Sophia Smith

Sophia Smith (born August 10, 2000, Windsor, Colorado, U.S.) is an American professional football (soccer) player who is considered one of the top athletes in the sport. Smith plays in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) as a forward on the Portland Thorns Football Club (FC) in Oregon and is a member of the U.S. Women’s National Team (USWNT). Her outstanding achievements on the field helped the USWNT win the gold medal at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Smith is the youngest of three daughters born to Kenny and Mollie Smith. Her parents were both collegiate athletes: her father had played basketball at the University of Wyoming, and her mother played volleyball in college. Smith’s parents encouraged her to begin her athletic pursuits at a young age. She began playing on the Timnath Twisters, a local football club, when she was in kindergarten. Smith later joined Arsenal Colorado, another local club. She attended Fossil Ridge High School in Fort Collins, Colorado, where she played basketball in addition to football when she was a freshman. While in high school, Smith began playing football on the national level with Real Colorado, a Colorado-based training organization for young players.

After graduating from high school in 2018, Smith attended Stanford University in California. She was a forward on the school’s women’s football team, coached by veteran trainer Paul Ratcliffe. During a game in October 2018 Smith broke her ankle and tore ligaments in her foot when an errant tackle from a defender knocked her to the ground. She required surgery and missed the final games of the 2018 season and the NCAA tournament. Despite this major setback, Smith returned the next season and led the team as a star player. With Smith back in action, the Stanford women’s team won the 2019 NCAA championship.

Smith’s outstanding play in college made her a notable up-and-coming athlete. Because of this, she decided to leave college for professional football and was the number one pick in the 2020 NWSL draft. Chosen by the Portland Thorns FC, Smith, age 19, was the first teenage player ever selected in the NWSL draft. In 2022 Smith was the leading scorer for both the Portland Thorns as well as the USWNT. In addition, she became the youngest player to receive the regular-season Most Valuable Player award in NWSL history and was named the 2022 U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year by the U.S. Soccer organization. Smith also helped the USWNT qualify for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, in which the team was eliminated in the round of 16, and she was on the USWNT that won a gold medal at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.