Sophia Smith is getting used to scoring braces. She’d done it in three consecutive games for club and country in June as the U.S. women’s national team prepared for group play at the Concacaf W Championship.

But in her first-ever World Cup qualifying match on Monday, she didn’t find the back of the net in a 3-0 win over Haiti, snapping her streak. On a hot evening in which she was unusually quiet and unable to make plays with precision in the attacking third, head coach Vlatko Andonovski said afterward that he didn’t think it was her best game.

So, he had a meeting with her ahead of Thursday’s match against Jamaica.

“She’s a perfectionist,” Andonovski said. “She wants to score a goal, two goals, which is great, but sometimes it can be counterproductive … I did have a meeting with her and talked about that to reassure her that regardless of what the game is going to be, regardless of what this game is going to look like or the next game was going to look like, she will be a starter for this team, just because we know how good she is now and we can see her potential and how good she can be in the future.”

Smith took the field on Thursday ready to fly. Five minutes into the game, she buried the opening goal, a world-class finish off the outside of her foot. Three minutes later, the brace master scored her second goal in what would eventually be a 5-0 win for the USWNT. After Mexico lost to Haiti in the night cap, the USWNT officially qualified for the 2023 World Cup.

SOPHIA SMITH YOU ARE A STAR. 🤩

What a touch and finish from the 21-year-old @ThornsFC phenom. 💪 pic.twitter.com/x6DGuy6TQ3

— Attacking Third (@AttackingThird) July 7, 2022

“Soph is an incredible young player,” Andonovski said of the 21-year-old. “To be a starter on the best team in the world is not easy. It comes with a lot of weight. She wants to be the best every time she steps on the field … She does have potential to be one of the best players in the world and I think that she demonstrated that in the first half, which I thought was an incredible 45 minutes for her.”

7 minutes in and @sophsssmith already has 2 goals 🤯 pic.twitter.com/VwuYU0cGJb

— Just Women’s Sports (@justwsports) July 7, 2022

Andonovski’s history with Smith stretches back to 2020, when she earned her first cap and was later promoted to the starting lineup. One coach who has been aware of Smith’s potential even longer than Andonovski, however, was the manager on the other side of the field Thursday — Jamaica head coach Lorne Donaldson.

When Smith and forward partner Mallory Pugh were young teenagers, they spent hours training with Donaldson, the club president of Real Colorado, outside of team practices. Smith would drive an hour and a half with her mother to Denver from their home in Windsor.

“He is probably the most important person when it comes to who has helped me get to where I am today,” Smith told Just Women’s Sports in June. “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.”

On Thursday in Monterrey, Mexico, Donaldson was witness to a bittersweet, full-circle moment as Smith scored two goals against his team at the highest level of women’s soccer.

“They played with me for a long time,” Donaldson said of Smith and Pugh after the game. “They’re like family. We’re still family. You give [Sophia] half a chance, she’s going to take it. Excellent footballer. So, I don’t expect less from her. I mean, we talk about her a lot in meetings. She’s a special talent.”

Pugh also buried a one-timer shortly after Smith’s second goal, but the goal was called back for offsides.

Smith’s early goals dug Jamaica into a hole they never could climb out of, three days removed from an upset win over Mexico in the opener.

“It’s super important,” Smith said. “We always want to get on the front foot early, and I think we did just that. They were two great assists and I think when we can start the game like that, it’s always going to be a good, fun game to play in.”

Smith and the USWNT conclude group play on Monday, when they meet Mexico at 10 p.m. ET. The hosts were expected to be the USWNT’s toughest competition in the group stage, and now Mexico will be playing to survive in World Cup qualifying after dropping its first two games.

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

Incoming NWSL side Denver Summit FC will kick off in style, with the 2026 expansion team announcing Monday that the club will make its big debut on March 28th at Empower Field at Mile High — the home stadium of the city's local NFL team, the Denver Broncos.

The venue shift comes shortly after the club surpassed 15,000 season ticket deposits, setting a new NWSL record for an expansion franchise.

"This will be an unforgettable moment for our club, our players, our city, and our fans," said team president Jen Millet about the inaugural match. "We're honored to play our first home match and host 'The Kickoff' in such an iconic stadium."

With the ability to hold a crowd of 76,125, Empower Field could also provide an opportunity for Denver to immediately contend for the NWSL's single-game attendance record, which currently stands at 40,091 fans after Bay FC shattered the previous record at San Francisco's Oracle Park in August.

"This venue has hosted many memorable moments in Colorado sports history, and we look forward to working together to bring a best-in-class experience for Summit FC fans," said Broncos president Damani Leech in Monday's club statement.

