Each month in the leadup to the World Cup, Just Women’s Sports will make the case for one player as most essential to the success of the USWNT in 2023.

Sophia Smith can’t stop scoring.

Since she scored her first goal for the U.S. women’s national team at the tail end of 2021, Smith has gone on a tear. She kicked off the year with a hat trick against Uzbekistan, then followed that up with braces against Colombia, Jamaica and Nigeria.

She also notched the team’s lone goal against England in October. In all, she’s scored 10 goals in 2022 to lead the team this year.

Smith has become a critical piece of the team’s forward group, establishing herself as both the present and the future. And she knows it.

“I feel like I can be (the best), but I need to be pushed and I need to be held to high standards every single day,” Smith said. “And [Thorns’ coach Rhian Wilkinson] does a really good job of that. So I really can’t ask for much more than that.”

What a season for Sophia Smith 🔥

- NWSL MVP
- NWSL Final MVP
- NWSL Champion pic.twitter.com/mhFDJJwkZq

— Just Women’s Sports (@justwsports) October 30, 2022

On the domestic side, Smith has shown what she’s capable of accomplishing in the NWSL. She finished second in the league in goals scored this season with 14. That total also broke the Portland Thorns’ single-season record.

Not only did she become the youngest MVP in NWSL history, she also became the youngest player to win NWSL Championship MVP after becoming the youngest player to score in a title game.

And all that comes at just 22 years old.

“Her pace is lethal,” Kansas City Current midfielder Desiree Scott said following the NWSL final. “You can’t grow that. That is just natural talent.”

Thorns head coach Rhian Wilkinson has said that Smith has the potential to be the best player in the history of the USWNT.

“She can stop pushing now, and she will still be a very good player, one of the best players this country has ever produced,” Wilkinson said of the MVP. “And my job is to keep pushing her, and to make sure she is the best player this country has ever produced because she has that in her right now.”

Smith’s pace – and her ability to get crafty with defenders – makes her difficult to defend. She’s also got deadly accuracy and has been able to link up with midfielder Rose Lavelle on multiple occasions while with the USWNT.

The USWNT scored twice in six minutes.

Rose Lavelle assisted Sophia Smith on both of ‘em 🔑

(via @FOXSoccer) pic.twitter.com/EGEzZMIOyW

— B/R Football (@brfootball) June 26, 2022

Everything about Smith screams upside as she continues to get her feet under her with the USWNT. Despite having just 25 caps, she plays like a veteran.

But if you ask USWNT head coach Vlatko Andonovski, Smith hasn’t hit her stride yet.

“To come into an environment like this and to be a difference-maker, to score a goal, and I thought she had another incredible assist for another goal that was called back, just shows the potential that she has,” Andonovski said following the team’s loss to England. “I think we haven’t seen the best of her.”

Who is the most essential USWNT player?

• The case for… Mallory Swanson
• The case for… Rose Lavelle
• The case for… Catarina Macario
• The case for… Alex Morgan
• The case for… Becky Sauerbrunn
• The case for… Lynn Williams
• The case for… Julie Ertz
• The case for… Naomi Girma
• The case for… Crystal Dunn

The road to the College Cup begins this weekend, as the 2025 NCAA Division I women's soccer tournament kicks off with a stacked first-round field on Friday.

The strength of the ACC again leads the charge with three of the 64-team bracket's four top seeds hailing from the conference.

Snagging the overall No. 1 seed is Stanford, with the Cardinal outlasting fellow NCAA top-seed Notre Dame in a penalty shootout to claim their first-ever ACC tournament title last weekend.

Joining the Cardinal and Fighting Irish in the remaining No. 1 spots are the ACC's Virginia Cavaliers and the SEC-leading Vanderbilt Commodores.

Meanwhile, the 2025 tournament's No. 2 seeds — Michigan State, TCU, Duke, and Georgetown — are gearing up to play spoiler, with other underdogs also lurking throughout the bracket.

Already eyeing future upsets are four-time national champions and No. 3-seed Florida State, No. 4-seed and Big Ten champion Washington, and undefeated mid-major dark horse Memphis, who enters the 2025 field as a No. 7 seed.

The ACC's on-pitch dominance also sees defending champion North Carolina in an unfamiliar position, entering the 2025 NCAA tournament unseeded after the 22-time title-winners finished seventh in the conference behind a 12-6 overall and 6-4 ACC season record.

