Sophia Smith sets the record straight by scoring goals.

She did it in last season’s NWSL Championship game, when critics said she shouldn’t have won the league MVP award. And she did it again on Friday, in response to a recent narrative surrounding her age.

The 22-year-old has been called the “future of United States women’s soccer,” a moniker that should be flattering, but it’s not to Smith. Because she’s not thinking about the future. Right now, she’s thinking about the 2023 World Cup.
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There’s no time like the present. And the present belongs to Sophia Smith. She said as much on the field Saturday in New Zealand.

In her 2023 World Cup debut, the forward scored two goals and notched an assist, propelling the USWNT to a 3-0 win over Vietnam to start group play. In doing so, Smith became the youngest player to score multiple goals in her first World Cup appearance.

“I came into it with the mindset that I was going to do whatever it takes to help this team win,” Smith told FOX Sports in a postgame interview. “Tonight, (scoring) is what that was.”

Scoring goals is nothing new to Smith, who leads the NWSL with 10 so far this season for the Portland Thorns. But the World Cup is new, and despite how ready she is, Smith still felt butterflies.

“I feel relieved,” she said. “I was kind of anxious going into the tournament, so it’s good to get a game under our belt and get a feel for it and know what to expect.”

Spectators and opponents alike can expect more of the same from Smith, who with her two goals, cements herself as the early favorite for the World Cup Golden Boot race.

Her first goal came at the 14-minute mark, when Lindsey Horan controlled the ball at midfield and passed it to Alex Morgan, who flicked it onward to Smith. The forward used her speed to sneak past Vietnam’s backline. Then, after one touch, Smith fired with her left foot and watched as the ball went through goalkeeper Thi Kim Thanh Tran’s legs and hit the back of the net.

The build up, the pass, the finish, this was a beauty from the @USWNT 🖼🔥 pic.twitter.com/sM1wF66bq7

— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) July 22, 2023

It was her introduction to the World Cup. The usually stoic Smith celebrated by leaping into Horan’s arms. The rest of the team joined in, and the group hug signified the beginning of an era: Sophia Smith World Domination.

Because when she starts rolling, there’s no stopping Smith.

Her boyfriend, Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Michael Wilson, said it best when he described Smith’s play on the field leading into her World Cup selection.

“She’s like lightning in a bottle,” he said in May.

It didn’t take long for lightning to strike twice against Vietnam, and before halftime, Smith had another goal to her name.

This one came on a rebound, after Thanh made a save, punching the ball out to the edge of the box. Smith was waiting. She struck the ball with her left foot, and Thanh — who saved an Alex Morgan penalty kick attempt minutes earlier — dove and made contact, but couldn’t stop the shot’s momentum.

Sophia Smith simply cannot be stopped! ⚽️⚽️ pic.twitter.com/VJJdUUH6yw

— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) July 22, 2023

Smith wasn’t done. She finished off the opening match with an assist, chasing down a ball deep into the box before passing backward to fellow Colorado native Horan, who sent it into the back of the net at the 77-minute mark and gave the USWNT a 3-0 lead.

🇺🇸 @sophsssmith ➡️ @LindseyHoran

It was only a matter of time for the @USWNT 💪 pic.twitter.com/0ReAezYggc

— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) July 22, 2023

Smith’s opening-game heroics were crucial. The forward, with a hand in all three goals, was able to capitalize on opportunities when the rest of the team couldn’t. Of the USWNT’s 26 shots, only seven were on target. Headers flew over the crossbar, and kicks sailed just wide of the net. Morgan missed a penalty kick and then couldn’t bury the rebound after a diving save from Thanh.

“We had some chances that we didn’t finish,” Julie Ertz told FOX Sports. “Those are the opportunities we need to have going forward in the tournament.”

Next up in Group E, the U.S. takes on the Netherlands, a more challenging opponent on paper, at 9 p.m. ET on Wednesday. The Dutch squad is ninth in the FIFA rankings, compared to No. 32-ranked Vietnam.

