Portland Thorns star Sophia Smith is the 2022 NWSL MVP.

The 22-year-old forward becomes the youngest MVP in league history. She takes home the top individual award just days ahead of the championship match, where she will look to lead the Thorns to their first title since 2017.

In her second NWSL season, Smith scored 14 goals in 18 appearances, second only to San Diego Wave striker Alex Morgan’s 15 goals — and a new single-season record for Portland. Her four braces tied her for the most in a single season in the NWSL.

Her speed and dribbling ability help her get behind opposing defenses, and her shot totals underline her offensive prowess. She leads the league with 80 shots heading into the final, 27 more than the next closest player, Chicago Red Stars forward Mallory Pugh. She also paced the league with 52 shots on goal, 19 more than Pugh in second place.

She powered a prolific Portland offense, which scored 49 goals in the regular season, third-most in league history.

“Sophia has taken up so much bandwidth from opposition backlines that it has allowed our team to have a scoring profile that has broken records this season,” Thorns coach Rhian Wilkinson said ahead of last Sunday’s semifinal. “And it’s not by chance. Her movement — they probably have training sessions that opposition have to do to just get all over her. It takes three people to stop Soph.”

🏆 YOUNGEST MVP IN LEAGUE HISTORY 🏆

In just her second professional regular-season, that’s how you do it! Let’s go, @sophsssmith! #BAONPDX pic.twitter.com/3EDfG9yFkB

— X - Portland Thorns FC (@ThornsFC) October 27, 2022

Smith bested Morgan, who finished second in MVP voting, as well as Pugh, North Carolina Courage forward Debinha and Wave defender Naomi Girma.

Before Smith’s award win, expansion club San Diego had swept all the other individual awards: Morgan claimed the Golden Boot, Girma won the Rookie and Defender of the Year awards, Kailen Sheridan won Goalkeeper of the Year and Casey Stoney won Coach of the Year.

The No. 2 seed Thorns got the better of the No. 3 seed Wave in the semifinals last Sunday, with Crystal Dunn’s game-winning goal securing the 2-1 victory and sending Portland to the championship game. Now, Smith and the Thorns will face the Kansas City Current with the title on the line at 8 p.m. ET Saturday at Audi Field in Washington, D.C.

Smith is no stranger to the national stage. She received her first call-up to the  U.S. women’s national senior team as a 16-year-old in 2017, and she has established herself as a regular starter for the team this year.

In her college career at Stanford, Smith helped the Cardinal to the 2019 NCAA title before becoming the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NWSL Draft. She was thrilled to be selected by Portland, the team she’ll now look to lead to a championship.

“I didn’t want to go anywhere else,” Smith said.

The 2025 NWSL Championship claimed a major viewership milestone on Saturday, as Gotham FC's 1-0 title win over the Washington Spirit became the first-ever league match to record an average of more than one million viewers.

The CBS evening broadcast averaged an impressive 1.184 million fans and peaked at 1.55 million viewers, making it the most-watched NWSL match of all time.

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The 2025 final marked a 22% viewership increase over the 967,900 fans who watched 2024's Orlando Pride victory — the previous NWSL viewership record-holder — and a 45% ratings gain over Gotham's 2023 championship win, which averaged 816,800 viewers.

Saturday's gains both matched the 22% viewership increase the NWSL regular season saw this year and also far exceeded the 2025 postseason's pre-final year-over-year increase of 5%.

Calling the one-million viewer mark "an extraordinary achievement" in Tuesday's league statement, NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman also noted that the "record-setting audience demonstrates the deepening connection fans have with our players, our clubs, and the world-class competition on the field, and it underscores the growing demand for women's soccer on the biggest stages."

"We're incredibly proud of what this moment represents for the NWSL and for everyone who continues to invest in and believe in the future of our game," Berman added.

Incoming offseason league Project B scored more major WNBA signings this week, as the upstart venture continues stacking its roster ahead of a planned November 2026 launch.

Indiana Fever guards Kelsey Mitchell and Sophie Cunningham have both publicly signed on with Project B, joining already announced talent like Seattle Storm star Nneka Ogwumike and Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas, New York Liberty center Jonquel Jones, and Las Vegas Aces guard Jewell Loyd.

Also inking deals to join the inaugural season of Project B are Chicago Sky center Kamilla Cardoso, Golden State Valkyries forward Janelle Salaün, and Li Meng, a former Washington Mystics guard and current player in the Women's Chinese Basketball Association.

The multi-continent, Formula One-style traveling tournament circuit will ultimately sign 66 international stars, as Project B looks to field six 11-player teams in its debut 2026/2027 campaign.

Project B player signings will undoubtedly impact other offseason leagues like Unrivaled and Athletes Unlimited, but the new venture is also looming large over the ongoing WNBA CBA talks.

With negotiations racing toward this Sunday's extended deadline, Project B is putting WNBA compensation offerings under increased pressure, as the new league is reportedly anteing up multimillion-dollar salaries to its signees — far exceeding the 2025 WNBA maximum as well as the $1.1 million-max currently on the negotiating table.

World No. 1 Spain will take aim at a second-straight UEFA Nations League title this week, as La Roja take on No. 5 Germany in the first leg of the 2025 tournament's final at 2:30 PM ET on Friday.

The defending Nations League champions booked their spot in the 2025 final by dismantling No. 3 Sweden 5-0 on aggregate in the semifinal round, while Germany advanced after a tense 3-2 aggregate win over No. 6 France.

Germany must also contend with availability issues during Friday's match, as 28-year-old Bayern Munich forward and senior national team leading scorer Lea Schüller will be out due to family reasons.

To overcome that disadvantage, German head coach Christian Wück is reinforcing the team's back line, adding Athletic Bilbao defender Bibi Schulze Solano to the roster on Wednesday.

Also aiming to shut down Spain's offensive firepower on Friday is new NWSL champion goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger, who joined her German compatriots late following Gotham FC's title celebrations in New York this week.

While Spain and Germany will contend for the 2025 Nations League trophy this week, the pair — along with ousted semifinalists Sweden and France — have already booked spots in the top group of teams battling for tickets to the 2027 World Cup, with UEFA qualifying set to begin in 2026.

A full 19 months removed from their back-to-back Final Four runs, No. 11 Iowa basketball refuses to go away, with the Hawkeyes already notching one Top-25 win in the young 2025/26 NCAA campaign so far.

The still-unbeaten Hawkeyes took down No. 15 Baylor 57-52 last Thursday, with Iowa starting post players Hannah Stuelke and Ava Heiden combining for 28 points while guard Taylor Stremlow added another 12 off the bench in the marquee win.

"We have nice pieces," said Iowa head coach Jan Jensen this week. "But it's knowing when to play which pieces and with whom, and we're six games in."

The Hawkeyes have been finding their new identity under Jensen after a transformative period saw Iowa's longtime head coach Lisa Bluder retire while superstar guard Caitlin Clark joined the WNBA.

"Jan's been amazing," Stuelke told JWS at the Big Ten Media Day in October. "She stepped up like she needed to, and she's been growing every day since she's been the head coach, which it's really cool to see she cares. And it's a great environment for all of us."

"I have a year under my belt," Jensen echoed. "I know what this chair feels like now, and I have a little better of understanding of what that first road trip feels like, what that first big win feels like, or the tough loss feels like."

Iowa's season heats up with a ranked rivalry matchup against No. 10 Iowa State on Wednesday, December 10th.

The state rivals will tip off at 7 PM ET, with live coverage airing on ESPN.