Sydney Patrick started her soccer journey early in her childhood. She grew up around it, and the older she got, the more clear it was that soccer would be a significant part of her life.
“My brother played soccer growing up and then I started playing really young, probably early elementary school,” Patrick said. “Soccer has just always been a part of my family.”
High school served as a period of clarity for the Hempfield Area graduate, at least athletically. She was a multi-sport athlete, but soccer was the one that always stood out.
“Honestly, in high school, I played soccer, I ran track and I played lacrosse, and nothing was really as interesting to me as soccer,” Patrick said.
She backed up her interest with strong play. A four-year letter winner in soccer, Patrick was named a 2019 Big 56 First Team representative.
Patrick came to The Rock to stay close to home and study exercise science. As she uncovered more about the culture surrounding the women’s soccer team, she knew it was the right choice.
“I wanted to study exercise science and Slippery Rock had a really good program for [it]. And then, when I came here and got involved with the team, I just knew this is where I wanted to be. We have a really good team culture,” Patrick said. “I recognized that from my first visit. That solidified my answer that I did want to come here.”
It did not take long for Patrick to experience the unity of her squad in games. She notes specifically one game earlier on in her Rock career.
“We played Clarion at home my sophomore year, that was when I scored my first goal,” Patrick said. “Everyone around me was so happy and I was so happy and it was just really cool coming in and scoring a goal.”
The team culture is built not just on the playing field or the practice field, but wherever the team goes. From July 31 to Aug. 8 this year, The Rock women’s soccer team traveled to Costa Rica.
While the sightseeing of waterfalls and volcanic hot springs is an obvious highlight, Patrick mentioned a service project with a local public school as a mutually-beneficial part of the trip.
“Being with my team, getting to see Costa Rica, and we got to volunteer at a local school…that was just an eye-opening experience, and to get to experience that with all of my best friends was just a really cool trip,” Patrick said.
The team took time away from their practices, scrimmages and excursions to volunteer for an underprivileged school in San Jose. The trip as a whole speaks to the grind and selflessness necessary to be a collegiate athlete.
These virtues are exemplary in Patrick’s own play on the field.
The Greensburg, Pa. native’s team-leading seven assists on the year, the second most in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC), have brought her career total up to 28. That number is the new assist total to hit the SRU women’s soccer record books, passing Ashley Paganie’s 26 career assists, which had been the record since 2010.
“I think it says a lot about how I play. I care a lot about my teammate’s success,” Patrick said.
Even when she knew the record was on the horizon earlier this year, the one-time All-PSAC West Honoree still put the team’s interests ahead of her own.
“I was aware of it. It was definitely a focus, but it wasn’t my main focus. Winning was for sure the main focus,” Patrick said.
The wins have come so far this year. The Rock is 5-3-3 overall but all five wins have come within the conference. Their 17 points with a .750 winning percentage in PSAC play slots them in as the current two-seed in the PSAC-West, just one point shy of Gannon University for the West division lead.
With six conference games remaining, that lead is absolutely in play.
“We definitely want to win the PSAC-West. Winning the entire PSAC would be very cool, that is definitely one of our main goals,” Patrick said.
And with a good shot at the PSAC tournament where we stand today, the White and Green’s sights are set higher. The two-time College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Honoree said her squad is also looking ahead to the possibility of “just making it to the NCAA tournament and showing what we can do.”
It is still important to take everything one step at a time though. On top of that, even with high expectations and high goals, The Rock wants to maintain a level mentality to avoid grasping at an unreachable standard.
“One of our main team mottos is working towards progress, not perfection,” Patrick said. “You can easily make progress in each practice or game, or anything, but perfection is very unreachable and nobody can be perfect.”