How to watch the 2025 NCAA soccer tournament

The 2025 NCAA women's soccer tournament kicks off with 32 first-round matches across Friday and Saturday, all on ESPN+.

The action begins with unseeded Ohio State taking on No. 8-seed Georgia at 3 PM ET, live on ESPN+.

Two USWNT legends are seeing their legacies cemented, as the National Soccer Hall of Fame announced on Thursday that retired forwards Tobin Heath and Heather O'Reilly are first-ballot inductees as members of the Class of 2026.

Both Heath and O'Reilly retired as World Cup champions and Olympic medalists, winning their 2008 and 2012 Olympic golds as well as their 2015 World Cup title as teammates.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports)

The USWNT icons led all voting on the Hall of Fame's Player Ballot of 20 finalists, which only allots two to three athletes per annual class for induction.

O'Reilly snagged 47 of the 48-person selection committee's votes, with Heath earning 45 nods for inclusion.

Fellow former USWNT star Sam Mewis finished fifth on the ballot with 32 votes in her first year of eligibility, while longtime NWSL and USWNT player Amy Rodriguez came in seventh with 28 votes.

Longtime Seattle Reign defender Stephanie Cox — a 2008 Olympic gold medalist with the USWNT — also snagged votes, ranking 15th on the Class of 2026 Player Ballot.

Though they fell short of making the cut, a trio of former USWNT stars also earned votes on the 10-finalist Veteran Ballot, with longtime midfielder-turned-broadcaster Aly Wagner as well as legendary '99ers Tiffany Roberts and Lorrie Fair all snagging tallies.

The National Soccer Hall of Fame will induct Heath and O'Reilly as part of its six-person Class of 2026 in a ceremony at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas, on May 1st.

Orlando Pride captain and Brazil legend Marta is back in the spotlight, topping the 2025 shortlist for the second-annual FIFA Marta Award — the women's goal-of-the-year prize established in her honor in 2024.

The 39-year-old attacking midfielder took home the inaugural trophy at the Best FIFA Football Awards ceremony last December, earning the title for a stellar long-range shot that helped lift Brazil over Jamaica 4-0 in a June 2024 friendly.

Marta's 2025 nomination, however, comes from an iconic goal in club play, with the FIFA Award spotlighting the Orlando game-winner against Kansas City in the 2024 NWSL semifinals — a goal that saw the Pride star force four Current players to the ground with her footwork.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports)

Marta has steep competition for this year's trophy, however, with 10 other goal nominees including a viral scorpion kick by former Tigres UANL star Lizbeth Ovalle, Seattle Reign defender Jordyn Bugg's long-range missile against the North Carolina Courage, forward Ally Sentnor's first-ever USWNT goal at the 2025 SheBelieves Cup, and more.

How to vote for the 2025 FIFA Marta Award

Holding 50% of the vote, fans can view and rank their top three goals of 2025 until voting closes on December 3rd.

Voting for the second-ever Marta Award winner is now open at FIFA.com.

South Carolina and USC are bringing fireworks to the 2025/26 NCAA basketball court this weekend, as the No. 2 Gamecocks take on the No. 8 Trojans in "The Real SC" showdown on Saturday.

Both standout programs enter the matchup undefeated in early-season play, with the Trojans touting a Top-10 win after narrowly edging out No. 10 NC State 69-68 last weekend.

"You don't know exactly what you have until you're put in these situations, which is why we schedule them," USC head coach Lindsay Gottlieb said about the upcoming clash. "And I think it's a chance for us to redefine our identity a little bit."

South Carolina's depth will likely test the new-look Trojans, as USC aims to solidify their identity with star JuJu Watkins sidelined with injury for the season.

That said, freshman Jazzy Davidson is giving the Trojans new life, with the No. 1 high school recruit co-leading the team in scoring with 17.5 points per game.

South Carolina, however, has seen early dividends from familiar faces, as sophomore Joyce Edwards leads the Gamecocks in scoring at 18.3 points per game, with high-profile transfer Ta'Niya Latson close behind with a 16.3 point average.

How to watch USC vs. South Carolina in the "The Real SC" NCAA game

No. 8 USC will welcome No. 2 South Carolina to LA's Crypto.com Arena for the inaugural "Real SC" game on Saturday.

The clash will tip off at 9 PM ET, with live coverage airing on FOX.