“This is a good place to start in the tournament,” Smith said. “But I know we have so much more to give.”

Eden Laase is a Staff Writer at Just Women’s Sports. Follow her on Twitter @eden_laase.

The New York Liberty dominated Indiana on Thursday night, winning by a whopping 36 points in the Fever's home opener. 

A sold-out crowd of 17,274 was in attendance to watch as star rookie Caitlin Clark finished the 102-66 defeat with nine points, seven rebounds, and six assists. It’s the first time since January 2021 — her freshman season at Iowa — that Clark's been held to single-digit scoring. 

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"The physicality is definitely up there... I'm easily pushed off screens," she told reporters after the loss. "The game seems a little fast for me right now. The more I play and the more comfortable I get, it's going to slow down a little bit. It will be easier for me to make reads, see things develop."

The Fever were outscored by a combined margin of 57 points in their first two games — the largest two-game point deficit in WNBA season-opening history, according to @ESPNStatsInfo.

"We've got to get to a level of toughness," Fever coach Christie Sides in her own postgame remarks. "When things are going south on us, we're not stopping the bleeding."

"I have great perspective on everything that happens," Clark added. "It was the same in my college career. There were some moments that were absolutely amazing. And there were some moments I was not happy with how I played and how my team performed. That's just life, that's just basketball."

Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu, who herself experienced a rocky rookie season following a much-hyped college career, offered up some insight on the matter.

"In this league, there are tough defenses all centered around not letting you get the ball, trapping, not letting you score," Ionescu said. "There were many factors that played into what was a tough first season for me in the league, but it helps you be able to figure it out. You have to have those experiences."

But it was reigning league MVP Breanna Stewart that truly stole the show, racking up 31 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, three steals, and two blocks on the night.

"In general, I just wanted to come out more aggressive coming off of last game," Stewart said after putting up the 24th 30-point game in her career.

Stewart she also commended the fans inside Indianapolis's packed Gainbridge Fieldhouse, noting that she hopes that level of support to continue across the WNBA.

"This is how you want every game to be and when it's a sell-out crowd, it gives you a similar playoff atmosphere feel," she said. "People want to be a part of this and the thing now is to continue to sustain it, continue to take the momentum that we have and turn it into something more."

WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert admitted to a "faulty rollout" of the new charter travel initiative on Thursday, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

Ahead of Tuesday's season opener, it was announced that the only teams flying private this week would be Indiana and Minnesota. The announcement came mere days after the league made a new charter flight program for all WNBA teams public. At the time, they said it would be implemented "as soon as we have the planes."

But as two teams out of 12 chartered to their first games of the season, others like the Atlanta Dream and Chicago Sky were forced to fly commercial.

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A town hall meeting between Engelbert and the players was held in response to the confusion. Everything from the league's new media rights deal to private travel was covered in the meeting, with players submitting their questions ahead of time. Sky center Elizabeth Williams told Sun-Times reporter Annie Costabile afterwards that cross-country flights were prioritized.

"Flights that are across the country like [the Lynx] going to Seattle, crossing multiple time zones, or flights that usually require a connection, those were the priorities," Williams said. "That’s why New York didn’t go to DC with a charter, but Minny goes to Seattle."

What’s unclear under that metric is that the Atlanta Dream played the Los Angeles Sparks on Wednesday, which could technically be classified as a cross-country flight. 

On Tuesday, rookie forward Angel Reese shared a photo on her Instagram story lamenting the league's use of commercial flights.

"Just praying that this is one of the last commercial flights the Sky has to fly," Reese posted. The team still has at least three commercial flights awaiting them in the near future.

"Obviously, I think all teams should be able to get chartered," Reese told the Sun-Times. "But I know moving forward... going in the right direction, being able to have some teams [chartering] is cool. Within the next weeks, everybody will be flying charter, which will be really good."

