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.

Maria Sanchez issued a statement on Thursday, confirming recent reports that she has requested a trade from the Houston Dash. 

In it, she revealed that the club has been aware of the request "since late March."

"This has all taken a toll and isn’t an easy thing to talk about, but I want to confirm that I’ve requested an immediate trade," she wrote. "My expectations and reasons have been clear. I trust that my current club’s management will honor my decision in a timely manner and proceed with accepting a trade."

"I’m eager to refocus and dive back into what I love most: playing football," she concluded.

Thank you, everyone, for the outpouring of kindness and support. pic.twitter.com/gcnN7dhCJU

— Maria Sanchez (@Maria17_7) April 19, 2024

Reports of Sanchez's trade request first surfaced on ESPN last week, and were later confirmed by multiple sources. 

In December of last year, Sanchez signed a three-year contract with the Dash valued at $1.5 million including bonuses and an option year. It was the largest contract in NWSL history at the time — a figure that would be eclipsed by multiple contracts in the following months. 

Sanchez spent the offseason as a restricted free agent, meaning that Houston could match any other team's offer to retain her rights. Should the Dash trade Sanchez, her current contract terms would remain intact, limiting potential buyers to teams able to afford to take on an inking of that size.

The Dash has yet to address the trade, instead reiterating to ESPN that Sanchez is "under contract, a choice she made in free agency at the end of 2023." 

Both the NWSL trade window and transfer window close tonight, April 19th, at 12 a.m. ET. The window will stay closed through the next 11 regular season games, reopening on August 1st, 2024.

The four-time league champion Seattle Storm unveiled their new practice facility on Thursday, with Storm co-owner Lisa Brummel dubbing Interbay's Seattle Storm Center for Basketball Performance the team’s "new home."

"It's just such a special space," Brummel told Fox 13 Seattle. "I think when the players get here, it's gonna be overwhelming."

The sprawling 50,000-square-foot, $64 million property is just the second designated practice facility to be designed and built expressly for a WNBA team, with the Storm further noting that 85% of all design and engineering team members involved in the project's construction were women and people of color. The finished product holds two professional indoor courts, two 3x3 outdoor courts, a state-of-the-art locker room, and players' lounge, plus designated areas for strength and conditioning, kitchen, dining, and nutrition, and recovery. 

"This facility reflects our commitment to providing our athletes an exceptional environment that supports their growth, health, and performance," said Storm co-owner Ginny Gilder in an official team release. "It’s built for women, by women, embodying our dedication to leading the way in professional women’s sports."

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For their part, the team can't wait to make the faciilty their own.

"It's amazing," Storm guard Jewell Loyd told Fox 13. "Not having to drive everywhere around, knowing you have access anytime of the day to get into the gym, to workout." 

Head coach Noelle Quinn said she predicts the team is "never going to leave this building."

"Which is a good thing for me," she continued. "You talk about having an edge in performance. We want our athletes to not only perform on the court, but get whatever they need."

All of the Storm's staff and operations will now live under one roof, and the team also has plans to launch a youth basketball program operating out of the building.

The Caitlin Clark effect is quickly making its mark on the big leagues, as WNBA host teams around the country rush to upgrade their Fever games to larger arenas in order to accommodate surging ticket sales.

With Clark mere weeks away from her Indiana Fever debut, both the Las Vegas Aces and Washington Mystics have officially relocated their scheduled home games with head coach Christie Sides' squad. On Thursday, the Mystics became the latest to adjust their plans, moving their June 7th matchup from Entertainment & Sports Arena in Southwest DC to the more centrally located — and much larger — Capital One Arena "due to unprecedented demand."

The Mystics home court's capacity taps out at 4,200, while Capital One Arena — home to the Wizards, Capitals, and Georgetown Hoya's Men's Basketball — can fit nearly five times that crowd at some 20,000 spectators.

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"The move to Capital One Arena will allow for additional fans in the stands as well as premium hospitality options, including Suites and the all-new all-inclusive courtside Hennessy Lofts," the team announced via Thursday's press release.

The Aces were one of the first teams to switch venues, aiming to take on the Indiana Fever in front of as many as 20,000 fans inside T-Mobile Arena on July 2nd. That’s a sizable a boost from their home venue, which holds just 12,000.

For those still planning to face the Fever in their home arenas, ticket prices have skyrocketed. Previously scheduled construction has already forced the LA Sparks to relocate their first five games — including their May 24th clash with the Fever — to Long Beach State's Walter Pyramid. The temporary venue is quite the downsize, holding just 4,000 in comparison to Crypto.com Arena's near-19,000. As of Friday, the get-in price for that game started around $400.

Despite fans launching a Change.org petition urging relocation, the Chicago Sky say they're unable to move their June 23rd Fever meeting from Wintrust Arena's 10,000-seat facility to the 23,500-seat United Center due to a concert. Tickets for that game start around $325 as of Friday.

Hailey Van Lith is reportedly on her way to TCU, says Talia Goodman of The Next Hoops.

The former Louisville star joined LSU for the 2023-24 season, but a disappointing run in Baton Rouge saw her enter the transfer portal once again at the season’s end. Van Lith opted to use her fifth year of eligibility versus declaring for the WNBA draft.

Van Lith was admittedly less effective as a Tiger. Her field goal percentage decreased from .411 in 2022-23 with Louisville to .388 at LSU. She also went from averaging 19.7 points per game to just 11.6, due in part to a change of position from shooting guard to more of a point guard role.

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At an end-of-season banquet last week, LSU coach Kim Mulkey used her speech to wish Van Lith well, calling her "one of the hardest working players that I’ve ever coached."

"Her aspirations were to get drafted this year," Mulkey said, according to NOLA.com. "And she realized, 'I need another year, and I need to go back to a place where I can relax and get back to my normal position.'

"And what do you do? You hug her, and you wish her well."

The decision to commit to TCU may come as a surprise after Van Lith paid a visit to Mississippi State last weekend. The Horned Frogs finished out the 2023-24 season 21-12 overall, coming in 9th in the Big 12 and scoring an average of 69.5 points per game. The program also made headlines in January when they held mid-season open tryouts in response to an onslaught of sidelining injuries.