Audrey Smith draws attention wherever she goes.
Read about the St. Louis area's top high school girls soccer players and their accomplishments throughout the 2024 season.
The Fort Zumwalt South senior sniper regularly turns heads on the soccer pitch with one dazzling move after another.
Off of it, she can also make noise.
For the wrong reasons.
"She's not that graceful," Zumwalt South senior Marissa Franklin said.
Added senior striker Ashley Miller, "I've seen her fall a lot."
Smith's signature tumble came last fall.
She and her teammates were leaving a boys soccer game at Francis Howell High when Smith accidentally tripped and fell down the bleachers. She hit almost every part of her body with each bounce before finally coming to a stop at the last row.
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"I'm watching this and thinking, 'Great, one of our best players just broke her leg,' " Franklin said.
Nope. Not Smith.
While fans and even some of the soccer players from the recently completed contest watched in shock, Smith simply got up and started laughing.
"That's just her," Miller said. "No matter the situation, she'll laugh at anything."
Explained Smith, "I was wearing a padded coat, it didn't hurt much. I sort of thought it was funny."
Smith may like to have a good time. Yet she takes her soccer seriously.
And it shows.
![Class 3 quaterfinal: Ladue at Fort Zumwalt South girls soccer](https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/2/e5/2e50be23-934e-589c-95c0-67f3366e2bd3/665262ff9f514.image.jpg?crop=1523%2C1282%2C18%2C23&resize=150%2C126&order=crop%2Cresize 150w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/2/e5/2e50be23-934e-589c-95c0-67f3366e2bd3/665262ff9f514.image.jpg?crop=1523%2C1282%2C18%2C23&resize=200%2C168&order=crop%2Cresize 200w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/2/e5/2e50be23-934e-589c-95c0-67f3366e2bd3/665262ff9f514.image.jpg?crop=1523%2C1282%2C18%2C23&resize=225%2C189&order=crop%2Cresize 225w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/2/e5/2e50be23-934e-589c-95c0-67f3366e2bd3/665262ff9f514.image.jpg?crop=1523%2C1282%2C18%2C23&resize=300%2C253&order=crop%2Cresize 300w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/2/e5/2e50be23-934e-589c-95c0-67f3366e2bd3/665262ff9f514.image.jpg?crop=1523%2C1282%2C18%2C23&resize=400%2C337&order=crop%2Cresize 400w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/2/e5/2e50be23-934e-589c-95c0-67f3366e2bd3/665262ff9f514.image.jpg?crop=1523%2C1282%2C18%2C23&resize=540%2C455&order=crop%2Cresize 540w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/2/e5/2e50be23-934e-589c-95c0-67f3366e2bd3/665262ff9f514.image.jpg?crop=1523%2C1282%2C18%2C23&resize=640%2C539&order=crop%2Cresize 640w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/2/e5/2e50be23-934e-589c-95c0-67f3366e2bd3/665262ff9f514.image.jpg?crop=1523%2C1282%2C18%2C23&resize=750%2C631&order=crop%2Cresize 750w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/2/e5/2e50be23-934e-589c-95c0-67f3366e2bd3/665262ff9f514.image.jpg?crop=1523%2C1282%2C18%2C23&resize=990%2C833&order=crop%2Cresize 990w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/2/e5/2e50be23-934e-589c-95c0-67f3366e2bd3/665262ff9f514.image.jpg?crop=1523%2C1282%2C18%2C23&resize=1035%2C871&order=crop%2Cresize 1035w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/2/e5/2e50be23-934e-589c-95c0-67f3366e2bd3/665262ff9f514.image.jpg?crop=1523%2C1282%2C18%2C23&resize=1200%2C1010&order=crop%2Cresize 1200w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/2/e5/2e50be23-934e-589c-95c0-67f3366e2bd3/665262ff9f514.image.jpg?crop=1523%2C1282%2C18%2C23&resize=1333%2C1122&order=crop%2Cresize 1333w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/2/e5/2e50be23-934e-589c-95c0-67f3366e2bd3/665262ff9f514.image.jpg?crop=1523%2C1282%2C18%2C23&resize=1476%2C1242&order=crop%2Cresize 1476w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/2/e5/2e50be23-934e-589c-95c0-67f3366e2bd3/665262ff9f514.image.jpg?crop=1523%2C1282%2C18%2C23&resize=1523%2C1282&order=crop%2Cresize 2008w)
Fort Zumwalt South's Audrey Smith (9) kicks the ball during a Class 3 quarterfinal game between Ladue and Fort Zumwalt South at Fort Zumwalt South High School, Saturday, May 25, 2024, in St. Peters. Michael Gulledge, Special to the Post-Dispatch
The All-Metro girls soccer player of the year, Smith racked up a school record 124 goals in her sparkling four-year career. She became the school's all-time leading goal scorer, male or female, when she tallied against Fort Zumwalt East with No. 114 to pass Karson Gibbs, a two-time All-Metro boys player of the year.