How to attend the Denver Summit FC "Kickoff" match

Though the expansion side's debut opponent is still unknown, fans can be a part of NWSL history by snagging tickets to fill the Mile High City's NFL stadium at the March 28th inaugural Denver Summit match.

"The Kickoff" tickets will go on sale at DenverSummitFC.com on Wednesday, November 12th.

The WNBA Players Association is making friends, as brother player unions for the NBA, MLB, and NFL all issued statements last week supporting the WNBPA while the league officially extended the ongoing CBA negotiations by an additional 30 days.

Calling WNBA players' impact on the league "undeniable," the NFLPA wrote on Wednesday that "It's time for fair compensation, proper working conditions, and a future that puts players first."

"We're with you for as long as it takes to get what you deserve," the MLBPA told WNBPA players in a Saturday solidarity post on social media.

"We stand with the women of the WNBPA as they work toward a collective bargaining agreement that reflects their value and impact both on and off the court," the NBPA posted on Saturday.

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Amid the statements of support from other player unions, the WNBA and WNBPA also officially extended their CBA negotiation deadline on Friday.

The league office and the WNBPA now have until November 30th to reach a deal, though the players can terminate the extension at any time with 48 hours notice — a move that would put them on a path toward a possible work stoppage.

"While we believed negotiations would be further along, the players are more focused, united, and determined than ever to reach an agreement that reflects their value and undeniable impact on the league," the union wrote in a Friday statement.

ESPN reported that the two sides met multiple times last week, as a busy WNBA offseason with two expansion drafts and an active free agency period looms.

Upsets are stealing the show at the 2025 WTA Finals, with world No. 5 Jessica Pegula taking down reigning champion No. 3 Coco Gauff 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-2 on Sunday before No. 6 Elena Rybakina topped No. 2 Iga Świątek 3-6, 6-1, 6-0 to open Monday's action at the eight-player, season-ending tennis tournament.

Gauff's well-documented serve struggles plagued Sunday's showdown, with the 2025 French Open winner hitting 17 double faults — including three consecutive misses — en route to the second-set tiebreak.

"Coco is a great champion, great competitor, good friend, so it's always tough playing her," Pegula said afterwards. "I don't think there's any secrets with this group of girls here."

Rybakina then continued the streak of WTA Finals upsets by storming past Świątek on Monday morning, winning 12 out of the last 13 games to humble the 2025 Wimbledon champ after Świątek cruised past No. 7 Madison Keys 6-1, 6-2 in Saturday's round-robin group stage opener.

Other top seeds rolled in their first tests, with each four-player group's top two finishers advancing to Friday's semifinals.

No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka dominated No. 8 Jasmine Paolini 6-3, 6-1 on Sunday, with the 2025 US Open winner later saying, "I take this tournament as a regular tournament that I have to win five matches if I want to win the title. So I'm just trying to bring my best tennis and fight for every point."

How to watch the 2025 WTA Finals

Round-robin play continues through Thursday, before the semifinalists battle on Friday for a spot in Saturday's championship match.

All 2025 WTA Finals matches air live on the Tennis Channel.

Despite missing the 2025 regular-season finale due to an adductor injury, No. 1 Kansas City Current star forward Temwa Chawinga picked up her second straight NWSL Golden Boot on Sunday.

Chawinga tallied 15 goals and three assists in the 2025 NWSL campaign, beating out Gotham forward Esther (13), North Carolina forward Manaka Matsukubo (11), Louisville forward Emma Sears (10), and Chicago forward Ludmilla (10) for this season's Golden Boot.

The 27-year-old, who set the league's single-season scoring record with 20 goals in 2024, is now just the second-ever NWSL player to earn back-to-back Golden Boots, joining former Chicago star Sam Kerr.

With the Malawi international still recovering from an injury incurred during the Current's October 18th match against the Houston Dash, her recovery remains front of mind as Kansas City gears up for the 2025 NWSL Playoffs.

In order to to stay in market and continue her rehab, Chawinga also pulled out of last week's WAFCON qualifiers in hopes of returning to the NWSL pitch to help the reigning Shield-winners secure a championship.

Kansas City manager Vlatko Andonovski said this week that "there's a chance" Chawinga could be available for the team's early postseason games, but that she was still "day-to-day."

"Deb is good. Kayla's good. Gabby. They're all good," Andonovski told reporters, running through his roster. "Temwa is still not good and we're not going to take any risks at this point. We'll see how she progresses."

After a historic season, Kansas City has to like their playoff chances — but a healthy Chawinga could be the club's key to lifting a first-ever NWSL championship trophy.