Senior forward Chemar Smith broke the women’s soccer program’s all-time scoring record Friday against Xavier.
With her goal in the 70th minute to tie the match, Smith accrued enough points to move past Diane Kelly’s total points record of 96. Currently, Smith has 101 points.
“It was a great feeling,” Smith said. “My teammates realized it before I did. They were coming up to me and congratulating me before I knew what happened.” Beyond helping her realize a personal achievement, Smith said she felt her scoring this weekend came at a very opportune time for the team as a whole.
“Breaking the record this weekend was great for the team,” Smith said. “We won two games (Xavier and Dayton) that will help up secure a place in the A-10 Tournament. We are a very close-knit team, and this will add to that.”
When Smith started her varsity career for the Colonial women, “breaking records was the furthest thing from my mind,” Smith said. “It was never a goal for me. I just wanted to play each game as best I could.”
Setting the scoring record is not the first achievement for Smith. In the 1995 season, Smith led the Colonial women in scoring and assists. In her freshman year, she was named the Atlantic 10 Freshman of the Year. She earned this honor by scoring 25 points in her first year and also set the GW record for most goals scored by a freshman (11).
The scoring record was an even bigger accomplishment for Smith, though, and many people were watching and expecting her to break it.
“I didn’t feel a lot of pressure,” Smith said. “However, I received lots of encouragement from my parents and friends. They were very confident in me. My mom and dad are my biggest supports.”
During her four years at GW, Smith said many of her proudest moments were team accomplishments rather than individual ones, such as when the team made the NCAA Tournament for the first time.
“Last year, getting into the NCAA Tournament was amazing,” Smith said. “We were all sitting together and we were one of the last teams mentioned. It shows that hard work pays off.”
Another fond memory for Smith is a game against Wisconsin in the Kentucky Tournament of 1996, where Smith scored an important goal.
“The team overcame a two-goal deficit to win the game in the last five minutes,” she said. “This shows team character, which is still present.”
Smith still has a few games left in the season to make memories with her team and to make an indelible mark on the GW women’s soccer program.
Breaking the all-time scoring record was quite a feat, but Smith thinks that “records are meant to be broken.”
