When the NWSL season begins in April, eyes will start to focus on newcomer Sophia Smith.
Sophia Smith showed up for preseason at Stanford University in the fall of 2018 with high hopes and a well-decorated resume full of high school accomplishments. The Stanford Women’s Soccer program has been dominant now for over ten years, and Smith certainly hoped to contribute to the continuation of that success.
And contribute she did. Her freshman year she ended with seven goals, multiple of which were game winners, and she received honors such as All-Pac 12 Freshman Team and Pac-12 Forward of the Week.
Her sophomore year she went and took the college soccer world by storm. She finished the season with 17 goals and was given the awards of College Cup Most Outstanding Offensive Player and College Cup All-Tournament Team.
On top of that she stood under a shower of confetti with her teammates celebrating Stanford’s 3rd National Championship. Not a bad way to finish out her sophomore year.
As it turns out however, it would also be the end of her college career. Before she was even far enough along in her college experience to declare a major, Smith signed herself up for the NWSL draft.
Not only is leaving college this early unusual for someone coming out of Stanford with a shot at a Stanford degree, but it’s incredibly unusual for a female soccer athlete when the pay at the professional level is often hardly enough to keep you afloat.
And unlike fellow Stanford player Tierna Davidson who had already established herself on the USWNT before making the decision to leave after her junior year to go pro, there’s a lot more uncertainty in Smith’s future about her role, if any, on the senior national team.
She wowed at the college level though with an impressive athleticism and speed that was rarely matched. Her classroom intelligence has also translated onto the soccer pitch as shown in her clear understanding of the game and her role on the field.
So with a college season under her belt that had more successes than many college players have in their whole career, she felt confident enough to set her degree aside and turn her sights to the NWSL and USWNT.
Smith posted on social media to address her decision saying,
"This was a difficult decision, but one that I made with the support and guidance of my family and many people whom I trust. Most importantly, it was a decision in which I followed my heart."
In addition to her dominant performances on the youth national teams, she’s received a couple of recent call-ups to the senior national team and hopes the call-ups will become more frequent. And as was expected, she was immediately swept up in the NWSL draft as the No. 1 overall draft pick by the Portland Thorns.
The Thorns have high hopes for her this season and expect her to be a top contributor right away. With the expectations set so high can she only fall short, or will she rise above and beyond to become the superstar of the NWSL and later the USWNT?
Only time will tell. Keep your eyes peeled for Portland Thorn matches starting in April as she looks to build upon her already illustrious career.