- Nationality
Canada- Most Recent Club
- SC Rio Tinto
- Post-Secondary Teams
- University of Maine; Florida Coast University
- Position
- Fullback
Emma Schneider’s developed her soccer skills with Calgary Foothills under coach Katie Collar. Those youth years came with national-level benchmarks too: her team finished fifth at the 2019 Canada Soccer National Youth Championships, and she earned Canada Soccer Regional Excel recognition as the program’s “hardest-working” and “most consistent” player (2018–19).
In 2021, Emma stepped into NCAA Division I soccer at Florida Gulf Coast University, appearing across multiple matches over two seasons before looking for the right long-term fit. That search ultimately brought her to the University of Maine and to a rare opportunity: playing alongside her sister, Myla, after mostly growing up on opposite sides of the rivalry line. “We actually played against each other a lot more than we played with each other growing up,” Emma said.
The move also came with a real-life reset. “It was definitely a big change, coming from Florida weather to Maine weather,” Emma said, “But the environment was so clear here, that family atmosphere. That was definitely something I wanted to be a part of.” Maine’s staff saw exactly why she fit: head coach Scott Atherley highlighted the way she changes a team’s rhythm from the back, saying, “Emma has added an important attacking dimension to our back line that will make our build up less predictable. Her athleticism is off the charts and she is industrious in and out of possession.”
By 2023 and 2024, Emma wasn’t just in the lineup; she was leading it. She served as a team captain, started every match in both seasons, and in 2024 earned America East All-Conference Second Team and All-Tournament Team honors. Asked about the standard inside the group as Maine aimed to build on its momentum, she put it simply: “We do have a lot of experience coming back, and that helps us a lot…”
Summers brought her back to Calgary and back into the Foothills shirt, this time with Calgary Foothills WFC in League1 Alberta (now Alberta Premier League) where she was named among the “game changers” in a key win, and on the scoresheet in multiple matches, including wins over the Calgary Villains (3–0) and Calgary Rangers (8–0).
In the spring of 2026, Emma Schneider is taking her game overseas, where she is beginning a new chapter in Portugal after signing with SC Rio Tinto. From Foothills to Division I captaincy and into the pro game her story reads like a defender’s journey should: earned, composed, and always pushing forward.
