Tag: Sophia Smith

The NWSL semifinals promise nothing less than exquisitely high-tension soccer

Last week was nuts, and the semifinals should offer the same level of drama

The NWSL playoffs got underway last week with high drama in both games, and there’s no reason to expect anything less in the semifinals.

OL Reign and the Portland Thorns got a bye to this stage, and while they rested up, we saw one match settled with extra time and another settled with a game-winner that arrived further into second-half stoppage time than any decisive goal in league history. The margins? They’re thin!

The semifinals will start with Portland hosting the San Diego Wave, with two teams that have already faced off four times this year clashing again in Oregon. Then, about 175 miles up the Pacific coast, the Reign will welcome the Kansas City Current to Lumen Field, where a huge crowd is expected.

Follow along with Pro Soccer Wire as we preview both semifinal matches, including analysis, broadcast information, and predictions.

Amid Yates report fallout, Smith urges Thorns fans to keep showing up

“Obviously it would be really disappointing to play in front of an empty, silent stadium”

Sophia Smith has a message for disgruntled Portland Thorns fans considering a boycott of the team’s games: Please keep showing up.

Already stinging over the team’s handling of former coach Paul Riley, Thorns fans were further rocked last week with the release of the Yates report.

The investigation revealed even more harmful actions undertaken by Thorns leadership, who were shown to have given a positive recommendation for a new job to Riley after he was fired by the Thorns amid an investigation into sexual misconduct.

In the fallout, the club has fired Gavin Wilkinson, the president of soccer for both the Portland Thorns and Portland Timbers, and the organization’s president of business Mike Golub, who the report said created “an atmosphere of disrespect and intimidation towards women and working mothers employed at the club over a span of 11 years.”

Under-fire owner Merritt Paulson has taken a step back from running the Thorns, but fans have been calling for him to go one step further and sell the NWSL club and the Portland Timbers of MLS.

Speaking to the media ahead of the U.S. national team’s friendly against Spain on Tuesday, Smith urged Thorns fans to continue showing up at Providence Park despite their justified anger with the club.

“I think what everyone is trying to do is support the players,” Smith said.
“I think that’s the most important thing that anyone can do right now. I think in terms of our home game coming up, obviously it would be really disappointing to play in front of an empty, silent stadium. I think ultimately, fans not showing up affects the players more than it affects anyone.”

The Thorns will host a NWSL semifinal match on October 23 against the winner of the San Diego Wave-Chicago Red Stars quarterfinal tie.

Sep 25, 2022; Portland, Oregon, USA; Portland Thorns FC forward Sophia Smith (9) receives the Supporters Player of the Year award after winning against Chicago Red Stars at Providence Park. Craig Mitchelldyer-USA TODAY Sports

Last week, Thorns and Timbers supporters released a statement calling on Paulson to sell the two teams. They added that while they still back the players, “With playoffs approaching, yes, it means that game days might look different.”

Smith and her Thorns teammates hope that’s not the case.

“Talking to some of my teammates, we would still really like people to show up and support us, because at the end of the day, even through all of this, we still have to step on the field and perform and play soccer,” she said.

“Our biggest thing is we want to do that in front of our fans because that’s one of the positive things that we have left in Portland and something that we always look forward to.”

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USWNT hammers Nigeria behind Sophia Smith double

The Portland Thorns star was dominant in the first half as the USWNT cruised to a 4-0 win

The U.S. women’s national team made easy work of Nigeria on Saturday, winning 4-0 in the first of two friendlies between the teams.

Sophia Smith was the catalyst for the USWNT, scoring two goals and assisting Lindsey Horan in the first half as the U.S. took a three-goal advantage into the break.

Smith has now scored 10 international goals, reaching the mark in her 22nd cap — the sixth fastest a USWNT player has achieved the feat.

Alex Morgan added a fourth from the penalty spot in the second half as the U.S. eased to victory at at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City.

The two teams will face off again on Tuesday at Audi Field in Washington, D.C.

Watch Smith’s goals and assist vs. Nigeria

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Young USWNT readies for Costa Rica challenge at CONCACAF W Championship

Vlatko Andonovski and Andi Sullivan say the USWNT is ready for Costa Rica

The U.S. women’s national team, having won their CONCACAF W Championship group without conceding a goal, is completing their preparations to face Costa Rica on Thursday (7:00pm Eastern, CBS Sports Network and Paramount +) in a match that has major Olympic qualifying implications.

With the W Championship’s structure, winning your semifinal means a shot at an automatic berth in the 2024 Olympics in Paris, while the defeated team will play in Monday’s third-place game needing to win just to maintain hope of qualifying via a playoff over a year from now.

