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Sophia Smith comes full circle in first game at home with USWNT

(Jason Mowry/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

The last time Sophia Smith played in her home state of Colorado was during college in the fall of 2019 — a 4-0 win for Stanford over the Colorado Buffs.

In the short two and a half years since then, she won the national title, got drafted first overall to the Portland Thorns, earned her first cap with the U.S. women’s national team and quickly rose as one of their star forwards.

On Saturday, she returns for her first game in Colorado with the USWNT. The match at DSG Park in Commerce City is the first of a two-game series that will end in Utah on Tuesday, serving as preparation for the Concacaf World Cup Qualifying in July.

Playing at home is a dream come true because that’s where it all started almost 22 years ago.

‘That’s how I fell in love with it’

With two sporty sisters who were four and five years older, Sophia was already on the sidelines of soccer fields and basketball courts at just two days old in Windsor, Colo.

She jumped right into athletic shenanigans as soon as she could walk. Literally. Her little legs would leap off the sixth step of the staircase when someone walked by, just to see if they would catch her. By two years old, she was in the backyard running around with her sisters, Gabrielle and Savannah, trying to compete at their level. She’d jump off the trampoline to dunk balls into basketball nets to prove she could be like them.

Watching her sisters play soccer and trying to keep up with them in the backyard became her first memories of the sport as she got older.

“I think that’s how I fell in love with it, or how I was even made aware of it,” she told Just Women’s Sports.

‘I just want to play soccer’

Sophia’s soccer career started in kindergarten, the same year she met future USWNT teammate Jaelin Howell.

In a class of 18 boys and four girls, Sophia was excited when her teacher told the class a new girl was coming from Florida. But then, a couple days later when the new student arrived, she stole Sophia’s nap-time square. It was Howell.

In a video for the U.S. national team, Howell jokes that at the time Sophia leaned over and whispered in her ear, “I’m never going to be your friend.”

But of course, they became friends.

The tomboys bonded over their love for sports when they hung out with the boys at recess. They realized their similarities when Martha and Rob Martin, the parents of another girl in their kindergarten class, started a rec soccer team they both joined.

The coaches watched a series of kids’ tapes, put together by German soccer player Franz Beckenbauer, with what Beckenbauer referred to as “fast forward” skills. From there the Martins created a technique curriculum that consisted of 20 to 30 skills to teach the new team, the Timnath Twisters. Before long, the players were doing Maradona turns in their little swirly pink socks they tie-dyed themselves.

“[Rob and Martha] taught the girls so much,” said Smith’s mother, Mollie. “They were amazing.”

There was an activity every practice where kids could demonstrate new techniques they learned. Patches were the reward that they got to iron onto their red-and-white reversible jerseys. Howell was hungry for patches and never came to practice without a new skill. For Sophia, games were more important than practices at the time. But even during games, she’d be playing just like any other kid — until her dad showed up.

“Any time her dad showed up, she’d pick the pace up 10 fold and got really fast and started scoring a million goals,” Rob said. “It was kind of funny. Kenny, her dad, was obviously a big motivation for her. When she saw him she just lit up. … It wasn’t like, ‘Ooh, dad’s here, I better get to work.’ It was more like, ‘Ooh, dad’s here!’ — big smile on her face — and got to work.”

Family has always been important to Sophia. These days, when she’s lucky enough to get a small window of time at home, she spends every minute with her family — and also at her favorite restaurant, Jim’s Wings.

The Smiths are a basketball family. Just like Kenny who played basketball for the University of Wyoming, Sophia’s older sisters became invested in the sport as well. Sophia would still go on to play basketball in her freshman year of high school. She loved all sports. But for her, soccer became the priority.

“She just said, ‘I love soccer, I just want to play soccer,’” Mollie said.

“Oh, that must be so hard for Kenny!” people told Mollie.

“But it wasn’t really that hard because we saw how much she loved playing soccer,” Mollie said.

As Sophia neared her preteen years with the Timnath Twisters, the club decided the team became too supreme and had to split up. Despite Rob and Martha’s objections, Sophia was among those pulled into a different group. The team’s dominance wasn’t because the Martins encouraged them to be that way — they had never coached to win. They always told the parents to cheer for good passes and impressive technique instead of goals.

