The centre midfielder has branched out from her home club at West Coast Rangers, venturing south to become an integral part of Southern United in the National Women’s League.
After getting her first chance in the league with Canterbury United Pride last season, Smith was looking for a change to further her football and landed a spot in Dunedin.
"It’s been so good," Smith said.
"Definitely one of the best football experiences I’ve had so far.
"One of the best teams I’ve played for, for sure. Everyone’s been so lovely and welcoming, and they’re just such a fun team to be a part of."
Originally from Auckland, Smith, 21, played for Norwest growing up, before the club amalgamated with Waitakere to become West Coast Rangers.
She played representative age-group football and then joined Canterbury last season.
"To get that experience was really fun. They’re such a well-known and respected team, so to play for a team that has that sort of background already was really cool."
West Coast Rangers missed qualifying for the national league by one point to Ellerslie, who are bottom of the table, leading Smith to join Southern, alongside Rangers players Marissa Porteous and Shania McIntosh.
Having familiar faces in the team helped her settle in, but Southern had embraced her and helped expand her game.
"It’s a cool new experience, for sure. Getting new perspectives is really helpful to improve my game."
"I think I’m playing some of the best football . . . and I give the credit to the team, giving me the opportunity to play like that and to [coach] Kris [Ridley] as well."
Southern has made a stunning run this season.
They have produced five wins, one draw and one loss and already scored 15 goals, including Smith’s three.
Players told her they struggled to score goals in past seasons — they only scored 19 in the 14-round season last year — and their form had come as somewhat of a surprise to them.
"Winning’s always fun, and obviously that is the goal, but I think it came as a bit of a surprise to most of the girls down here," Smith said.
It had been great "to be a part of a team where it’s all kind of started to click and it’s not just the winning that’s been great. Obviously that is awesome, but to play in a team that is just really enjoying playing football, and good football too, is amazing."
Southern will face Central in Palmerston North today.
Central had their first win of the season last week, beating Ellerslie 1-0, and earlier drew 2-2 with Canterbury.
Southern has a shot at making the top two of the league and qualify for the final.
But they are tied on competition points with Western Springs and Auckland United with two games left in the regular season.
It could come down to goal differential, but Smith said Southern needed to just focus on themselves and what they could control this weekend.
