When St. Mary’s High School women’s varsity soccer coach Brittany Heist saw freshman forward Shae O’Rourke play soccer for the first time, she immediately knew she was watching something special.
“She was probably 9 or 10 years old, and she was electric, and she had a bit of a spunk to her in regards to how she played,” Heist said. “She carried herself with a bit of a swag, even at that young age, and she was playing probably two, three, even maybe four years up.”
O’Rourke has continued that trajectory to emerge as a budding star on the South Carolina women’s soccer team while also serving as a source of inspiration for younger players at her high school alma mater.
Soccer played an active role early on in O’Rourke’s life, as the sport was something most of her close relatives had participated in at some point in their lives.
“Back when I was little, both my older sisters played it, so I always just wanted to do it just like them, and then I started loving it and just continued to do it,” O’Rourke said. “My mom played college soccer, so I think it was in the family in general.”
O’Rourke would later play for Heist at St. Mary’s High School in Lancaster, New York, where she was widely recognized for her on-field efforts. Over her high school career, she collected 135 goals and 43 assists, won two Monsignor Martin Athletic Association Championships and was named the 2020-21 Gatorade New York Girl’s Soccer Player of the Year.
“She had a way about her to make everybody around her better and also herself,” Heist said. “Everybody now knows St. Mary’s is a great soccer program, and I do believe a large part of that came from Shae’s belief in herself, the program and then obviously what she was able to do on the field.”
She also played for the Western New York Flash of the Elite Clubs National League, a highly competitive national travel soccer league with a reputation for developing elite youth talent. It was during that time she received interest from the Gamecock women’s soccer program.
“With the ECNL showcases, South Carolina reached out to me, and, honestly, I wasn’t really interested in the South at first, and once I saw the school, I knew it was the right fit for me.”
Through her first 17 career matches, O’Rourke has proven to be a great fit for the team on the field as well – as of Oct. 25, O’Rourke leads the team in points with 15 and goals scored with six despite playing only 606 total minutes, the 11th-highest total on the team.
“That feeling of doing something for your team and helping them out is just such a rewarding feeling because, honestly, you don’t really get that often as a freshman in college, so that was just a huge thing for me, and I just couldn’t have done it without the girls,” O'Rourke said.
Her performances have caught the eye of head coach Shelley Smith, who said she had faith in O’Rourke’s abilities from the beginning.
“The work rate it takes, the speed of play, all that – she shows that she’s special, and she’s been an important piece of the offense, and she’s given us huge lifts,” Smith said following South Carolina’s early-season victory over Connecticut, a game in which O’Rourke earned two assists. “It’s a great start to her career. We’ll expect her to continue to improve and do great things through her career here.”
Even though O’Rourke has experienced substantial success on the field, she said she has had to make many adjustments in her first few months as a college soccer player, especially on the mental side of the sport.
“(In) college soccer, you have to work a little harder than you think you do, and I think just having that mindset of, ‘if you work hard for the team, it’ll only help the team in better ways emotionally, physically, mentally,”' O’Rourke said. “I think that was a huge learning curve – not just giving up as much and really being mentally focused in the game more than just, ‘oh, you have the talent for the game.’”
She said that relying on and interacting with her freshman teammates helped ease her transition into college life.
“Having so many girls is a blessing because we have so many personalities and so many support systems, and I think having all these girls in the same boat," O’Rourke said. "I could go to them if I need something because they could relate."
O’Rourke has also relied on Smith for advice and guidance, and she described Smith as a good role model because of her supportive nature and ability to build relationships between players.
“I think Shelley’s the perfect mix of telling you what you need to work on and also supporting you in everything you do,” O’Rourke said. “I think she’s the sweetest human in the world, and she just wants the best for every player on that field, even off the field.”
While she has looked up to upperclassmen and coaches, O’Rourke has quickly turned into a role model for current St. Mary’s players, who aspire to one day play soccer at the next level just like she does.
“There’s a lot of incoming freshmen, so freshmen in high school, that looked up to Shae while she was in high school, so I think the ability for her to inspire kids to wear a St. Mary’s uniform definitely transpired, and now, for them to watch her play in a South Carolina uniform, now they have new goals to set for themselves,” Heist said.
With three more years to play after this season concludes, O’Rourke has her eyes set on putting herself in a position where she can help the team succeed as much as possible.
“I want to be an amazing attacking forward. I want to score goals … I want to get assists. I want to make sure the team wins,” O’Rourke said. “I just want to make a huge impact on this team."