It was just that Sophia and Howell had become too good.

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The Portland Thorns' Sophia Smith celebrates a goal against the Chicago Red Stars at Providence Park on May 16, 2021, in Portland, Oregon. (Craig Mitchelldyer/ISI Photos via Getty Images)

‘I love it here’

Sophia and Howell played a couple of years locally for Arsenal Colorado before they heard about Real Colorado. A young teenager at this point, Sophia and her mom got the car and made the hour-and-a-half drive to south Denver to meet with President Lorne Donaldson and see how the club was run. It was everything Sophia wanted.

“Oh my gosh, I love it here,” Sophia told her mom. “I will do anything to make it happen.”

So, Mollie quit her job of over 20 years. She found a different one that allowed her to get off earlier so she could drive Sophia to soccer four to five times a week. She told Sophia that if she ever grumbled about the drive or the time, they would stop going.

Sophia didn’t complain once.

“She was so grateful, thankful,” said Mollie.

Those car rides became the most productive part of Sophia’s day. It was her only time to do homework, and she had a lot of it. When she was finished, she would eat, nap and get dressed.

“It was kind of crazy,” said Mollie. “Looking back, I’m not sure how we did that or what we were thinking … We just saw her determination and her love.”

‘The two most exciting players to watch’

Immediately after Sophia joined Real, her coach Neil introduced her to a player famous among the club community: Mallory Pugh.

Everyone would tell her, “You have to go watch Mal play.”

Sophia started reading about Pugh, who was two years older, and asking her parents if the three of them could stick around after her games to watch Pugh’s. She would sit on the sideline and drop her jaw in awe of how fast Pugh moved, her finishing, every little thing she did.

“In so many ways that has helped me get to where I am today because I had someone who was doing exactly what I hoped to do, right in front of me, and could just kind of learn from her and, in some ways, follow in her footsteps,” Sophia said.

They began training together, too. Pugh would sometimes train with Sophia’s team to get extra touches in, and Sophia was invited to join some of Pugh’s practices. On the weekends, Donaldson would gather players who wanted additional sessions, including Pugh and Sophia, and help take their skills to another level.

Donaldson was hard on Sophia at times — a lot of times — but that’s what she needed to be pushed to new heights. He knew what to say, when to say it and how to get her fired up.

“He is probably the most important person when it comes to who has helped me get to where I am today,” she said. “He believed in me and saw potential in me and knew exactly how to make me be better and reach my potential, so absolutely Lorne Donaldson is someone from Colorado who has changed my life and helped me become the person and player that I am.”

In March 2017, Sophia was just 16 years old when she got her first call-up to the senior national team, with none other than Jaelin Howell. The two were now classmates at Fossil Ridge High.

“It’s obviously nice to go into an environment like that with a familiar face because obviously every other face is not familiar,” Sophia said. “It’s a pretty intimidating environment, and so having Jaelin in that camp was kind of a breath of fresh air and just knowing that if anything, we have each other and we’re not in this alone and we can talk to each other about things.”

After heading to college and truly parting ways for the first time in their soccer career, with Howell going to Florida State, they got their first caps together in late 2020 during a friendly against the Netherlands.

“To come full circle and be able to play together with the national team is just a really cool moment I think,” Sophia said.

In that game, Smith also became the first player born in the 2000s to make an appearance with the national team.

During her early days with Real she had wanted to follow in Pugh’s footsteps, and now she was a young prodigy just like Pugh, who started setting records as a teenager in 2016. At the age of 17, Pugh became the youngest player to be named to the USWNT in 15 years.

Coming into Saturday’s game in Colorado, Smith and Pugh, who plays in the NWSL for the Chicago Red Stars, are partners on the USWNT starting forward line. Head coach Vlatko Andonovski has spent the last half year evaluating their chemistry, and now, as they near Concacaf World Cup Qualifying, they’re the leading stars on the squad.

In just 15 appearances, Smith already has four goals and three assists with the national team. She’s the second-leading scorer in the NWSL this season with eight goals, just two ahead of third-place Pugh.

