March 2014. France won the final over defending champions England. F ...

on 5 March 2014. In August 2016, she won the bronze medal in the 2016 Summer Olympics. 18 February 2021, she played her 200th match for Canada in a 1–0 defeat against the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

in the

2021 SheBelieves Cup The 2021 SheBelieves Cup was the sixth edition of the SheBelieves Cup, an invitational women's soccer tournament held in the United States. Featuring national teams from Canada, Brazil, Argentina, and hosts United States, it began on February 18 ...

. On August 6, 2021, she won the Olympic gold medal in the

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the 1 ...

with Canada.

Personal life

Schmidt became engaged to Nic Kyle, an actor and singer, in September 2017. They married in New Zealand in December 2018.

Career statistics

Club

International goals

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Goal !Date !Location !Opponent !data-sort-type=number, Lineup !data-sort-type=number, # !data-sort-type=number, Min !data-sort-type=number, Score !data-sort-type=number, Result !Competition , - , , 2005-04-27 , , , Start , 1.1 , 75 , , , , Friendly , - , , 2006-03-04 , , , Start , 1.1 , 71 , , , , Friendly , - , , 2007-09-15 , , , Start , 1.1 , 55 , , , , FIFA Women's World Cup , - , , 2012-01-23 , , , , 1.1 , 10 , , , , Olympic qualifier , - , , rowspan="2", 2012-02-28 , rowspan="2", , rowspan="2", , rowspan="2", , 2.1 , 36 , , rowspan="2", , rowspan="2" , Cyprus Cup , - , , 2.2 , 51 , , - , , 2012-03-31 , , , Start , 1.1 , 87 , , , , Friendly , - , , 2013-03-06 , , , , 1.1 , 2 , , , ,

Cyprus Cup The Cyprus Women's Cup is a global invitational tournament for national teams in women's association football. It has been held annually in Cyprus since 2008. Although the competition takes place in Cyprus, the hosts have yet to take part in t ...

, - , , 2013-12-22 , , , Start , 1.1 , 90 , , , , Brasilia Tournament , - , , rowspan="2", 2014-03-05 , rowspan="2", , rowspan="2", , rowspan="2", , 2.1 , 35 , , rowspan="2", , rowspan="2" ,

, - , , 2.2 , 42 , , - , , 2014-03-12 , , , Start , 1.1 , 90 , , , ,

, - , , 2014-06-18 , , , , 1.1 , 54 , , , , Friendly , - , , rowspan="2", 2014-06-18 , rowspan="2", , rowspan="2", , rowspan="2", Start , 2.1 , 58 , , rowspan="2", , rowspan="2" , Friendly , - , , 2.2 , 90+1 , , - , , 2015-05-29 , , , Start , 1.1 , 23 , , , , Friendly , - , align=center, 17 , 2016-08-12 , , , , 1.1 , 55 , , , , Olympics: quarterfinal , - , align=center, 18 , 2017-03-03 , , , , 1.1 , 9 , 1–0 , 2–1 ,

Algarve Cup The Algarve Cup is an invitational tournament for national teams in women's association football hosted by the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF). Held annually in the Algarve region of Portugal since 1994, it is one of the most prestigious an ...

, - , align=center, 19 , 2019-04-08 , , , , 1.1 , 53 , 1–0 , 2–1 , , Friendly , - , align=center, 20 , 2022-07-12 , {{sort, Guadalupe, Mexico , {{fbw, Costa Rica , {{subin, 61, Quinn} , 1.1 , 70 , 2-0 , 2-0 , Concacaf W Championship

Honours

Canada U20 *

CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship The CONCACAF Women's Under-20 Championship is an association football competition for women's national under-20 teams in the North America, Central America and Caribbean region. It serves as the qualification tournament for the FIFA U-20 Women's ...

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

Canada *

CONCACAF Women's Championship The CONCACAF W Championship (previously known as the CONCACAF Women's Championship, CONCACAF Women's Invitational Tournament, CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup and CONCACAF Women's World Cup Qualifying) is a football competition organized by the Confede ...

: 2010 * Summer Olympics:

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

; bronze medal:

* Pan American Games: 2011 *

* Four Nations Tournament: 2015 *

, 2011 Individual * Canadian U-20 Player of the Year: 2007 * BC Soccer Youth Player of the Year: 2005 * BC Soccer Adult Player of the Year: 2007

References

{{reflist ;Match reports {{reflist, group=m, colwidth=35em

External links

{{Commons category, Sophie Schmidt * {{Official website{{dead link, date=April 2020 *{{Canada Soccer player, id=2871
Sophie Schmidt
at the National Women's Soccer League
Sophie Schmidt
at