The Epic Journey of Sophia Smith
If you haven’t been keeping up with Sophia Smith, you are missing out on her pretty incredible career. Not only does she have a great name (I may be biased), but she is currently all the rage in the women’s soccer world, rightfully so, after her NWSL season continues in an upward trajectory!
After breaking records and winning a slew of awards throughout last season, she is already making herself out to be one of the greatest female soccer players in history. But where did the stud forward get her start to become the NWSL and USWNT star she is today? Here is the epic journey of Sophia Smith!
High School and Club Career
While her family played collegiate basketball, Smith picked soccer and stuck with it. Her decision paid off because she captained her high school team in 2017, the same year they appeared at nationals, and she was named the TopDrawerSoccer Player of the Year.
She played club soccer for Real Colorado at the same time. They were within the top four teams of the ECNL finals for three years in a row with her on the squad.
Congratulations @sophsssmith!! https://t.co/d41lkThy37
— Colorado Soccer (@wearecosoccer) October 27, 2022
Collegiate Soccer Career
After graduating high school in 2018, Smith moved on to play collegiately at Stanford University. The team won the 2019 NCAA Championship and were Pac-12 Champions in both years she was there.
She earned several other collegiate awards during her time there, including All-Pac-12 Freshman Team her first year and College Cup Most Outstanding Offensive Player in her sophomore year.
Going Pro
Smith entered the 2020 NWSL Draft, where the Portland Thorns selected her as the number one overall pick. At only 19 years old, she became the first teenager ever to be drafted in NWSL history.
Only two years in, she has already won the 2022 NWSL Championship with her team, the Portland Thorns! Smith also won the 2022 NWSL MVP Award and set another record as the youngest winner ever. To top her 2022 season, she was also named to the 2022 NWSL Best XI First Team.
This season, she’s leading the league in goals with ten and has scored multiple hat tricks.
National Team Experience
Smith initially gained experience playing on the national level with the U17 USYNT in 2016. The following year, she played a few matches with the U18 team and was called up to the U20 and U23 that same year.
She played her first matches with the full USWNT while still at Stanford. Now a starter with the team, Smith was voted 2022 U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year and became the first Black woman to win the award. As the leading scorer for the USWNT last year, the award was no surprise.
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With such an incredible career, it’s hard to believe that Sophia Smith is only 22 years old! She still has plenty of games left and will continue playing with the Portland Thorns. She resigned her contract early last year to stay with the club through 2024.
On the national team side, she’ll be crucial to the U.S.’s offense coming up in the World Cup. Can’t wait to see Smith make her World Cup debut and leave her mark!
Featured image via @USWNT on Instagram
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