Tag: Sophia Smith

NWSL has new top earner (again) as USWNT star Smith signs new Thorns deal

The 23-year-old is the league’s newest top earner

There is, once again, a new player who holds the title of the NWSL’s top earner.

This time the honor goes to Portland Thorns star Sophia Smith, who has signed a new contract through the 2025 season, with a player option for 2026.

The Thorns also confirmed that Smith now has the highest annual salary in the league.

“I’m excited to call Portland home and extend my time with the Thorns,” Smith said in a club release. “The support from the fans, city and club have been tremendous and I’m looking forward to being a part of its next chapter. I’m grateful for the support from Karina and the Bhathal family to me and my teammates, as we move forward and work hard to lift more trophies for the Thorns.”

In December, the Houston Dash made María Sánchez the highest-paid player in the league with a contract worth $1.5 million over four years. Just a month later, the Chicago Red Stars signed Mallory Swanson to an even larger deal.

ESPN also reported that Bay FC forward Racheal Kundananji and Orlando Pride forward Barbra Banda both signed contracts worth similar amounts to Swanson’s.

Now Smith has surpassed all of those deals on an annual basis, as the 23-year-old eyes a long future in Portland after initially joining the Thorns as the first overall pick in the 2020 NWSL Draft.

Smith has gone on to become one of the NWSL’s biggest stars, leading the Thorns to the NWSL championship in a 2022 season in which she was also named the league’s MVP. Overall, she has 40 goals across all competition in her Thorns career.

At the international level, Smith has become a regular for the U.S. women’s national team, scoring 16 goals. Smith was named the 2022 U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year, becoming the youngest player in nearly 30 years to win the award.

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Sophia Smith hits out at NWSL over Alex Morgan fine

The NWSL fined Morgan on Wednesday for “comments detrimental to the league made on social media”

Sophia Smith has said the NWSL’s “priorities are all messed up” after the league issued a fine to Alex Morgan for her criticism of referees.

Morgan took to social media on Monday to protest a rough challenge that went uncalled during the San Diego Wave’s defeat to the Kansas City Current over the weekend.

The striker was taken out in the box by a tackle from defender Stine Ballisager, which was deemed to be clean after a VAR review.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Morgan said Ballisager’s tackle could have left her seriously injured.

“In what world is this not a penalty and red card, or even foul? Completely reckless and the leg going in for the tackle doesn’t even get a ball when I cut her?” Morgan said. “Just glad I saw her coming and didn’t plant on that leg or I’d 100% not be walking today.”

In response to Morgan’s criticism, the league issued Morgan a fine on Wednesday for “comments detrimental to the league made on social media.”

That fine didn’t sit well with Portland Thorns star Smith, who stuck up for her teammate on the U.S. women’s national team.

According to Smith, Morgan’s fine was “backwards” and showed the NWSL’s priorities were not where they should be.

The NWSL has long been criticized for failing to better protect players on the field, with a lack of adequate training and pay for referees among the issues hampering player safety.

Regardless, it seems like Smith could now be the next player to get fined.

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Smith the lone USWNT player on 30-woman Ballon d’Or shortlist

The Portland Thorns star is the only USWNT player nominated and one of just two NWSL players

Sophia Smith was the only U.S. women’s national team player and one of just two NWSL players on the 30-woman shortlist for the 2023 Ballon d’Or.

France Football released its list of nominees on Wednesday, with the winner to be announced at a ceremony in Paris on October 30.

Spain midfielder Alexia Putellas has won the award two straight times, and her international and club teammate Aitana Bonmatí is the heavy favorite to succeed her this year. Bonmatí led Barcelona to a domestic title and the Champions League, and also won the World Cup with Spain, taking home the Golden Ball as the tournament’s top player.

After Catarina Macario, Alex Morgan, and Trinity Rodman all made the 20-player shortlist last year, Smith is the only USWNT player nominated this time around, after she won the NWSL MVP with the Portland Thorns and U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year in 2022.

Kansas City Current and Brazil star Debinha is the only other NWSL player on this year’s 30-player shortlist.

Here is the full list of the 2023 Ballon d’Or nominees.

USWNT’s Sophia Smith suffers MCL sprain, is ‘week-to-week’

It’s not the best news, but it could have been worse for Smith

Sophia Smith, the Portland Thorns, and the U.S. women’s national team can all breathe a modest sigh of relief.

