Gig Harbor High ‘09 grad Schroeder has South Sound FC in league title hunt

Gig Harbor High School 2009 grad Brittany Schroeder scored the first-ever goal in the newly-formed Northwest Premier League this season in May for the South Sound FC women’s team.

“It was a through ball from an attacking midfielder,” Schroeder said. “I just finished it in the right-side netting. It was a good goal. I was just excited to be playing. The whole team played really well.”

The goal helped lift South Sound FC to a 2-0 win over Twin City Union that day and got the team a valuable three points and early lead in the standings. As it stands right now, near the end of the season, South Sound is in second place in the league, which is semi-professional and has seven teams.

When she scored the goal, Schroeder didn’t even consider it was the league’s first-ever goal, at the time.

“I didn’t even realize it was the first goal at the time,” she said. “I was just thinking about trying to win for our team.”

Schroeder was a captain on the varsity soccer team during her senior season at Gig Harbor High and also ran track. Her speed in the 400-meter event earned her a scholarship at the University of Montana. She never figured she’d play competitive soccer again after high school.

But while playing some recreational soccer in Tacoma, one of the girls on the team invited her to try out.

“I ended up loving it,” Schroeder said. “I never thought soccer would be an option.”

She said she has thoroughly enjoyed her first season with the team.

“The team is awesome,” Schroeder said. “We have a ton of wonderful players. Everyone is coming from high-quality universities. We have a ton of high-quality players. It’s been a lot of fun.”

Schroeder said she hopes South Sound can chase down the Spokane Shock late in the season.

“We want to win the league,” she said. “My goal is just to finish the season strong.”

Schroeder is busy these days, having just started grad school at Seattle University with her sights set on becoming a nurse practitioner. From her first goal of the season until now, Schroeder has been having a good time.

“Scoring the first goal in the league was awesome, but I think getting the chance to play competitively again with such an awesome group of girls and a great club is even better,” she said.

This story was originally published June 23, 2016 at 10:11 AM with the headline "Gig Harbor High ‘09 grad Schroeder has South Sound FC in league title hunt."