Sophia Smith (soccer, born 2000)

Sophia Smith (soccer, born 2000)
Sophia Olivia Smith (born August 10, 2000) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a forward for Portland Thorns FC in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and the United States national team. She played collegiate soccer for Stanford University, helping the Cardinal win the national championship in 2019. Smith was the #1 overall pick in the 2020 NWSL College Draft.
In 2022, Smith was named NWSL Most Valuable Player (MVP) and US Soccer Female Player of the Year. She earned MVP honors at the 2022 NWSL Championship (after helping the Thorns win the 2022 title) and was named to the NWSL Best XI.
Early life
Born to parents Mollie and Kenny Smith, Sophia was raised in Windsor near Fort Collins, Colorado with her two older sisters Gabrielle and Savannah. Smith's father played basketball at the University of Wyoming and her older sister Savannah played basketball at the University of Northern Colorado where she was the all-time leading scorer.
Sophia's father said he knew when Sophia was 6 years old that she would be a soccer star after watching her dominate a 3-on-3 league. On the car ride to the game, she told her father she was going to score ten goals which she did. Smith began playing co-ed soccer as a young child. She played U-6 through U-10 with the Timnath Twisters and U-11 through U-13 with Arsenal Colorado. She won two state cups with Arsenal Colorado in 2012 and 2013.
Smith attended Fossil Ridge High School in Fort Collins, where she played for the varsity soccer and basketball teams as a freshman. She notched 10 goals and 4 assists in just 8 games and was named First-Team All-Conference. Smith also played for the varsity basketball team. She played club soccer for Real Colorado and was first called up to the U-14 national team in 2013. With Real Colorado, Smith and the team finished runners-up at the ECNL National Championship in 2014 and 2016 and finished in fourth-place in 2015. As a high schooler, Smith and her family would frequently drive 3–4 hours from Fort Collins to Denver and back for soccer practice with youth national teams. She earned a call up to the senior national team at age 16.
College career
Smith attended Stanford University where she played for the Cardinal. She finished her abbreviated collegiate career as a two-time Pac-12 Champion and NCAA Champion after just two seasons.
During her freshman season in 2018, Smith scored 7 goals and recorded 2 assists in 13 appearances. She led the Pac-12 Conference with three game-winning goals and was named to the All-Pac-12 freshman and second teams.
During the 2019 season, Smith scored 17 goals and provided 9 assists in 21 appearances. She was named to the Hermann Trophy watch list and helped lead the Cardinal to win the 2019 NCAA College Cup. She scored a hat-trick in the semi-final leading Stanford to defeat the UCLA Bruins. Stanford went on to win the national title via a penalty shootout in the final. Smith was named the College Cup's Most Outstanding Offensive Player and earned All-Tournament team honors. She was named to the All-Pac-12 second team and tied for the seventh-most goals in Cardinal history.
Club career
Smith was the #1 pick at the 2020 NWSL College Draft and selected by Portland Thorns FC. Smith's first season with the Thorns was sidetracked by a foot injury and the COVID-19 pandemic. She made four appearances during the NWSL Fall Series and scored one goal in a 3–0 win against the Utah Royals FC. The Thorns finished in first place with a record.
Smith was a starting forward in 17 of her 22 appearances in the 2021 season and scored seven goals.
During her regular season league debut on May 16, 2021, Smith scored a brace against the Chicago Red Stars in a 5–0 win. Portland finished in first place winning the NWSL Shield and earned a berth to the NWSL Playoffs where they were defeated by the Chicago Red Stars in the semi-finals.
Smith scored three goals in five matches in the 2022 NWSL Challenge Cup. She earned league MVP honors for the 2022 NWSL season. The Thorns won the NWSL Championship with Smith scoring the first goal and she was named Championship MVP.
