Feb. 27, 2017
THE BASICS
Name: Courtney Schell
Position: Midfield
Squad number: 8
Hometown: St. Augustine, Fla.
High School: Bartram Trail High School
Club: Creeks Krush
Auburn debut: Aug. 22, 2014 at Clemson
First Auburn point: Aug. 29, 2014 vs. UC Irvine
Auburn honors: SEC Academic Honor Roll
Auburn caps: 69 (61 starts)
Online bio: Bio
SCHELL'S TOP MOMENTS SO FARFirst Auburn Start
Aug. 24, 2014 at Furman
In the first collegiate start of the then-freshman, Schell saw 59 minutes on the pitch and recorded two shots in the match. She nearly scored twice and led the team with two shots on target in the non-conference affair.
Schell's calming presence in the midfield paced Auburn to its first win of the season in dramatic fashion. The Tigers fell behind in the opening five minutes of the match, but mounted a ferocious comeback.
Auburn netted two first-half goals, including one with six seconds remaining to regain the lead. Schell and the midfield controlled the game from that point on, holding the Paladins to just three shots on goal and one corner kick en route to a 2-1 victory away from home.
First Career Goal
Sept. 5, 2014 vs. Memphis
Schell found the back of the net for the first time in her career in just her third start ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" and she did it in style.
In the second half of a 2-0 game between the two Tiger schools, Schell took a feed from Casie Ramsier and Alyse Scott and launched a shot into the corner of the net from 35 yards out to rattle the cage and seal the win.
"We always talk about how important that third goal is," Hoppa said after the match. "Her goal was a rocket and it was really exciting to see her get her first goal."
"It was awesome," Schell said. "To have a far shot like that go in, it felt great."
Game-Winner
Sept. 6, 2015 vs. Old Dominion
Schell has delivered the game-winner three times in her career, but it was her first that solidified reputation as a major threat on set pieces.
The 11th-ranked Tigers were in search of matching the best start to a season in program history when they played host to Old Dominion for a Sunday showdown. It was a one-sided affair right from the opening whistle, but Auburn was unable to find the back of the net in the opening portion of play.
That was until the 28th minute when Schell latched on to a corner from Brooke Ramsier and headed it in the net at the back post. That goal proved to be the difference as Schell and the Tigers held on to tie the best ever start by an Auburn squad at that time.
COACH HOPPA ON SCHELLOn what former player she resembles...
"If I had to compare Courtney to somebody else who's played here, Jenny Zarzour (Ferguson) comes to mind. Jenny played a holding mid for us on some great teams in the early 2000s. Courtney and Jenny are both the player that really put in the work on both sides of the ball. Both are great ball winners for us, key components to our possession, but they're also a little bit of an 'unsung hero' type of players. They do all the dirty work for our team and play such a huge role. Neither one of them get the recognition for all that they've done for Auburn soccer."
On her as a playerÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬¦
"Courtney's played a huge role in her three seasons so far. When you look at her three years, we've gotten better every year. She's played massive minutes. We got to the Elite Eight run where I don't think we ever took her off the field. She plays such a huge role in everything that we do. She's massive for us defensively, the best player in the air for us last season, scored a couple key goals with her head and is a key component to our possession. She makes everything go, kind of the pivot changing the point for us. Courtney gets on the ball a lot and I think nobody really notices all the things that she does, except for us ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" her teammates and her coaches."
On her off the fieldÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬¦
"Off the field, Courtney is a tremendous person. She's that person that I think you're just happy to be around. She's fun-loving, always smiling. She laughs at all of my jokes, so I really like that. She's really become a great leader. She was that junior leader for us on and off the field that we really needed this past year."