Sydney Schmidt is a Sporting Jax Soccer Academy player who will suit up for the club during its inaugural season in the Gainbridge Super League. The 17-year-old fullback has been called up to multiple U.S. youth national teams. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
Published on August 14, 2025 at 1:21 pm
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Briana Scurry considers Sporting Jax players like Sydney Schmidt and Andrea Fernandez her sisters.
Scurry, the legendary former goalkeeper for the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team, said she considers every women’s soccer player a sister when she spoke this week at a kickoff luncheon ahead of the debut of Jacksonville’s first women’s professional team.
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The Jacksonville players will officially join the sorority on Aug. 23 when Sporting Jax plays its first official match against D.C. Power.
The Jacksonville club’s inaugural roster, which includes players from three continents, also features three Northeast Florida teenagers from its academy, like Schmidt, as well as alumni of Flagler College, like Fernandez, and from the University of North Florida.
“It’s honestly such a surreal feeling to be able to play in my hometown on such a big stage,” says Schmidt, a 17-year-old fullback who has been called up from the U.S. Youth National Team.
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“We have a lot of people that are starting to follow us. I just think it’s really awesome that women from Jacksonville and around the world are able to come play here. It’s awesome that (Fernandez is) from Spain and that we all get to come together and play for something so big.”
Schmidt is a local wunderkind, and Sporting Jax Soccer Academy product, who will train and play with the first team but not sign a professional contract in order to maintain her collegiate eligibility. She will likely share the pitch with the 25-year-old Fernandez, a Flagler College alum who grew up in Spain’s Andalusia region.
“It is great to have all these people’s investment in women’s soccer right now because the sport is growing day-by-day,” Fernandez says. “I’m coming from Spain, and in Spain it’s growing so much in women’s soccer. Having these people around to help us is crucial for the sport.”
When Fernandez started playing, she was forced to play with boys. Today, Spain is the reigning world champion, the No. 1 team in the world and home to some of the best players and clubs in women’s soccer.
Sustainable soccer
The global game has changed since Scurry denied China over two hours on a July afternoon in the Rose Bowl. Players are more athletic, leagues are more durable and investment is more apparent.
The Women’s United Soccer Association was the first fully professional women’s soccer league in the world when it was created in 2000 to cash in on the popularity of Scurry and the 1999 world champions. Tuesday, Scurry said her three seasons playing for the Atlanta Beat in the WUSA was the best time of her life.
“There was a lot of money, but there wasn’t a big plan,” Scurry says of the WUSA. “Then, the second iteration (the WPS), there was a lot of plan and not enough money. Now, you’ve gotten it figured out because it’s gone from more of a charity type mentality to a business mentality. Now, you have these amazing teams and ownership groups. They are getting the sponsors, getting the partners, they are getting the people in place to keep the longevity of the league and the team going.”
“And, that’s not something that we had in place before. We’ve learned from our mistakes. I’m happy to have been a part of both things and I’m glad to see it as its going now. I feel more positive about it every day that it’s going to last. And, it’s great,” she said.
Growing the game
This year marks 20 years since Sporting Jax head coach Stacey Balaam came to the U.S. to play collegiate soccer. Balaam recalled she had two posters on her wall as a young player in east England: Mia Hamm and Brandi Chastain.
“I’m not sure you know how much you did for women’s soccer,” Balaam said. “They paved the way. They were my role models. I didn’t have that in England. I wanted to come to America and follow that dream.”
The creative midfielder from Suffolk County still holds the University of Montevallo single-season and career assists records. Now, Balaam will be tasked with getting the best out of another dynamic creator who was a Division II All-American: Andrea Fernandez.
Fernandez was a ferocious attacker at Flagler College. She scored 74 goals and assisted 45 others in 78 collegiate games.
“I’m going to be so happy to step on the field and show Jacksonville and show the league how we are going to be, and (I’m) looking forward for that moment. I don’t think I have the words to explain it,” she tells Jacksonville Today.
Fernandez used her close control to dribble through opponents, surprising pace to sprint past them and clinical finishing throughout her collegiate career. Her Flagler coaches were in the stands at Hodges Stadium to support her earlier this month during Sporting Jax’s inaugural match.
Thunderstorms cancelled the friendly with Hibernian Women. It did not dampen the enthusiasm around the team.
Getting ‘stuck in’ with the soccer community
Kickoff lunch attendee Shadia Blair said the 1999 world champions also inspired her on her journey that included playing two seasons as a fullback at Nova Southeastern University; earning her doctorate degree and parenting a 10-year-old daughter who also plays fullback.
“We are so excited,” Blair says of Sporting Jax. “It means, officially, its not just a youth sport anymore. We don’t have to go to Fort Lauderdale or Miami. We have one in our backyard. It’s amazing for my daughter to be a part of a sport that’s growing and starting.”
Northeast Florida has a long history of producing outstanding girls soccer players and soccer teams. Schmidt, for one, played for St. Johns Country Day, a private school powerhouse in Orange Park. Her next steps in the sport will be on lawns watered by women like Scurry.
“I think its an incredible experience and opportunity that I’ve been able to be a part of,” Schmidt says. “I’m really excited to get started, really excited for our first game because I feel opening a new chapter in Jacksonville is a big deal.”