On Thursday, Lindsay Schnell of USAToday Sports confirmed that the league intends to have all teams on charter flights by May 21st.

Brazil has been named the host for the 2027 Women’s World Cup, with FIFA announced early Friday. 

The decision came after a vote at the 74th FIFA Congress in Bangkok, with Brazil earning 119 votes to the joint European bid’s 78. 

This will be Brazil’s first time hosting the Women’s World Cup, with the country having hosted the men’s World Cup twice before in 1950 and 2014. It will also be the first Women’s World Cup held in South America. The tournament will follow the same 32-team format as the 2023 WWC in Australia and New Zealand.

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Brazil winning the bid was not entirely surprising after FIFA issued a report just last week, stating that the Brazilian bid had pulled ahead as host following technical inspection. After evaluation, Brazil was given a score of 4.0 out of 5, compared to the 3.7 awarded to the Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands.

Brazil ranked higher in a number of key areas, including stadiums, accommodations, fan zones, and transport infrastructure. Though considered to be a frontrunner, the US and Mexico withdrew their joint bid prior to the technical inspection period, saying they would instead focus their efforts on 2031.

On Friday, Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) president Ednaldo Rodrigues called it a "victory." 

"We knew we would be celebrating a victory for South American women's soccer and for women," he told reporters. "You can be sure, with no vanity, we will accomplish the best World Cup for women."

"We are working on a transformation, not only for the country but for the continent," added bid team operational manager Valesca Araujo.

Brazil intends to use 10 of the venues utilized at the 2014 men’s World Cup, including holding the final in Rio de Janeiro on July 25th. The CBF's proposal outlines that the 2027 tournament run from June 24th through the end of July. Last summer’s World Cup began at the end of July and concluded on August 19th.

Another notable element of Brazil's newly unveiled plan to grow of the women’s game is that "all [men’s] clubs wishing to take part in high-level national and continental competitions must now provide a structure for a women’s team." While the definition of "structure" was not specifically identified, the country has set targets with CONMEBOL to help increase the number of women’s club teams in the country.

In last week's inspection findings, FIFA noted that selecting Brazil as the next WWC host could "have a tremendous impact on women's football in the region."

Chelsea did what they needed to do on Wednesday in order to make Saturday's slate of season-ending WSL fixtures interesting: Beat Tottenham.

The Blues are now number one in the league, with an edge over Manchester City on goal differential thanks to an eight-goal outing against Bristol City last week. 

Yesterday's result tees up a league finale for the books as Chelsea looks to send coach Emma Hayes off with another trophy to add to her cabinet. The Blues will play FA Cup winner Manchester City at Old Trafford on Saturday, while City is away at Aston Villa.

"We will be leaving nothing on the pitch, we will be giving everything and no matter what the result is," Chelsea midfielder Erin Cuthbert said after Wednesday's win. "At least we can look each other in the eye and say we gave everything."

It makes for a thrilling end to Chelsea's Emma Hayes era, as the decorated WSL coach will take over the USWNT in June. And it comes after Hayes all but conceded the title race early this month after Chelsea fell to Liverpool 4-3.

"I think the title is done," Hayes said at the time. "Of course, mathematically, it's not, but I think the title is done. Our job between now and the end of the season is to keep pushing until the end, but I think it will be very difficult.

"We will never give up. But the title is far from us; it's not in our hands. I think City are deserving, their consistency has put them in that position. Of course, we will go to the end, but I don't think the title will be going to us this year."

Be it mind games or Hayes truly thinking her team was that far off, her words lit something in Chelsea. Their following two performances showed the team’s determination to have a shot at some silverware.

As for Saturday's schedule, Hayes believes her team is facing the "tougher of the two games."

"It's a fitting finale for me, being my final game," she told BBC Sport. "As I said to the players if someone gives you a second chance in life, make sure you don't need a third one. We're in the position we want to be in, and we'll give it everything on Saturday no matter what."