“They’re probably the two most exciting players to watch right now in the [NWSL],” Andonovski said. “I don’t think it will be a surprise if I say that it will be extremely difficult for a new player to come in and take their starting spots right now. … I’m excited for the form they’re in, I’m excited for the way they play, I’m excited they’re going to contribute not just for their team but also for their country.”

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The United States' Sophia Smith (11) celebrates with Catarina Macario (20) and Mallory Pugh during a game between Uzbekistan and USWNT at Lower.com Field on April 9, 2022, in Columbus, Ohio. (Brad Smith/ISI Photos via Getty Images)

‘It’s super special’

Smith, Howell and Pugh have all been named to the roster for Saturday’s friendly in Commerce City, joining Lindsey Horan for a total of four Colorado natives on the team.

“It’s pretty great,” said Smith and Howell’s first coach, Martha. “We’re pretty proud of them and what they’ve accomplished.”

Smith’s home is about an hour drive from DSG Park. While a lot of her high school friends have moved away, most of her family will be there, including her niece and nephew and her grandparents, who have never seen her compete in a USWNT jersey.

“It’s super special to be able to play there because they’ll be able to come watch me play,” Smith said.

“We could not be more excited,” Mollie said.

Jessa Braun is a contributing writer at Just Women’s Sports covering the NWSL and USWNT. Follow her on Twitter @jessabraun.

UEFA Draw Sets Champions League Quarterfinals

The UEFA Champions League trophy sits on display before the 2024/25 quarterfinals draw.
Eight teams' paths to May's Champions League final in Lisbon were determined in Friday's draw. (Kristian Skeie - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)

The 2024/25 Champions League quarterfinals are officially set, with UEFA drawing the remaining eight teams into the field early Friday morning.

The annual season-long competition pits Europe's top leagues against each other. This season, 72 clubs across 50 different leagues qualified for the contest. From the UK to Ukraine, all teams have been vying for the continent's top-dog status amidst a cutthroat atmosphere and a growing sense of parity in the sport.

Two qualifying rounds narrowed the initial teams down to the 16 contending in the tournament's official group stage. Each played six group-stage matches from October through December to determine the eight clubs that advanced to Friday's final draw.

A screen shows the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League quarterfinal pairings at Friday's draw.
Four previous champions made the 2024/25 Champions League quarterfinals. (Kristian Skeie - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)

The road to Champions League glory in Lisbon

All remaining clubs are now eyeing the May 24th final in Lisbon, Portugal, and Friday's draw mapped each team's path to that championship match. The 2024/25 quarterfinals will feature four former champions and four seeking a first-ever trophy, with both familiar fights and rarely tested toss-ups on deck.

Both the March quarterfinals and April semifinals employ a two-leg format, offering teams who suffer narrow first losses a shot at second-match redemption.

Friday's draw determined that WSL contenders Arsenal will kick off the tournament's quarterfinals against Real Madrid on March 18th, with Germany's Bayern Munich taking on France's 2024 UWCL runners-up Olympique Lyonnais shortly afterwards.

The following day, Bayern's Frauen-Bundesliga foes Wolfsburg will face Spain's 2024 UWCL champs FC Barcelona. Closing out the initial tilts is a WSL standoff between Manchester City and the UK league's undefeated titans Chelsea FC.

Lyon's Michele Kang, president of the winningest Champions League team in history, speaks to the media after Friday's UEFA draw.
Backed by club president Michele Kang, Lyon will seek its record ninth UWCL title this year. (Kristian Skeie - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)

Increased global parity to test UWCL dynasties

With eight of the tournament's 23 titles under their belts, Lyon is the winningest team in UWCL history. Meanwhile, current back-to-back champions Barcelona claimed three of the last four trophies.

Despite the recent two-team domination, capturing this season's title will be a challenge. Hoping to spoil Lyon's and Barcelona's dynastic runs is four first-time title-hunters, plus two-time winners Wolfsburg and early champion Arsenal — who won the trophy in 2007, when the tournament was called the UEFA Women's Cup.