The USWNT star was on Wednesday diagnosed with what Portland called “a mild medial collateral ligament (MCL) sprain.” The Thorns termed Smith “week-to-week” as she recovers from the injury.

Smith went down with a serious-looking knock in the final seconds of the first half of Portland’s 1-1 draw against the Washington Spirit at Audi Field on Sunday. The USWNT forward reached for an attempted through ball, only for her plant foot to slip, causing an awkward fall.

Smith was treated briefly before being replaced by Hannah Betfort. Once both teams headed off for the halftime break, Smith slowly made her way to the locker room on crutches, later returning to the bench with a knee stabilizing brace.

Smith’s status for USWNT friendlies in question

While worries about a longer-term injury that could jeopardize Smith’s status for the 2024 Olympics appear to be misplaced, the knee issue makes her a doubt for Twila Kilgore’s USWNT roster for a pair of September friendlies against South Africa.

MCL sprain recovery times can vary widely from a few days to three months, and realistically Smith only has a couple of weeks to recover before that squad has to be finalized. The USWNT will face South Africa in Cincinnati on September 21, followed by a second meeting three days later in Chicago.

As for the Thorns, losing this season’s NWSL MVP frontrunner is a massive challenge. Betfort is the most likely option for head coach Mike Norris, based on a rich vein of recent goalscoring form. However, a team that has the challenge of finding playing time for Crystal Dunn, Olivia Moultrie, Christine Sinclair, Hina Sugita, and Morgan Weaver could end up getting creative as well.

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NWSL Weekend Take-Off: Sophia Smith injury looms as playoff pressure ramps up

Bad news for Portland, while Angel City picked up a huge win

The NWSL regular season returned from its World Cup slumber last week, but with several big names not truly ready to come back just yet, it was only this past weekend where the league felt truly “back.”

There were major developments: multiple draws for teams in the top six, paired with Angel City’s win over OL Reign, breathed life into the race for the final playoff spots. However, we’d be remiss if we didn’t start off with the league-wide show of support for Jenni Hermoso and the players of Spain’s World Cup-winning national team.

“Contigo Jenni” was on wrist tape all over the league, while fans — and not only those in supporters’ groups — brought banners reading the same. This is a league that knows all too well how vital it is to push abusive figures out of the game, and the resumption of club play isn’t going to mean the issues with Luis Rubiales, Jorge Vilda, and their enablers in Spain are going to be pushed aside.

That said, a different unfortunate piece of news bubbled up this weekend, with Sophia Smith suffering a knee injury of (as yet) unknown severity. An injury to the runaway MVP favorite is hardly the news anyone out there wanted, and it could change the entire complexion of this season’s stretch run.

Let’s sort through the good and the bad:

Smith ‘heartbroken’ after USWNT World Cup elimination

“It wouldn’t be life without moments like this, and I know without a doubt we will be back”

U.S. women’s national team star Sophia Smith said she’s “heartbroken” after her side’s shock early exit from the 2023 World Cup.

The USWNT fell in a penalty shootout to Sweden, exiting the tournament in the round of 16 after finishing no worse than third in all eight previous World Cups.

The manner of defeat was particularly painful for Smith, who had a chance to seal a spot in the quarterfinals for the USWNT, only to miss her penalty in the shootout. Sweden would go on to defeat the U.S. on a deciding penalty that crossed the line by millimeters.

Smith’s first World Cup didn’t go exactly according to plan. The 22-year-old entered the tournament with massive expectations after winning the NWSL MVP and U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year in 2022. The forward has carried that form into 2023, where she’s put together another MVP-caliber season with the Portland Thorns.

But after scoring a brace in the USWNT’s World Cup opener against Vietnam, Smith failed to get on the scoresheet in any of the team’s next three games. Her last touch of the World Cup, a missed penalty that could have clinched progression, will be a painful memory to carry.

Smith took to social media in her first public comments after the Sweden game, thanking fans for their support and vowing to overcome the challenging moment in her career.

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“Heartbroken,” she said. “This World Cup was filled with just about every emotion possible, what I’ve learned is more valuable than any experience I’ve ever had.

“Thank you to those who believed and supported us throughout the tournament, and most importantly to those who still do and never stopped. It wouldn’t be life without moments like this, and I know without a doubt we will be back and hungrier than ever.”