The USWNT has not conceded a goal in the tournament, and has historically bossed matches against Costa Rica, but speaking to media today in a pre-match press conference, head coach Vlatko Andonovski and midfielder Andi Sullivan had nothing but respect for Amelia Valverde’s side.

On the top of their list? A focus on reducing the impact of Portland Thorns midfielder Raquel Rodríguez.

Sullivan said she’s “looking forward to that matchup,” one that will be pretty common throughout given Rodríguez’s status as Costa Rica’s creative hub and Sullivan being the USWNT’s starting defensive midfielder in 2022. “I play against Rocky in the league a lot, and she’s a fantastic player.”

Andonovski also highlighted Rodríguez, but had a long list of players he’s concerned about. Bordeaux winger Melissa Herrera, veteran midfielder Shirley Cruz, and young striker María Paula Salas were all emphasized.

“They do have some weapons that they can hurt teams, and this is something that we’re very well aware of, and we’re very familiar with,” said Andonovski. “Now, it’s up to us to make sure that that doesn’t happen.”

While he was willing to discuss the difficulties of playing one of CONCACAF’s top teams, Andonovski was less ready to tip his hand as far as the USWNT’s goalkeeping situation. Alyssa Naeher, the longtime No. 1, only played in the 5-0 win over Jamaica, while Casey Murphy started the USWNT’s first match of the tournament. After saying the coaching staff would discuss the situation going into the Mexico game, Murphy somewhat surprisingly got the nod.

Still, Andonovski indicated that the position is not a settled issue.

“It is a little bit up in the air,” said Andonovski. “As a staff, we’ve talked a lot about it and who’s going to be in the goal in the next game, and also how we want to approach hopefully the following game. But I’m not at liberty to discuss that right now.”

Youth movement

His choice in goal may remain a secret for another day, but Andonovski was up for talking about how this much younger version of the USWNT is handling the responsibility that comes with being on a team where the standard is to win every game.

Coming off of an Olympic tournament that saw the team lean heavily towards one more go for the generation that won the 2019 World Cup only to come home with a bronze medal, there has been a pronounced shift. Murphy is the youngest goalkeeper in camp, while the team’s two best performers in the group stage were arguably 21-year-old forward Sophia Smith and NWSL rookie Naomi Girma.

There’s a generational shift elsewhere, with Sullivan and Mallory Pugh more firmly ensconced in the squad than ever, and Emily Fox (whose status after being placed in Covid-19 protocols remains unclear) the only natural left back on the roster.

“We trust these young players a lot, and we’re very happy with where they’re at in the development stage of their career,” said Andonovski. “It was good for them to also learn some things on their own. I mean, the game against Mexico was tremendous… It was a little bit stressful. It was a little hostile. The team that we faced was a good team, very well-coached. And they were motivated. They were intense, all together. It was a great opportunity.”

The change in tournament phases has come with a roster adjustment, and the USWNT continued their youth movement. Ashley Hatch’s injury against Jamaica required a replacement being added to the team, but rather than bring another striker in, or call up a veteran, Andonovski went with yet another younger player in uncapped defensive midfielder Sam Coffey.

“We did go a little bit unbalanced in this tournament in terms of how many forwards and how many midfielders we had, but we did that with a plan in mind,” said Andonovski. “When Ashley got injured, we felt like it was a good moment to balance the team back again, and bring Sam in,” before adding that he didn’t want to go outside of the group called in for pre-tournament preparation matches in order to preserve the environment and camaraderie built over the last three weeks.

Sullivan said that on a team where the hunger to win every game is heightened no matter the competition, there’s no real adjustment to make going from the group stage’s World Cup qualification aspect over to the knockout rounds and the built-in pressure of Olympic places being up for grabs.

“We take every game so seriously,” explained Sullivan. “I don’t think it’s that much of (an) adjustment to focus now more specifically on winning the tournament and qualifying for the Olympics.”

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USWNT ‘very excited’ for Mexico challenge in CONCACAF W Championship group finale

The USWNT is fully focused on a desperate Mexico side that must win to keep any World Cup hope alive

The U.S. women’s national team has already secured its place at the 2023 World Cup, and only a very strange pair of outcomes on Monday night would keep them from winning their CONCACAF W Championship group.

Still, facing a Mexico side that must win in front of their home fans to keep any chance of getting into a World Cup playoff later this year alive, the USWNT is embracing the opportunity for a younger squad to learn how to navigate a charged atmosphere.

“We’re very happy to be qualified. Obviously, that was the first box that we wanted to check, but our job is not done yet,” head coach Vlatko Andonovski told reporters on Sunday, just before his side’s final training session before they play Mexico at the historic Estadio Universitario. “In this next game, we are actually very excited to go into, because to some degree, this is the game that we were looking forward to, because we expect a lot of fans to come, to show up, create a little hostile environment for younger players that haven’t been in a situation like this before.”

