Year: 2022
Award: Professional Athlete of the Year
Location/Affiliation:Portland Thorns
- NWSL Champion
- NWSL MVP
- Started 17 matches for the U.S. Women’s National Team
Colorado and women’s soccer have become synonymous, especially with the likes of Lindsey Horan and Mallory Pugh Swanson. Now we have a new name to add to the mix: Sophia Smith from Windsor.
Sophia burst on the scene and took the US Women’s National Team by storm, having the greatest year of any professional woman since Mia Hamm – arguably the best female soccer player of all time. This past year, Sophia won the US Soccer Female Player of the Year at the age of 22 – becoming the youngest player to win the award since Hamm who was 22 at the time in 1994. She scored 11 goals and started in a team-high 17 matches for the United States.
And if that wasn’t enough, she did it all for her professional team, too! Smith scored 14 regular season goals for the Portland Thorns and scored in the NWSL title game to lead Portland to its third league title. She also earned the NWSL MVP award. Sophia Smith’s journey is only just beginning – and she will be playing for her first-ever World Cup this summer. Congratulations to our Professional Athlete of the Year, Sophia Smith.
(Written by: Arielle Orsuto, 9NEWS)