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USWNT player ratings: Defensive spine shines in gut-punch penalty kick defeat

The USWNT finally played like themselves, but soccer can be cruel

Soccer has always been a cruel sport, and today it came calling for the U.S. women’s national team.

After three underwhelming performances in the group stage, the USWNT finally looked like themselves against Sweden, bossing one of the best teams in this World Cup.

Unfortunately, they found goalkeeper Zećira Mušović having one of the games of her life, and when she wasn’t making a big save, the errant finishing that has plagued this team appeared again, and the result was a penalty kick elimination after a scoreless 120 minutes.

It was a heartbreaker for the U.S., who missed a shot in the shootout that would have seen them advance, and then had to watch Sweden’s winning kick require a VAR check to reveal that the ball had crossed the line by a nearly imperceptible margin.

Still, when it comes to ratings, this was by some margin the best performance from the USWNT at this World Cup as a team, and for many players as individuals.

As a reminder, here’s the Pro Soccer Wire player rating scale:

Our scale:

  • 1: Abysmal. Literally any member of our staff would have been been able to play at this level.
  • 6: Adequate. This is our base score.
  • 10: Transcendent, era-defining performance. This is Carli Lloyd vs. Japan in the 2015 final.

USWNT player ratings: Lack of ideas as U.S. barely survives Portugal

Lots of not-great, and some quite bad!

The U.S. women’s national team, by a margin of about three inches, survived a feisty Portugal side to get through to the knockout round of the World Cup.

That’s about all the good news there is to discuss. The USWNT were totally unable to solve the Portuguese midfield diamond throughout a troubling 0-0 draw, struggling for possession and also lacking chances to break out in transition.

The stats may show the USWNT holding a 17-6 shot advantage, and this is another game in which a U.S. opponent were held without a shot on goal. However, anyone that watched the match would be able to tell you that the Portuguese troubled the U.S. from start to finish, seeing the game’s best chance end with Ana Capeta hitting the post deep in stoppage time.

It was a dispiriting and disappointing showing in which no player really looked like they’d been given a platform to be their best. If the USWNT is to go on and make history as the first team to win three consecutive World Cups, this has to be by far their worst performance of the tournament.

Here’s a breakdown from a game in which no one looked particularly good.

As a reminder, here’s the Pro Soccer Wire player rating scale:

Our scale:

  • 1: Abysmal. Literally any member of our staff would have been been able to play at this level.
  • 6: Adequate. This is our base score.
  • 10: Transcendent, era-defining performance. This is Carli Lloyd vs. Japan in the 2015 final.

USWNT player ratings: Disappointing showing vs. Netherlands ends in draw

A good start and finish sandwiched some worrying stuff for the USWNT

The U.S. women’s national team was far from its best against the Netherlands, struggling for a long spell in the middle of the match before recovering for a 1-1 draw.

Jill Roord’s goal on the first shot conceded all tournament by the USWNT deflated the group, and until Dutch star Daniëlle van de Donk clattered into club teammate Lindsey Horan, it was starting to get hard to see a way back in for the favored Americans.

However, Horan — after a fairly heated argument with van de Donk in the seconds that followed — powered home a header, and the U.S. took the game over for the final half-hour.

The good news? Those final minutes were the “real” USWNT. The bad news? They arrived for a reason the team can’t control, and since a winner didn’t arrive (nor did any substitutions after Rose Lavelle’s entry at halftime), the flaws on the day aren’t going to be papered over by three points.

With all that in mind, let’s dig into who delivered, and who didn’t.

As a reminder, here’s the Pro Soccer Wire player rating scale:

Our scale:

  • 1: Abysmal. Literally any member of our staff would have been been able to play at this level.
  • 6: Adequate. This is our base score.
  • 10: Transcendent, era-defining performance. This is Carli Lloyd vs. Japan in the 2015 final.

Sophia Smith made some epic USWNT history with her absolutely incredible World Cup debut

Sophia Smith completely took over the USWNT’s first World Cup match

Everybody expected the US Women’s National Team to win their debut World Cup match against Vietnam in the group stage of the competition.

It wasn’t a matter of whether they’d win — folks were more curious about how they’d do it. Or, rather, which players would see step up and earn the win for Team USA? After all, there are 14 players on the roster who are playing in their first World Cup.

RELATED: 5 teams who can actually beat the USWNT in the World Cup.

As it turned out, we got a pretty special performance from Sophia Smith. One that actually came with a little bit of history.