C. J. Smith (soccer)

C. J. Smith
Smith in 2022
Personal information
Full name Courtney-Junior Mitchell-Smith
Date of birth (1998-01-21) January 21, 1998 (age 26)
Place of birth Brampton, Ontario, Canada
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
 Simcoe County Rovers
Youth career
Grand Valley Minor Soccer
Brampton East SC
ProStars FC
2016 ETO FC Győr
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2017–2018 Mississippi Gulf Coast Bulldogs 31 (16)
2019 South Carolina Gamecocks 15 (3)
2020 Georgia Southern Eagles 6 (0)
2021 Houston Baptist Huskies 17 (5)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016 ProStars FC 11 (2)
2017 Master's FA 2 (0)
2018–2019 Colorado Pride Switchbacks U23 20 (5)
2021 Port City FC 8 (5)
2022 HFX Wanderers FC 0 (0)
2022 → FC Edmonton (loan) 21 (2)
2023 Vaughan Azzurri 3 (0)
2023– Simcoe County Rovers 25 (4)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of September 2, 2024

Courtney-Junior Mitchell-Smith (born January 12, 1998) is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays for Simcoe County Rovers in League1 Ontario.

Early career

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Smith began playing soccer with Grand Valley Minor Soccer, before moving to Brampton East SC.[1] Afterwards, Smith joined the ProStars FC Academy.[2] In February 2016, he joined the U19 side of Hungarian club ETO FC Győr.[3][4]

College career

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In 2017, he began attending Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College.[5] He scored his first goal on September 1, 2017, against the Jones Bobcats, scoring twice and adding an assist.[6] On October 5, 2018, he scored a hat trick against the Meridian Eagles.[7] For the 2018 season, Smith was selected to play in the Mississippi Association of Community & Junior Colleges Men's All-Star Soccer Game (however the match was cancelled due to poor field conditions)[8] and was named to the United Soccer Coaches Men's NJCAA Division I All-South Region team.[9]

In 2019, he transferred to the University of South Carolina to play for the men's soccer team.[10] He scored his first goals on October 1, scoring twice against the Presbyterian Blue Hose.[11][12]

In 2020, he transferred to Georgia Southern University to play for the Georgia Southern Eagles.[13] He made six appearances, including two starts, recording one assist.[14]

In 2021, he began attending Houston Baptist University, where he played for the Houston Baptist Huskies.[15] In his debut on August 26, he scored a golden goal winner in extra time over the St. Thomas Tommies.[16] He appeared in all 17 matches, scoring five goals, which all came within the team's first five games, including a two-goal performance against the Huston–Tillotson Rams.[17]

Club career

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In 2016, he returned to ProStars FC and played in League1 Ontario.[18] After facing Toronto FC III during a league match, he was invited to train with the Toronto FC Academy.[2]

In 2017, he played for Master's FA in League1 Ontario.[19]

In 2018 and 2019, he played with the Colorado Pride Switchbacks U23 in USL League Two.[20][21] He scored his first goals on May 26, 2018, netting a brace against Albuquerque Sol FC,[22] which earned him PDL Western Conference Team of the Week honours.[23]

In 2021, he played for Port City FC in the National Premier Soccer League. He scored his first goal on May 27 against Jacksonville Armada U-23.[24] He scored a brace on June 5 against Florida Roots FC.[25]

In March 2022, Smith signed a professional contract with Canadian Premier League club HFX Wanderers FC,[17] immediately being sent on an intra-league loan to FC Edmonton.[26][27] He scored his first goal on September 10 against York United FC.[28]

In 2023, he began the season playing with Vaughan Azzurri in League1 Ontario,[29] before switching to the Simcoe County Rovers.[30]

References

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  1. ^ Rae, Kareem (June 10, 2022). "63. #ProSoccerTalk - Ceej Smith ► Professional Player at FC Edmonton". One Soccer Nation. YouTube.
  2. ^ a b Maharaj, Lauren (September 24, 2016). "Men's West Division: Leaders Of The New School". League1 Ontario.
  3. ^ "Pro Stars FC: 2016 Technical Profile". League1 Ontario. April 23, 2016.
  4. ^ "Két Kanadai légiósunk az ETO-ról" [We have two Canadian legions from ETO]. ETO FC Győr (in Hungarian). May 26, 2016.
  5. ^ "C.J. Smith Mississippi Gulf Coast profile". Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College.
  6. ^ "Bulldogs blank Bobcats". Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. September 1, 2017.
  7. ^ "Smith hat trick lifts MGCCC". Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. October 5, 2018.
  8. ^ "Pasvantis, Smith, Davis will play in All-Star Game". Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. November 7, 2018.
  9. ^ "Smith named to All-South Region team". Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. December 7, 2018.
  10. ^ "Gamecocks Announce 2019 Signing Class". South Carolina Gamecocks. May 29, 2019.
  11. ^ Walters, Tyler (October 4, 2019). "Gamecock soccer responds in a big way, beats PC 4-2". Carolina News & Reporter.
  12. ^ "Banahan And Mitchell-Smith Lead Gamecocks To Victory". South Carolina Gamecocks. October 1, 2019.
  13. ^ "Men's Soccer Adds Pair Of Transfers For 2020". Georgia Southern Eagles. January 17, 2020.
  14. ^ "C.J. Smith Georgia Southern Eagles profile". Georgia Southern Eagles.
  15. ^ "CJ Smith Houston Baptist profile". Houston Baptist Huskies.
  16. ^ Hoffman, Andrew (August 27, 2021). "MSOC: Huskies Open the Season with Overtime Victory". Houston Baptist Huskies.
  17. ^ a b Hoffman, Andrew (March 29, 2022). "MSOC: CJ Smith Signs Professional Contract with HFX Wanderers". Houston Baptist Huskies.
  18. ^ "Courtney Mitchell-Smith 2016 L1O Stats". League1 Ontario.
  19. ^ "Courtney Smith 2017 L1O Stats". League1 Ontario.
  20. ^ "Courtney-Junior Mitchell-Smith 2018 USL2 Stats". USL League Two.
  21. ^ "Courtney-Junior Mitchell-Smith 2019 USL2 Stats". USL League Two.
  22. ^ Seligman, Noah (May 27, 2018). "Colorado sweeps two games from host Sol". Albuquerque Journal.
  23. ^ "PDL Conference Teams of the Week, 5/30". Top Drawer Soccer. May 31, 2018.
  24. ^ "Jacksonville Armada FC U-23 scores two in final minutes to steal victory from Port City FC". National Premier Soccer League. May 29, 2021.
  25. ^ "Port City FC defeats Florida Roots FC 2-0". National Premier Soccer League. June 6, 2021.
  26. ^ "FC Edmonton acquires trio from Halifax Wanderers FC". FC Edmonton. March 29, 2022.
  27. ^ Jacques, John (March 29, 2022). "Halifax Wanderers Loan Three Players To FC Edmonton". Northern Tribune.
  28. ^ Rhodes, Benedict (September 10, 2022). "Sights and Sounds: York United 3-1 FC Edmonton". Canadian Premier League.
  29. ^ "CJ Smith 2023 L1O Stats (Vaughan)". League1 Ontario. Archived from the original on June 11, 2023.
  30. ^ "CJ Smith 2023 L1O Stats (Simcoe)". League1 Ontario.
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