Patrick Named Maryland Gatorade Soccer Player of the Year
COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina women’s soccer signee Payton Patrick (Parkton, Md.) made if four-straight years a Gamecock signee has been named a Gatorade State Player of the Year when she won the Maryland state honor, the organization announced yesterday. The award recognizes not only athletic accomplishment but also academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field.
As a senior Patrick led her high school squad to a 7-0 record this past season. Patrick scored 11 goals and assisted on eight more, notching five multi-goal performances. A member of the U.S. Soccer Under-19 Women’s National Team player pool, she is a three-time First Team All-State honoree and was selected to play in last month’s High School All-American Game. Ranked as a four-star recruit in the Class of 2021 by TopDrawerSoccer.com, she concluded her prep soccer career with 81 goals and 48 assists.
“From my first visit and tour of South Carolina I knew it was the school for me,” Patrick said when she signed with the Gamecocks. “The atmosphere that Coach Shelley and Coach Jamie created was incredible and the players were all so welcoming. After seeing the Graveyard Shift and the support the women’s soccer program has from the rest of the University and all of Columbia I knew it was something I wanted to be apart of.”
We weren’t kidding that @PaytonPatrick7 is 𝘿𝙔𝙉𝘼𝙈𝙄𝘾!
🎥⬇️ pic.twitter.com/tjFTEDaIno
— Gamecock Women’s Soccer (@GamecockWSoccer) November 11, 2020
Off the field Patrick has maintained a weighted 4.78 GPA in the classroom. Additionally, Patrick has developed a training program for young soccer players called ACE (Attitude-Commitment-Execution). She has volunteered locally on behalf of a fundraising campaign to benefit Alzheimer’s research, and she has donated her time at the House of Ruth, a home for abused women and children.
Patrick is a part of a great 2021 signing class that is set to join the program this upcoming fall. Patrick is joined by five other ranked prospects in the class of 2021, according to TopDrawerSoccer.com. Duke transfer Remi Swartz also bolsters an already loaded lineup for the Gamecocks that is set to return every starter from the spring portion of their season where the team finished in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
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