All in all, the European crown has never been tougher to claim, with leagues across the continent increasingly stocking up on standout — and potentially game-changing — players from beyond their borders.

Portland Announces Joint NWSL x WNBA Training Center

A rendering of the outside of the proposed NWSL x WNBA performance complex in Portland.
The Portland facility will be the first shared WNBA-NWSL performance complex under the same ownership. (RAJ Sports/Populous)

Portland is going all in on women's sports, with RAJ Sports — the ownership group behind both the NWSL's Thorns and Portland's incoming WNBA team — announcing the development of a new $150 million sports performance complex on Thursday.

The 12-acre dual-sport performance center will be the first-ever facility housing both a pro women's soccer squad and a pro women's basketball team.

Innovation and amenities lead Portland design

At 63,000 square feet, the incoming NWSL x WNBA training facility will feature two basketball courts, two soccer pitches, a 17,000-square-foot practice gym, a state-of-the-art strength training facility, and a laundry list of additional top-of-the-line amenities.

According to the Thorns' announcement, the center aims to "[elevate] the standard of athletic development by integrating cutting-edge training, advanced recovery, and holistic wellness with lifestyle elements specific to the needs of female athletes in a collaborative multi-team setting."

The wellness additions include recovery lounges and pools, hyperbaric therapy, red-light therapy, and a yoga and pilates room, plus access to a full-time chef and nutritionist via the center's kitchen and dining hall.

"This kind of high-performance training facility allows us to elevate every part of our game, becoming better and more well-rounded athletes," said Thorns forward Sophia Wilson (née Smith).

"Having a space designed specifically for female athletes gives us yet another leg up on the competition and will be vital to our future successes."

A rendering of the basketball court in the proposed Portland performance complex.
The WNBA and NWSL performance complex adds Portland to a growing list of women's sports facilities. (RAJ Sports/Populous)

Portland joins other WNBA and NWSL teams building own facilities

Portland is just the latest in a wave of women's teams across top-tier US leagues breaking ground on dedicated performance facilities.

Earlier this week, WNBA newcomer Golden State unveiled their own custom-built Valkyries Performance Center. Last month, NWSL side Angel City cut the ribbon on their dedicated training facility.

RAJ Sports’ effort to continue the investment trend comes barely a year after their January 2024 purchase of the Thorns. That move was finalized a little over eight months before the WNBA accepted their expansion bid, making the Bhathal family — who also have a stake in the NBA's Sacramento Kings — the first-ever ownership group to oversee pro women's teams in two different sports.

Las Vegas Aces Revamp Roster with Offseason Moves

Las Vegas Aces standouts Sydney Colson and Tiffany Hayes race downcourt during a 2024 game.
Both Sydney Colson and Tiffany Hayes are departing Las Vegas this season. (David Becker/NBAE via Getty Images)

WNBA roster shakeups kept rolling this week, with a deluge of moves radically reshaping the 2022 and 2023 league champion Las Vegas Aces.

After three seasons in Las Vegas, backup guard and popular locker room presence Sydney Colson signed a one-year deal with Indiana on Thursday. The Fever, who've been aggressive about inking athletes they believe will bring a title back to Indianapolis, targeted Colson for her veteran experience.

"[Colson] brings a championship pedigree to the Fever, adding depth to our point guard position, said Fever COO and GM Amber Cox in the team's announcement. "We have the utmost confidence in her ability to step into any situation and deliver on both ends of the floor."

Joining Colson in leaving Las Vegas is forward Alysha Clark. A key factor in the Aces' 2023 title run — which ultimately earned her the WNBA's Sixth Woman of the Year award — Clark is returning to the Seattle Storm, where she played from 2012 to 2020.

The Aces are also losing their 2024 Sixth Woman of the Year, Tiffany Hayes. Despite the Aces protecting her in December's expansion draft, the free agent guard will take her talents to incoming franchise Golden State. There, she'll link up with former Las Vegas assistant coach-turned-Valkyries boss Natalie Nakase.

"Having coached Tiffany last season in Las Vegas, I know firsthand the impact she brings both on and off the court," Nakase noted. "Her versatility, intensity, and ability to score will be invaluable as we build our team's identity."

