In this Sophia Smith Biography, we explore the life and career of one of the most promising players in Women’s football.
To women’s football fans, Sophia Smith needs no introduction. She has long been touted as the next big thing in U.S. football. After her incredible rise in the last 18 months, it is fair to say that Smith is no longer the future of the sport—she is the now. Smith almost instantly went from young prospect to superstar. Despite her young age, Sophia Smith is already considered one of the top players in women’s football.
She idolized Alex Morgan and legends like Morgan have paved the way for talented female stars such as Smith. Many expects that she will replace her idol as the USWNT’s best pure goalscorer. She’s already becoming the next face of this national team. There is no doubt that Sophia Smith has a bright future ahead of her.
Sophia Smith is famous for her drive, generosity, pleasant warmth, and ingenuity. Her dynamic play on the field combined with her off the field personality make her a star that football fans will watch for many years. Smith is not only an outstanding player, she’s also a leader, a role model, and an ambassador for the game of football in the USA.
In Sophia Smith biography, we talk about every fact of her life, including her childhood, early life, family, career, and personal life.
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Everything to Know About Sophia Smith
In this part of Sophia Smith biography, you could find some general information about her listed here.
Sophia Smith Information
- Sophia Smith real name: Sophia Olivia Smith
- Nickname: ‘Crouchy’
- Profession: Professional footballer
Sophia Smith Physical Stats
- Height: 168 cm (5 ft 6 in)
- Eye Color: Hazel
- Hair Color: Black
- Weight: 56 kg
Date of Birth and Personal Info
- Date of Birth: 10 August 2000
- Birth Place: Colorado, United States
- Nationality: American
Sophia Smith Football Information
- Position: Forward
- Professional Debut: September 2020
- Jersey Number: 9
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Sophia Smith’s Early Life
Sophia Olivia Smith was born on 10 August 2000 in Windsor, Colorado, United States.
She was raised in Windsor near Fort Collins, Colorado. Sophia Smith parents are Mollie and Kenny Smith. She has two older sisters Gabrielle and Savannah. Sophia is biracial. Her heritage is mostly made up of African American roots.
Sophia grow up in a sports loving family. Her father played basketball at the University of Wyoming and her older sister Savannah played basketball at the University of Northern Colorado where she was the all-time leading scorer. Sophia’s father Kenny Smith claims that said he knew when Sophia was 6 years old that she would be a soccer star after watching her dominate a 3-on-3 league. On the car ride to the game, she told her father she was going to score ten goals, which she did.
Sophia Smith’s family played a huge role in her becoming a professional player. Her family would frequently drive 3–4 hours from Fort Collins to Denver and back for soccer practice with youth national teams when she was in high school. She has also spoken about the importance of having a supportive family, saying, “My family has always been my biggest support system. They have always been there for me, no matter what.”
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Sophia Smith’s Profile
In this section of Sophia Smith biography, we take a look at her career as a footballer in the different teams that she played for throughout his career.
Sophia Smith Football Career
Sophia Smith began playing soccer as a young child. She played U-6 through U-10 with the Timnath Twisters and U-11 through U-13 with Arsenal Colorado. Smith played for the varsity soccer and basketball teams as a freshman at the Fossil Ridge High School in Fort Collins. She joined the academy of Real Colorado and finished runners-up at the ECNL National Championship in 2014 and 2016 with them. In 2013, Smith was first called up to the U-14 national team.
Stanford Cardinal
When Sophia Smith attended Stanford University in 2018, she played for the Cardinal. During the 2018 season, Smith scored 7 goals and was named to the All-Pac-12 freshman and second teams. The following season, she managed to score 17 goals and was named to the Hermann Trophy watch list. Smith won the 2019 NCAA College Cup with Cardinal. She also helped lead the Cardinal to the National title.
Portland Thorns
Sophia Smith was the first pick at the 2020 NWSL College Draft by Portland Thorns at age 20. She was the first teenager drafted in league history. In her first season, she only played in four matches due to a foot injury and the COVID-19 pandemic.
On May 16 2021, Smith scored a brace against the Chicago Red Stars in her regular season league debut. In the 2021 season, Smith scored 7 goals in 25 matches as Portland finished in first place won the NWSL Shield.