The USWNT has defeated Haiti and Jamaica without conceding a goal thus far, but the crowds at both games have not been a factor. Mexico, meanwhile, didn’t recover from losing a somewhat even game against Jamaica, collapsing in a 3-0 loss to Haiti on Thursday that eliminated the home side from Olympic qualifying and cut their chances of moving on to the World Cup playoff in September down to the merest glimmer of hope. On top of that, starting defenders Rebeca Bernal (injury) and Greta Espinoza (red card) are both unavailable to face the USWNT.

Despite Mexico’s troubles, Andonovski has not changed his tune, having circled this game from the moment the tournament draw came out. “We’re gonna have a good opponent ahead of us,” said the USWNT boss on Mexico. “We’re gonna have to be very sophisticated, very precise in the way we play.”

Andonovski wanted more of the same from the USWNT on the ball, but stressed that focus is a must against a Mexico team with NWSL attackers, name-checking Houston Dash winger Maria Sánchez and North Carolina Courage striker Diana Ordoñez as players the USWNT wants to limit. Despite Monica Vergara’s side struggling to create openings and being too reliant on crosses, Andonovski made his respect for their capabilities clear.

“Out of possession, we have to stay focused throughout the whole game, throughout 90 minutes, because they have very good strikers, very good attacking players,” said Andonovski. “I mean, someone like (Maria) Sánchez and (Diana) Ordoñez now, players that can punish you if you give them a little time and space.”

“The fact that Mexico has something to play for is something that makes us excited, because we want them to come out in the strongest and best fashion, and create the toughest possible environment for us,” added Andonovski, who pointed out that next year’s World Cup being so far away from the U.S. will likely mean the USWNT won’t have the vociferous support their home-heavy typical schedule comes with.

On the game itself, defender Naomi Girma—speaking to reporters days after an outstanding performance against Jamaica—said a key for the USWNT was to take their time on the ball and cajole openings in Mexico’s shape rather than thinking every pass had to open the game up.

“We talked about just being patient out of the back, playing what’s on, not trying to force the ball in if Jamaica was sitting low on us,” said Girma on the Jamaica win. “So I think it just took us communicating, and finding the right moment to go and attack and get our goals.”

While Andonovski was willing to mention some specific lineup changes before the Jamaica match, he stopped short of actually naming starters for Monday night’s game.

“We’re fortunate enough to have a really good roster and every player that is on the roster is capable and able to to play well and contribute for our success. We believe in our team,” said Anvonovski. “So for the next game, I’m sure we’ll see a couple of new faces from the previous game.”

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Sophia Smith, USWNT overcome rugged Colombia in 3-0 friendly win

Despite two saved penalties, the USWNT won in Colorado thanks to Smith’s brace

Sophia Smith’s brace carried the U.S. women’s national team to a 3-0 win over Colombia Saturday night in Colorado.

Facing a very low block and a rarely-seen sweeper in use from Colombia, the USWNT started sluggishly. Still, they should have entered the locker room up by a couple of goals: Mal Pugh side-footed wide of an early empty net after good work from Sophia Smith, while a disputed penalty won by Smith resulted in both Catalina Pérez saving Lindsey Horan’s spot kick, and Smith stumbling as she tried to deposit the rebound, sending it wide.

Smith would make up for that shortly after the start of the second half, burying two goals in a six-minute span. First, Rose Lavelle and halftime substitute Ashley Sanchez combined at midfield to send the Portland Thorns star in behind to clip the ball past Pérez in the 54th minute.

On the second, it was Lavelle again with the assist, this time playing a smart diagonal ball that broke the Colombia back line, leaving Smith room to race away and slide a shot home on the hour mark.

Sanchez picked another halftime sub, Alex Morgan, out with a lob after great work to get open, with Morgan drawing another penalty kick. Pérez yet again produced a save though, this time denying Lavelle at full stretch in the 69th minute.

While Casey Murphy saw very little work in her fifth cap, the USWNT’s big chances dried up after that, with long spells of possession but few breakthroughs. Megan Rapinoe came in late and got involved, bending a free kick inches wide in the 85th minute after having a penalty appeal rejected.

Rapinoe would still factor into a goal, floating a precise 90th minute free kick in for Taylor Kornieck, who expertly guided home a header on her USWNT debut.

The USWNT will complete their back-to-back with Colombia next Tuesday, when they meet again at Rio Tinto Stadium in Utah.

See the USWNT’s goals vs. Colombia

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