Atlanta's Cheyenne Parker-Tyus guards Las Vegas's A'ja Wilson during a 2024 WNBA game.
Cheyenne Parker-Tyus will join A'ja Wilson in the Aces' front court this season. (Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Las Vegas Aces take aim at refreshed dynasty

After falling short of a three-peat championship last season — despite three-time WNBA MVP A'ja Wilson's outstanding 2024 performance — a significant Aces roster reshuffling was all but guaranteed ahead of the 2025 season.

Las Vegas kicked things off by shipping All-Star guard Kelsey Plum off to the LA Sparks last month. The blockbuster three-team trade sent Seattle's two-time champ Jewell Loyd to the Aces in return.

To shore up their front-court, Las Vegas inked 6-foot-4 power forward Cheyenne Parker-Tyus on Thursday. The 2023 All-Star averaged 15 points and 6.7 rebounds for Atlanta that season, and was on her way to matching that production last year when an ankle injury curbed her 2024 run.

Ultimately, Las Vegas's roller coaster offseason reflects both the WNBA's shifting landscape and the Aces' quest to revive their former dynasty, hoping a fresh start can fuel them all the way to another league title in 2025.

Tennessee Upsets NCAA Rival UConn in Vols’ First Top 10 Win

Tennessee basketball players Jewel Spear and Zee Spearman celebrate their 80-76 upset win over UConn.
Tennessee scored their first win over UConn since 2007. (Johnnie Izquierdo/Getty Images)

No. 19 Tennessee notched the first major win of their Kim Caldwell era on Thursday night, stifling No. 5 UConn 80-76 to capture their first Top 10 basketball victory of the season — and first win over the Huskies since 2007.

Bolstered by a 13-0 run in the third quarter, Tennessee out-rebounded UConn 46-34 to hold the Huskies at bay.

On defense, the Vols managed to limit UConn star and projected 2025 WNBA Draft No. 1 pick Paige Bueckers to just 5-of-16 from the field and 2-of-6 from beyond the arc.

"We had poise down the stretch. I think we played with confidence. I think we played to win, as opposed to afraid to lose," commented first-year Tennessee head coach Caldwell after the game.

Tennessee flips the historic rivalry script against UConn

Once one of the most heated historic rivalries in NCAA basketball, Tennessee and UConn met 22 times from 1995 to 2007. The Huskies took 13 victories over that stretch.

Since the teams rebooted their non-conference series in 2020, UConn has taken the win in all four meetings — until Tennessee halted the Huskies on Thursday.

A big upset win from the Vols has felt increasingly inevitable this season, as Tennessee has come wildly close to claiming multiple top-tier upsets. They fell to No. 4 Texas by just four points, No. 6 LSU by two points, and logged one-point losses against both No. 15 Oklahoma and No. 24 Vanderbilt.

Last week, the Vols lost to No. 2 South Carolina 70-63. Subsequently, Tennessee became just the second team to limit the reigning NCAA champs to a single-digit win this season.

Despite Tennessee’s recent rise, Thursday's result was a blow to UConn. The Huskies are now 21-3 in 2024/25 play, with all three losses coming against Top 10 teams. UConn likely has just one regular-season Top 10 matchup left by way of a February 16th clash with South Carolina.

"The bottom line is we have some players on our team that are supposed to be our best players and they've got to play better. That's all there is to it," said UConn head coach Geno Auriemma in response.

South Carolina's Bree Hall defends Texas guard Madison Booker during a 2024 NCAA basketball game.
Texas and South Carolina will meet in a Top-4 matchup on Sunday. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)

How to watch top-ranked NCAA basketball this weekend

As tough as the SEC has been, there's little rest for the weary, with No. 19 Tennessee gearing up for a rematch with No. 6 LSU at 4 PM ET on Sunday. Live coverage will air on ESPN.

In Top 10 weekend action, No. 8 Ohio State will cap their West Coast trip against No. 7 USC at 9 PM ET on Saturday, live on Fox Sports.

Then on Sunday, No. 4 Texas will host No. 2 South Carolina at 2 PM ET, with ESPN broadcasting live.

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