Smith could be thorn in Wave’s side for years to come
Ahead of their first home game in nearly a month, the Wave boast their league’s best record, 4-2-1, and top scorer, Alex Morgan.
A bonus for soccer fans who attend the 7 p.m. match today at the University of San Diego is they’ll see Sophia Smith, a 21-year-old Portland Thorns striker with a scorer’s knack.
“Sophia Smith is one of the best forwards I’ve seen in a long time,” Wave coach Stoney Casey said in April.
Having the world’s top women’s soccer league in San Diego affords locals a closer look at the U.S. national team’s next wave of top prospects.
Smith, a 5-foot-5 Stanford alum, scored a hat trick for Portland in a preseason match against the U.S. under-22 national team in March. With the senior U.S. club, she tallied three more goals, April 9 against Uzbekistan, making her the program’s youngest player in 22 years to post a hat trick.
“A very exciting player, a phenomenal athlete, electric pace,” said Wave assistant coach Rich Gunney, formerly with Portland. “And, a really high level skill set to beat defenders and create opportunities for herself and others.”
He added: “She’s going to be on the world stage for many years to come.”
Portland traded up to choose Smith first in the 2020 National Women’s Soccer League Draft, and she scored seven goals last year in Portland’s run to the regular-season title.
She can fire lethal shots in a blink. The lefty’s 20-yard, wideangle strike in a preseason match whizzed by the Wave’s backup keeper, who was left flat-footed, for a 1-0 lead. Later she blazed some 70 yards with the ball, despite a Wave defender grabbing her.
The alum of Fossil Ridge High in Fort Collins, Colo., adopted soccer after embracing basketball. “I don’t have any, like, hobbies other than soccer,” she told The Oregonian. “So when I have time off I like to relax and watch movies, go outdoors and hike if I have the energy, and just hang out and chill.”
Portland (2-1-3) won both preseason matches against the Wave, who play three of their next four games at home, where they are 2-0 behind five goals from Morgan.