It can be hard to be the new kid on the block but helping guide her team to a North Coast Section title this year, Miramonte sophomore Sadie Leal Schuman already proving that her presence was the missing ingredient to the Matadors recipe for greatness.

Electing not to play high school soccer during her freshman season, Schuman joined the team this season ready to compete and despite being a year behind the rest of her teammates, has played enough high level soccer and possesses such a strong work ethic that the transition for her was nothing to worry about. 

"I've just been working on my crosses, my finishing," Schuman said. "I've been putting in the hours at the field and I've just been trying to refine my game. I play on MVLA, which is a club down in [the] Mountain View, Los Altos [area]. And so, I've always been thinking about that and the goal is the national team and college and all of that."

Possessing an extremely strong desire to win, Schuman's hatred of losing and her high level competitive spirit have not only been welcome additions to Miramonte's program but they have also proven to be extremely vital in the team's NCS title winning season.

"It's the mentality," Schuman said. "Throughout this game, we had a lot of ups and downs but we knew that coming into the game, and I think that it's just my mentality. I just can't lose, I hate losing. Whether it's a soccer game or a board game, I hate losing."

Around soccer for as long as she can remember, Schuman having an older brother has been extra helpful for her career as well as his influence and love for the game rubbed off on her and inspired her to take the sport seriously. 

"I started playing when I was three years old," Schuman said. "I have a brother who is two years older than me and his team, I think it was Walnut Creek Surf. I played with them when I was three so they were five year old boys and I was three years old, and I just loved it from the start. He was kind of my inspiration just because he loved it so much too and we could play in the backyard together and whatnot. But, it was really that start, it was that beginning playing with boys at such a young age."

Always looking for new ways to learn, Schuman enjoys watching soccer away from the pitch and in watching some high level play in both club and international competitions, absorbs everything she can while watching some of the greats in womens soccer.

"I watch the US National Team a lot, obviously," Schuman said. "But also teams in Europe because it's that tiki taka style. Women's soccer in Barcelona has become huge and it's great to see that. Kelley O'Hara, she is a great outside back, Crystal Dunn, all those great outside backs, I love to learn from them."

Despite not yet being able to get recruited, that hasn't stopped Schuman from thinking about her future and while having gotten from her club team to get some exposure already, she has thought about schools in which she can see herself going to and is excited for the day where she is eligible for full recruitment.

"I've definitely got dream schools but, I'm still a sophomore so I can't talk to schools yet," Schuman said. "But I play in the 2007 age group and so those are all 2025s so I've gotten some great exposure to some great schools and a lot of my teammates have committed to some excellent schools. So I'm really looking forward to June 15th this summer to see what happens."

Making an immediate impact since joining the team, Schuman credits all the work that has put in both skill wise and physical wise and has been able to ascend into stardom because of that.

"There's so much," Schuman said. "I've really been working on strength. I've been really working in the gym a lot and I think strength and speed has really improved but also my shooting. I've worked on different shooting techniques and crossing techniques and it's just refining those little things."

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