Coming Attraction: Sydney Shultis
September 03, 2015 | Soccer
By Luke Dixon
Sydney Shultis was raised a Georgia Bulldog. She's following her grandfather, older sister and now joining her cousin on campus in Athens.
Shultis finished growing up around the Georgia Soccer program. Now, she is apart of it.
Shultis follows her older sister Carli, who played as a forward and defender from 2010-2014 on the Georgia soccer team. She joins her cousin Jonah Guinn, a free safety on the football team as current Bulldogs in their family lineage.
Shultis' grandfather, Jim Barrow, played on both sides of the ball at halfback and linebacker on the 1953 Georgia Bulldogs football team.
Her family ties and being around the Georgia soccer program supporting her older sister have been helpful as she's made the initial adjustment to college life. But like many freshman, Sydney said she still had nerves similar to any other of her classmates.
"Coming in I was pretty nervous, but it's been like amazing," Shultis said. "I love everything. Practices are really fun. The coaches don't make it stressful and preseason wasn't miserable. I'm having a really great time. I love it."
As for any pre-college advice from her older sister, who graduated this past spring, Shultis said it wasn't any more than an older sister would expect to give.
"Not really," Shultis said. "She was a big reason why I came her because she loved it and so I was interested. Now coming to Georgia, I'm treated as Sydney, not Carli's little sister. She gave me a lot of advice about soccer."
In her first preseason game action in the Bulldogs' exhibition match against Furman, Shultis got the start at midfield and played in 49 minutes in the contest, recording four shots, including two on goal, in Georgia's 4-0 victory.
Shultis had a larger impact in the second half as head coach Billy Lesesne moved Shultis into the midfield, opening up more room for Georgia's strikers.
"I felt like all of us got control of the ball more and we weren't forcing it," Shultis said following the victory. "We got control of it and had good possession," Shultis said. "It wasn't just one player; the whole team played really great in the second half."
Since then, she has had an impressive impact during the Bulldogs' first four games. Shultis has played in every game, starting three. Her 282 minutes played ranks seventh on the team and she's the only freshman to play in every contest.
Off the field, Shultis is majoring in agriculture and said she is considering adding a minor in Spanish to her studies. Following her time at the University of Georgia, Shultis plans to travel abroad to countries in Africa and Central America to help them build sustainable irrigation systems.
Lesesne has praised Shultis and her efforts through preseason practices and workouts, saying he knows the best is yet to come from his attacking midfielder.
"Syd is a kid who's passionate," Lesesne said. "She plays hard. She's a player who I think her best soccer is going to be in front of her as she settles in to her role here and really starts to establish herself. She's a really kind kid who hasn't pressed where I actually think she's going to end up. She's just kind of settling in and getting comfortable, but has been a really good teammate and has a bright future obviously."
Shultis and the Bulldogs return to action this Friday when they host Clemson at 7 p.m. at the UGA Soccer Stadium.
Luke Dixon is a senior from Grayson, Georgia, who is double-majoring in journalism and political science, and is pursuing the Grady Sports Media Certificate. He is in his third year as a student assistant with the UGA Sports Communications office and in his fourth year playing for the UGA Ice Dawgs club hockey team and also serves as the team's Vice President.
"Coming Attractions" is a weekly feature published on georgiadogs.com spotlighting a UGA student-athlete who will be competing in a key home event during the upcoming weekend. Previous stories include:
August 27 - Jasmine Eaton (volleyball in the Benson Hospitality Invitational)