Thanks in part to Smith, and a legion of talented teammates, the Bulldogs became a statewide powerhouse. They won three successive state titles from 2021 to 2023 before finishing third in the state tournament earlier this month at Soccer Park.
Fort Zumwalt South was 89-13 over the past four seasons and was the first public school to win three consecutive state championships in soccer.
"Audrey is a huge part of that," Fort Zumwalt South coach LeAnne Sanders said. "From when she was a freshman until now, the things she's done still amaze me."
Smith, who was selected as the Class 3 player of the year by the Missouri Soccer Coaches, will take her talents to St. Louis University.
But she still needs to find a way to stay on her feet away from the field.
"It just happens sometimes," Smith said for her penchant of falling down. "It never hurts and seems to make everyone laugh."
Smith has been a terror on the field since day one.
Her combination of speed, foot skills and an uncanny knack of seeing the entire pitch made her an NCAA Division I prospect even as a freshman.
"The best part about her is that she knows the game and reads other players' movements really well," Sanders said. "Her knowledge and her speed make her incredibly hard to defend."
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Fort Zumwalt South's Audrey Smith competes during a Class 3 girls semifinal soccer match on Friday, May 31, 2024, at Soccer Park in St. Louis County, Mo. Summit defeated Fort Zumwalt South 1-0. Gordon Radford | Special to the Post-Dispatch
Smith scored a single-season school record 41 goals as a junior in leading the Bulldogs to their third successive state crown.
This season, she took on more of a leadership role. Her total of 26 goals and 13 assists was down from last year yet her ability to make some of her younger teammates better played a huge role in the run to the fourth successive final four.
"She found that her role was not just scoring, but doing a lot of other things too," Miller said. "It ended up making her a more valuable overall player."
Smith always seemed to save her best for last. She holds the record for most career points in a state final four with 11 goals and three assists for 25 points. Her hat trick was the difference in a 5-3 win over Glendale in the 2022 championship game. She also scored in a 2-0 win over Smithville in the title tilt as a junior.
But Smith said her most memorable moments came while handing out assists to teammates. She tallied 69 helpers over her career.
"Every time someone congratulates me on something, I always tell them it's a team and I would be nowhere without my teammates," Smith said. "The best part is watching someone else score and seeing how happy it makes them."
Smith will go down as one of the best players ever at a school that prides itself on its soccer success.
Yet she also possesses a playful side, one that makes her extremely popular among her teammates and fellow students.
"She's kind of a goofball, but everyone loves her," Franklin said.
Smith is prone to breaking out a dance move from time to time, including after matches. Her signature dance, the worm, not only happens after matches, but she once hit the floor and started wiggling around in the middle of a shopping mall.
"She's definitely different," Miller added.
Smith has reached major success on the club level, as well, helping guide Scott Gallagher to the ECNL national championships each of the last two years.
She has made an indelible mark on the high school soccer scene throughout the state.
"Just watching her, you know the sky's the limit," Sanders said.
Read about the St. Louis area's top high school girls soccer players and their accomplishments throughout the 2024 season.