Penn Staters keep making money.

Former Penn State women’s soccer midfielder Olivia Smith signed a four-year deal with Arsenal from Liverpool for a world-record transfer fee of 1 million British pounds, making it the most expensive transfer in women’s soccer history.

Smith only spent her freshman season at Penn State in 2022, where she scored one goal and notched one assist. She had plenty of experience at the women’s soccer international level before setting foot in Happy Valley, representing her home country, Canada, at multiple youth Concacaf tournaments before debuting with the first team at 15 years old in 2019.

Smith was the youngest player to debut for the Canadian national team. Smith departed from the program after 2022 to sign her first professional contract with the North Toronto Nitros.

After bouncing around in League1 Ontario, Smith jumped to Portuguese giants Sporting CP, where she won the Campeonato Nacional Feminino’s young player of the season. Her strong season earned her a transfer to Liverpool in the Women’s Super League, the premier women’s soccer league in the world. She scored eight goals in 22 games.

Smith now joins England’s most successful women’s club and joins Grace Fisk as the only former Nittany Lions on Women’s Super League rosters.

About the Author

Oscar Orellana

Oscar is a third-year broadcast journalism student from Los Angeles. He's probably at the movies. He mostly writes about Penn State football. Email him at oscar@onwardstate.com.

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