On April 1, 2023, Smith scored her first professional hat-trick in a 4–1 victory against Kansas City Current. She was named NWSL Player of the Month for March/April and to the NWSL Best XI of the month. Two months later in June, she was named NWSL Player of the Month for the second time during the 2023 season after scoring six goals in four matches.
International career
Smith has competed for the United States on the under-17, under-20, and senior national teams.
Smith competed at the 2016 FIFA U-17 World Cup. In early 2017, she scored nine goals in six games, which is believed to be a youth national team record for goals in six consecutive games. On March 31, 2017, Smith was called up for the first time to the senior national team for two international friendlies against Russia.
After being a part of the under-20 squad that finished runner-up at the 2018 CONCACAF U-20 Championship, Smith was named to the USA U-20 roster for the 2018 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup.
Smith was called up to the senior national team for the first training camp of 2020 from January 5 to 15 after having been called into a talent identification camp in December 2019.
On November 27, 2020, she earned her first national team cap in a game against the Netherlands, becoming the first player born in the 2000s to compete for the senior national team.
2023 FIFA Women's World Cup
Smith was named to the U.S. squad for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. During the team's first group stage match against Vietnam, she scored a brace and provided the assist for the third goal in the team's 3–0 win. Involved in every goal scored, Smith was named Player of the Match.
In the United States' knockout stage match against Sweden, Smith played all 90 minutes of regulation time, as well as all 30 minutes of extra time. At the end of extra time, with a score of 0–0, the match moved to a penalty shootout. Smith was the second of three U.S. players who missed penalty shots, ultimately resulting in the U.S. being eliminated from the World Cup.
Personal life
Smith met her boyfriend Michael Wilson, an NFL player, while they were both at Stanford. She enjoys science fiction novels. Her nickname is "Soph".
In popular culture
Print media
Smith was featured on the June 2023 cover of Sports Illustrated along with national teammates Rose Lavelle, Alex Morgan, and Trinity Rodman. She has been featured in Elle, Vogue, and Time magazines.
Television and film
Smith co-starred in a commercial for ESPN's SportsCenter starting in January 2023 with Megan Rapinoe and Becky Sauerbrunn. Starting in July 2023, she starred in a Nike, Inc. commercial entitled, "Nice to Beat You". She starred in a Wells Fargo Visa commercial called "Lucky Soccer Socks" and a Chipotle commercial called "Starting Wing" the same month.
Endorsements
Smith has endorsement deals with Nike, Inc., BioSteel Sports Nutrition, Ally Financial, Chipotle, Clif Bar, and Hyperice.
Career statistics
Club
International
Scores and results list United States's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Smith goal.
Honors and awards
Stanford Cardinal
NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship: 2019
Portland Thorns FC
NWSL Championship: 2022
NWSL Challenge Cup: 2021
NWSL Community Shield: 2020
NWSL Shield: 2021
Women's International Champions Cup: 2021
United States U20
CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship: 2020
Sud Ladies Cup: 2018
United States
SheBelieves Cup: 2021, 2022
CONCACAF Women's Championship: 2022
Individual
US Soccer Female Player of the Year: 2022
NWSL Most Valuable Player: 2022
NWSL Championship Game MVP: 2022
NWSL Best XI: 2022
NWSL Player of the Month: June 2022, March/April 2023, June 2023
Sud Ladies Cup Best Player: 2018
Sud Ladies Cup Top Scorer: 2018
See also
References
Match reports
External links
Sophia Smith at United States Soccer Federation
Sophia Smith at Portland Thorns FC
2000 births
Living people
American women's soccer players
Soccer players from Colorado
People from Windsor, Colorado
United States women's youth international soccer players
United States women's under-20 international soccer players
United States women's international soccer players
Women's association football forwards
Stanford Cardinal women's soccer players
Portland Thorns FC players
Portland Thorns FC draft picks
African-American women's soccer players
21st-century African-American sportspeople
21st-century African-American women
National Women's Soccer League players
2023 FIFA Women's World Cup players
21st-century American sportswomen