In 2022, Sophia Smith established herself as one of the most promising female football players in the United States. She scored three goals in five matches in the 2022 NWSL Challenge Cup. With 18 goals in 25 matches, Smith played a key role as Portland Thorns won the 2022 NWSL season, and she was named Championship MVP.
Sophia Smith scored her first professional hat-trick against Kansas City Curren in April 2023 and was named NWSL Player of the Month. She received this award the following month and finished the 2023 season after scoring 11 goals in 16 matches.
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International Career
In this section of Sophia Smith biography, we discuss her career at the international level.
Sophia Smith has represented the United States on the under-17, under-20, and senior national teams. In 2016, she played for her country at the FIFA U-17 World Cup. One year later, Smith was called for the first time to the senior national team at age 16 but did not play.
She played for the under-20 team at the 2018 CONCACAF U-20 Championship and FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup. In January 2020, she once again was called up to the senior national team for a training camp.
On November 27, 2020, Sophia Smith made her debut for the United States against the Netherlands. She became the first player born in the 2000s to play for the senior national team.
She was invited to the USA squad for the 2023 World Cup and managed to score twice and provide one assist in a 3–0 win against Vietnam in the opening game. The USA was eliminated in the last 16 round against Sweden on the penalties. Smith was one of three U.S. players who missed their penalties.
Stay tuned to read more about Sophia Smith life story.
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Sophia Smith’s Style of Play
In this part of Sophia Smith biography, we discuss her playing style.
Sophia Smith is one of the most exciting players to watch in women’s football. She is a single-minded and ruthless striker. Her speed, skill, and scoring ability make her a nightmare for opposing defenses. She also has a unique ability to find space for her teammates and to create scoring chances for them. Smith is a goalscorer, but there is more to her than just goals. Her vision and passing ability makes her a creative playmaker. She has the potential to change the game any time she steps on the field. Sophia Smith has been described by her opponents as “unstoppable”, “unpredictable” and “deadly”.
Smith is an exceptional and critical striker for her team, Portland. However, she often as a dynamic winger in the USA national team. Former U.S. head coach Vlatko Andnovski believed she is more effective at either wide position in a three-person front line. Her stats show that she is a pure goalscorer, but she is also dynamic enough to play on the wing. When cutting in from our wide, she remains just as dangerous as she is down the middle, which makes her a real asset to any coach. Her movement off the ball creates space for herself and her teammates, opening up channels despite defenders’ fixation on her. When playing on the wing, she thrives by running at players, take opponents one-on-one and be creative on the ball.
Smith told The Athletic at the 2022 SheBelieves Cup:
“I love to (take players on one-v-one). That’s, I think, the biggest part of my game, is getting the ball and taking players on. That’s what I pride myself in, it’s what I enjoy doing. Just kind of the risk part of it is exciting to me, and it’s fun, too. I mean, the feeling of getting by someone is the best feeling ever. So I think I embrace that, and I love it. And that’s why I really like playing wide. Because those opportunities present themselves a lot, especially against teams that give that to us.”
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Reception
Sophia Smith has received praise from football pundits for her impressive performances on the field and for her potential to become one of the best strikers in the world. Sophia’s teammates and coaches have spoken highly of her skills.
Former USA head coach, Vlatko Andonovski, has called Sophia a special player.
“First and foremost, this is the best team in the world and in order to play on this team you have to be one of the best in the world. She is a special player, and she’s certainly developing aspects of her game that she maybe wasn’t special in: ability to pop in pockets or to recognize those pockets and then expose the defence. For us as coaches, we’re happy to see that because it gives us another layer or an opportunity to create strategy in a way that we believe we can expose teams.”
Thorns head coach Mike Norris says about her:
“She’s extremely explosive, World-class pace when she’s running with the ball at her feet. On top of that, just really good quick release…the ability to get shots off without any cues or triggers.”
Keep reading, as there are still many things to talk about in Sophia Smith biography, including her personal life and her individual honors.
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Sophia Smith’s Legacy
Sophia Smith’s success on the field has also earned her recognition from various media outlets. Her impressive performance on the field has also attracted the attention of various sponsors.
Smith was featured in a commercial for ESPN’s SportsCenter starting in January 2023 with Megan Rapinoe and Becky Sauerbrunn. In the summer of 2023, she starred in a Nike commercial entitled, “Nice to Beat You”. She also starred in a Wells Fargo Visa commercial called “Lucky Soccer Socks” and a Chipotle commercial called “Starting Wing”.
