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.

Welcome to another episode of Sports Are Fun! presented by TurboTax.

Every week on Sports Are Fun!, co-hosts soccer legend Kelley O'Hara, sports journalist Greydy Diaz, and JWS intern BJ serve up their hottest takes on the biggest women's sports headlines.

This week, Sports Are Fun! talks all things NWSL with Gotham FC goalkeeper — and O'Hara's fellow Stanford alum — Ryan Campbell.

"We're five games in at this point and now I feel like things are starting to take shape — we can talk about them," O'Hara opens, referencing the start to the 2025 NWSL season. "I'm excited... the settling's happened, now we can get into season."

"So we're going to talk about what happened this weekend," she continues. "First on the list: Gotham FC. Thankfully we have our very own Gotham FC player in the house."

"I feel like what you're saying is like totally correct — the first three games, I think we scored not very much — a bit of a drought," says Campbell. "But, I mean, I practice with these girls every day. I know Ella Stevens can hit it upper-90, I know Esther's chipping me at practice. I know we have scoring power."

"We all had the sentiment and didn't really get discouraged and I don't think the staff was discouraged at all," she adds. "The resounding sentiment was, 'The rain's going to fall, like it's going to drop for us.' And I think you saw that against Angel City."

In addition to this weekend's NWSL action, Sports Are Fun! also tackles the WNBA Draft's viewership, the NCAA Gymnastics Championship, and so much more.

'Sports Are Fun!' reflects on former USWNT coach Vlatko Andonovski

Then, Sports Are Fun turned to coaching. The headline? Angel City bringing on new manager Alexander Straus from Germany's Bayern Munich.

What makes a good coach? What do players look for in a coach? O'Hara knows one thing — playing under USWNT coach Vlatko Andonovski wasn't exactly a learning experience.

"Hollywood's got a new hitman you guys," Campbell quips about Straus. "He has piercing blue eyes. They rival Leo DiCaprio."

"But can he coach a soccer team to a championship?" asks O'Hara.

"I've always wondered this," says BJ. "You played at the college level. You play now professionally, you played for the national team — how are you listening to a coach?"

"I think a good coach is going to go in and take a player as experienced as Christen Press, Sydney Leroux, and say, 'This is what I see. This is what I think you can bring to the team. This is how I'm going to utilize you in the system that I want to play,'" O'Hara answers.

"What is funny is — this is going to sound bad. I feel like I shouldn't say this. I don't feel like I learned anything new from Vlatko," she says, subsequently referencing the former USWNT coach. "And, actually, post-having him as a coach, I was like, 'Wow, is that on me? Did I stop learning or did he not coach me?"

"I had conversations with other other players about it. They were like, 'No, no, no, that was on him.' Because I feel like I was always open. I was like, 'I want to be coached, tell me how I can.' Because as a player, yes, you become the type of player you are, but you're never perfect."

About 'Sports Are Fun!' with Kelley O'Hara

'Sports Are Fun!' is a show that’ll remind you why you fell in love with women's sports in the first place.

Join World Cup champ, Olympic gold medalist, and aspiring barista Kelley O'Hara as she sits down with sports journalist Greydy Diaz and a revolving cast of co-hosts and friends. Together, they're talking the biggest, funnest, and most need-to-know stories in the world of women’s sports.

From on-court drama to off-field shenanigans, to candid (and silly) chats with the most important personalities in the space, this show screams "Sports Are Fun!"

Subscribe to Just Women's Sports on YouTube to never miss an episode.

The Women’s Premier Soccer League (WPSL) announced a plan to launch a Division II pro arm in 2026, providing a domestic stepping stone for players aspiring to top-flight leagues like the NWSL and USL Super League.

The same Cleveland ownership group that recently fell short of securing an NWSL expansion team is backing the venture, making good on their promise to bring professional women's soccer to Northeast Ohio.

The league will launch with a shortened season following the 2026 men's World Cup, before beginning its first full-fledged campaign in April 2027.

With 15 teams already confirmed, WPSL Pro intends to field clubs in an initial 16 to 20 markets.

Along with Cleveland, the inaugural WPSL Pro season will include teams in Austin, Atlanta, Dallas, Denver, Fargo, Houston, Oklahoma City, Sioux Falls, Wichita, and the Bay Area, among others. Each franchise will pay a $1 million fee to enter the league.

The WPSL has a history of fostering high-level amateur competition, currently housing over 100 clubs and boasting a roster of former players that includes USWNT icons Brandi Chastain, Alex Morgan, and Rose Lavelle. WPSL Pro, however, will become the US soccer pyramid's first-ever second-tier league.

"WPSL Pro is the bridge that's been missing — not just for players, but for the communities, investors, and brands ready to be part of the next chapter in women's sports," league co-founder Sean Jones said in a statement.

The No. 22 kit of Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark weighed in as last fall's second best-selling basketball jersey in the US according to sports outfitter Fanatics, with the 2024 WNBA Rookie of the Year trailing only NBA superstar Steph Curry on the top sales list.

Clark's merch dominance is nothing new, however. Her Indiana jersey sold out less than an hour after the Fever drafted her as the overall No. 1 pick in April 2024, making Clark the top seller of any draft night pick in the company's history.

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Even more, Clark's merchandise led last season's record-shattering WNBA sales, with Fanatics reporting that 2024 sales of player-specific gear earned a jaw-dropping 1,000% year-over-year increase by last summer's All-Star break — in large part thanks to the 2024 WNBA rookie class.

Fellow 2024 WNBA debutants Chicago Sky standout Angel Reese and then-Las Vegas Aces guard Kate Martin — Clark's NCAA teammate at Iowa — trailed the Fever star with the league's second- and fourth-most merchandise sales, respectively.

This year, a new WNBA rookie could give Clark a run for her money, as the No. 5 Dallas Wings jersey for 2025's No. 1 draft pick, Paige Bueckers, is already doing numbers at retailers across the country.

Already a brand mogul in her own right, Bueckers topped the 2024 NIL list as college basketball’s biggest earner via endorsement deals and merchandise sales prior to going pro.

Kenyan runner Sharon Lokedi shattered the women’s course record at the 2025 Boston Marathon on Monday, finishing the 129th edition of the race in 2:17:22 — more than two and a half minutes faster than the previous record set by Ethiopia's Buzunesh Deba in 2014.

The victory marked the 31-year-old runner's second major marathon championship following her 2022 New York City Marathon win.

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After finishing second in the 2024 Boston Marathon behind fellow Kenyan Hellen Obiri, Lokedi avenged her runner-up status by overtaking the back-to-back defending champion in the final kilometer of Monday’s race.

"I'm always second to her and today I was like, 'There’s no way,'" Lokedi said of her rivalry with Obiri. "I just have to put it out there and fight 'til the end and see how it goes. I'm so glad I ran that fast and she was right behind me. We all fought and wanted this so bad."

All of this year’s top three finishers broke through the course record pace, with Obiri and Ethiopia's Yalemzerf Yehualaw joining Lokedi both at the finish line and in the Boston Marathon's record book.

Along with her $150,000 winner's check, Lokedi will pocket an additional $50,000 for claiming the fastest women's time in Boston Marathon history.