Olivia Smith is going pro.

One of Canada’s brightest prospects, and a standout for years now with the youth national teams, Smith spent this past season with the Penn State Nittany Lions in the NCAA, but has now decided to forgo the rest of her university eligibility and make the jump to the professional ranks overseas.

She has signed a contract with a “top European club”, CanPL.ca understands, although which club it is is yet to be revealed.

“I have to be honest, I’ve been a little bit hesitant, not sure of like ‘Do I want to stay one more year in college? Do I think I’m ready for the pro experience?’,” Smith said to CanPL.ca. “I think I’m definitely grateful that I took two years of the college experience, of living on my own, learning how to navigate things by myself, but I think soccer wise I’m ready for the next level.

“I’m just eager to grow and learn new things. I think a dream of mine is to play pro overseas, and I think the time is right now.”

The Whitby, Ontario native made 16 appearances at Penn State last season, scoring one goal and adding an assist for the 2015 NCAA national champions. She was part of a strong Nittany Lions side that also included current Chicago Red Stars forward Penelope Hocking during her final NCAA season.

With the experiences gained in university — both on the pitch, but also off of it — Smith says she is ready to move up to the professional level.

“I feel like in the NCAA, it’s probably a little more difficult in terms of having more responsibility with balancing school, and training, and things like that,” Smith said. “Now going to this next level, getting to focus on what you love is what I’m most excited about, and being able to put all that extra focus into my art. I’m really looking forward to that, and [the NCAA] is just a really good stepping stone, like just to have that experience of being alone and then managing all these other responsibilities, to then taking a step up and just focusing on your craft.”

“I think within the two years that I spent at university, I was faced with a lot of adversity, and I had to deal with that on my own, — not having your family around, or making new friends, and managing other things on top of school and soccer. It’s a really important experience, I think that a lot of youth players need to experience that before they make this jump, just so that you already have that under your belt so maybe you know how to manage things when you’re further away from home.”

A lethal finisher with the ability to play up top, on the wing, or in an attacking midfield role, Smith’s versatility and impressive track record thus far are things that caught the eye of clubs. Smith has scored at almost a goal per game rate with the Canadian youth national teams — including 12 in eight games in 2023 — and scored 18 goals in 11 League1 Ontario matches with the North Toronto Nitros last year.

“I play everywhere up top,” Smith said. “I think on the wing it really depends on the game and what the coaches want. For me. I like to play to take players on one-vs-one and isolate them, or I do like playing as a false nine and receiving the ball in the middle to create opportunities.”

Smith has already made her senior national debut — breaking the record for the youngest player in Canadian women’s national team history as a 15-year-old at a friendly tournament in China in November 2019. Later named Canada Soccer’s 2019 Young Player of the Year, she made her debut against Brazil and one of her heroes growing up, Marta, while playing alongside another in Christine Sinclair, and played a second match in that tournament against New Zealand.

With her move now into the professional game, Smith wants to get back into the senior national team for the first time since then.

“Honestly, it’s been a tough couple of years,” Smith admitted. “I’ve been getting down on myself just because I know what I have to do to get there, and it’s just a matter of executing it. It’s a big goal of mine within the next year or two, and I’ve been working really hard towards that and I’m making these subtle moves to get there. I’m really excited for this next year.”

“Completely different, the mentality is different, physically different,” Smith listed when asked what makes 2023 Olivia Smith different from 2019 Olivia Smith. “Also in terms of skill, training a lot, technically but also awareness. I’ve also grown a lot as a person, I feel like now taking upon this new role of leadership with the U-20 group also adds to what I have to bring by 2023 and 2024.”

In late May and early June, the 18-year-old was a key player for the Canadian under-20s at the 2023 Concacaf Women’s U-20 Championship in the Dominican Republic, scoring four goals in five games as Canada finished third place and qualified for next year’s U-20 Women’s World Cup — including a 75th-minute goal in the third place match to send the match to extra time, where Canada would win 5-3.

Smith says that this year, as one of the co-captains of the team, she had to use her voice more as a leader, and develop more as a player and as a person.

“I think a massive takeaway for me was that this is a new group for me,” Smith said. “Last year, I was kind of like the baby of the team, and this year, I kind of became a leader. It was a big role to take upon but I’m really confident in our team going into World Cup next year. I feel like we did really well as a collective and we still have a lot of room to grow, but we still have a year until World Cup, so looking forward to it.

“Last year, I was definitely a lot more quiet and kept to myself, but this year, I feel like me and my co-captain Florianne Jourde, were able to bring our team together, and played a really big role in terms of confidence on the field and bringing confidence to our teammates.”

During that tournament, Smith overtook Jordyn Huitema for second place all-time in youth international goals for Canada with her 24th, moving just three back of the legendary Christine Sinclair’s 27. She says that it’s special to be near the top of that list, and has the objective of passing Sinclair’s record in the coming year.

“It means the world to me, and thinking that I still have another year to go, there’s still a lot of room and opportunity for me to hopefully, which would be an honor, bypass Christine Sinclair,” Smith said. “It wouldn’t be possible without my teammates, it’s obviously a collective effort, and I’m so grateful to have teammates who are supportive of these goals of mine. Definitely scoring goals is something that I take a lot of ownership of, and I’m very grateful to have the opportunity to do so in the games.”

If Smith is successful at the next level and earns that call into the national team setup that she’s been working so hard for, she thinks she’ll be able to become a regular for the national team. She knows she has to take it one step at a time, but is eager to pull on the red and white with some of the world’s best players, and hopefully establish herself as one as well.

There will be a changing of the guard in Canadian soccer over the next few years, which is already partly underway. With several players likely going into their final Women’s World Cup this summer for Canada, youngsters like Simi Awujo, Jade Rose, and Smith, among others, are preparing to take this program into a new era in the coming years.

“I have to say, the future’s so bright and it’s so exciting. I can’t wait to play alongside these girls again, and soccer in Canada is only evolving from here. There’s so much talent in this country, I can’t wait to see where it goes in the next couple years.

“Being able to represent the badge at these national tournaments, or just like in my daily life, being a role model to this youth generation… It just means the absolute world to me. It’s been a dream of mine ever since I was like three, four, and to be able to be a part of this program in this journey and only continuing to thrive and go forward… I’m, really excited for the next couple of years.”