This is part of a continuing series of articles spotlighting former Butler County area athletes and what they are doing now.

SARVER — Soccer has taken a backseat in Amanda (Sharbaugh) Spaeder's life.

With a 16-month-old son, Theodore, at home, a baby girl on the way (Spaeder is in her third trimester with a due date in October) and a job as a physician's assistant, there isn't much time for anything else these days.

“Life gets crazy,” Spaeder said.

That hasn't stopped Spaeder from reflecting on her standout career on the pitch at Knoch High School, where she scored a school-record 109 goals, or her equally stellar stint at Gannon University, where she still has the goal-scoring record for the Golden Knights with 51.

“The thing I remember most is the friendships I made,” Spaeder said. “I still stay in touch with a lot of my former teammates and I still keep up with what's going on in soccer around here. I miss the game. But those friendships still remain.”

Spaeder, now 29, began playing soccer when she was 5. Her father, Doug, played soccer in college and her mother, Pam, was a gymnast.

The young Amanda tried both sports.

Soccer won.

“I couldn't even do a flip,” Spaeder said, laughing. “So gymnastics was out of the picture.”

Spaeder quickly took to soccer. She began playing club with North Steel when she was 11 for current Knoch boys soccer coach Malcolm Cook and excelled at every level.

The 2008 Knoch graduate said that was a reflection of the work ethic and expectations her athletic parents placed on her.

It also applied to her three siblings — Adam, Danielle and Olivia — who participated in various sports as well.

“I think a lot of my success came from my parents,” Spaeder said. “They expected you to play well. That's how they raised the four of us.”

The Sharbaugh siblings had a fierce rivalry, but it was never heated and never adversarial, Spaeder said.

“We all played the same sport, but never on the same team,” she said. “Competition never carried over into the house.”

Spaeder said when she went to Gannon, she had to go through an adjustment period.

Even though she played a high level of soccer during her high school years, the action on the Division II pitch took some getting used to.

Specially for a player who stood just 5-foot-3 and relied on her speed and quickness.

“It was definitely intimidating my freshman year,” Spaeder said. “Everyone looks bigger. They're on a different level. In college, the experience level is through the roof. It was intimidating, but fun.”

Spaeder quickly adapted and was named Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year.

What she found most enjoyable about her college career was going up against former teammates and rivals on an almost daily basis at Gannon.

She was named to the all-PSAC team all four years as well as all-region six times.

A bigger highlight was to come.

In 2017, Spaeder was inducted into the Gannon University athletic hall of fame.

“It feels to say I left my mark there,” Spaeder said. “I left everything on the field.”

Before Theodore was born, Spaeder spent time as a soccer referee and coach at Villa Maria in Erie and North Catholic.

Spaeder said she hasn't ruled out a return to soccer as a referee or coach in the future when her children get older.

“That'll be the plan,” she said. “I learned a lot when I coached with Emily Karr at North Catholic. We had a lot of fun. I've kept my head into it and I'd love to coach or ref again.”