Sophia Smith was featured on the June 2023 cover of Sports Illustrated along with national teammates Rose Lavelle, Alex Morgan, and Trinity Rodman. She also has been featured in Elle, Vogue, and Time magazines.
At the 2023 World Cup, Sophia Smith honored Katie Meyer’s memory in the U.S. women’s national team’s opener against Vietnam, imitating her former college teammate’s iconic 2019 national championship celebration following her second goal. Smith made a “zip your lips” gesture. It was a gesture to honor former Stanford teammate Katie Meyer, who died by suicide last year.
Smith said:
“That was for Katie. Nai and I talked about it before the game. We were like, ‘What can we do for Katie?’ It was pretty iconic what she did in the College Cup, and we just want to honor her in every way.”
Smith and other members of the national team have partnered with Common Goal — a soccer-focused, pledged-based charitable project — to launch a mental health initiative during this World Cup.
She is a strong advocate for gender equality in sport, and is actively involved in advocacy groups like the Black Women’s Player Collective, alongside her teammate Crystal Dunn.
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Football Career
In this section of Sophia Smith biography, we are going to take a look at Sophia Smith stats at the club level and also in the USA’s shirt.
Smith has played 70 times for Portland Thorns FC from 2020 until 2023. She managed to score 37 goals.
Sophia Smith also has scored 14 times in 34 matches for her country. In early 2017, Smith scored nine goals in six games for the USA under-17 team, which is believed to be a youth national team record for goals in six consecutive games.
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Sophia Smith Honors
In this section of Sophia Smith biography, we find out what individual awards and titles she has won.
Sophia Smith has won six trophies during her club career. She won the CAA Division I Women’s Soccer Championship in 2019 with Stanford Cardinal.
Smith won NWSL Challenge Cup in 2021 and NWSL Championship in 2022 with Portland Thorns. She also has won NWSL Community Shield, NWSL Shield, and Women’s International Champions Cup with Portland.
She has won CONCACAF U-20 Women’s Championship and Sud Ladies Cup with United States U20. Sophia Smith was part of the United States squad that won CONCACAF Women’s Championship in 2022. She also has won two SheBelieves Cups.
Smith won the U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year award twice in 2022. This award recognized her outstanding performance on the field, scoring 10 goals and providing 5 assists for the U.S. Women’s National Team. In the same year, she was named NWSL Most Valuable Player and NWSL Championship Game MVP. Sophia Smith featured in the NWSL Best XI in 2022.
In 2018, Smith was named SUD Ladies Cup the best player and won top scorer award.
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Sophia Smith Outside Professional Life
We finish Sophia Smith biography article with some information about her personal life.
Sophia Johnson boyfriend is NFL player Michael Wilson. He is an American football wide receiver for the Arizona Cardinals of the NFL. Sophia first met Michael Wilson while they were both at Stanford University. Smith was a starting player on the women’s soccer team, and Wilson was owning the position of wide receiver for the school’s football team. Sophia Smith has been dating her boyfriend since 2019.
The couple made things official on Jan. 10, 2019, and Wilson penned a special note to Smith on their one-year anniversary in 2020. “Life’s a blessing with you in it🖤,” Wilson captioned a selfie of he and Smith on Instagram. “I love you! Happy one year stud.”
Smith made her relationship with Wilson in Instagram official in February 2019. “Adventures in the city,” the soccer star captioned the post, which included a pair of photos of her and Wilson embracing one another in a hug while exploring San Francisco.
Sophia Smith and Michael Wilson are in a long-distance relationship since 2020. She had to leave Stanford and pursue a football career at the professional level. In the 2020 NWSL Draft, Smith was picked by the Portland Thorns and had to move to Portland, Oregon. While Wilson has remained in northern California to further his football career.
Children and Hobbies
How about Sophia Smith children? Well, as of 2023, Sophia Smith has no children.
Sophia Smith is one of the most promising and popular female players in the USA. She has endorsement deals with Nike, Inc., BioSteel Sports Nutrition, Ally Financial, Chipotle, Clif Bar, and Hyperice.
One of Sophia Smith’s hobbies is reading science fiction novels. She is relatively private and an avid reader. Sophia is a prominent member of the USWNT’s unofficial book club.
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