This Queen Anne’s County High School star soccer and lacrosse player also excels in the classroom and belongs to eight school clubs.
Opponents won’t hesitate to make remarks about Queen Anne’s County High soccer player Olivia Ryan. It usually happens in just about every game. At 5-foot-2, Ryan, a junior, is typically a smaller player on the field. She welcomes the remarks and surprises foes with her all-around talent. “I get called something inappropriate. I know I can’t really change my size,” says Ryan, a three-year starter. “So, I have to do everything else to make up for it.”
Ryan possesses a lot of skills coaches covet. She’s fast, gritty, super intense, and an excellent leader. She earned a lot of respect for her play, earning Maryland Association of Soccer Coaches First-Team All-State honors in 2023 as well as Bayside Conference Player of the Year honors.
“I am super athletic and superfast,” Ryan says. “I can play a whole game without getting tired. I don’t ask for a sub.
“When you are playing against stronger and taller people, you are going to learn that you are going to be pushed off the ball the first time,” she adds. “But you are not going to let it happen a second time.”
Ryan, a team co-captain and midfielder last year, is a strong candidate for an athletic or academic scholarship. She carries a 4.75 grade-point average and has been recruited by four Division II Florida schools: Flagler and Rollins colleges and Emory Riddle Aeronautical and Saint Leo universities.
“I really want a strong academic college,” Ryan says. “I want them to prepare me for medical school. I like the size of Division II schools. I don’t want to go to a really big school where you are just a number.”
Queen Anne’s County Girls Soccer Coach Mike Kern adds, “I think she will absolutely get a scholarship to college.”
Her soccer experience is impressive. She’s been named All-Conference in high school since her freshman season and boasts nine years of club experience, including the past three for Shore Football Club.
At Queen Anne’s County, Ryan had a memorable junior season. She began the year by scoring goals in eight consecutive games. Her best performance came against Easton when Ryan scored a hat trick in a 5-1 victory over Easton on September 12th. She finished the campaign with 13 goals and three assists. Ryan combined for 13 goals in the previous two seasons.
“She creates a lot of plays and makes everyone around her better,” Kern says. “And I love the fact that she is fearless. She plays a lot bigger than she is.”
With an eye on playing college soccer, Ryan joined the Shore Football Club U-19 squad. She faces top-notch competition from North Carolina, West Virginia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware.
“I think another one of my good qualities is that I always feel I am getting better,” Ryan says. “The difference between now and my freshman year is crazy. I am playing with older girls and against older girls.”
Shore Football Club Coach Mike Leach is excited to have Ryan on his team. “She is extremely physical, really fast, a great dribbler,” Leach says. “She can dribble through four or five people. And has the ability to score from anywhere on the field with a strong, accurate shot.”
The 17-year-old Ryan appears to be as close as possible to being the perfect student athlete. By the time she will have completed high school, Ryan will have taken eight advanced placement classes. She also stays busy with extracurricular activities at school. Ryan is a two-year starter on the lacrosse team and serves as class treasurer and manager of the girls varsity basketball team.
She also belongs to eight clubs, including the Red Cross Club, the Science National Honor Society, the National English Honors Society, and the Arts National Honor Society.
“I am busy all the time,” Ryan says. “I don’t have any free time. I work better under pressure and under stress.”
Ryan is sharply focused on her career, wanting to be a diagnostic radiologist. “I have always been interested in anything medical,” she explains. “I broke a lot of bones when I was a kid. And I was really fascinated by radiology.”
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