Sophia Smith helps US soccer become team to beat

PARIS, France — In a game of speed, U.S. soccer forward Sophia Smith leads the pack. 

“I was blessed with speed,” Smith said. “That’s sometimes not something you can teach. I use that to my advantage for sure.”

Smith is one of the newer faces in women’s soccer, mixing a blistering pace and a crushing ability to hit goals with brutal accuracy. At only 23 years old, she’s already the youngest player ever to score 40 career goals and is one of the highest paid players in women’s national soccer, playing for the Portland Thorns.

Sports is in the Smith family. Her dad played basketball for the University of Wyoming, and her older sister Savannah played basketball for the University of Northern Colorado and is an all-time leading scorer there.

Smith grew up in Windsor, Colorado and went to high school at Fossil Ridge in Fort Collins, playing youth soccer for Real Colorado. 

“I felt supported in high school,” Smith said. “I was going to national team camps. I had to miss a lot of school. I had some very understanding teachers, supportive teachers.”

Now she’s helping her U.S. National Team at the Olympics in Paris, where they are looking to improve on their bronze from the Tokyo Games. 

“Hopefully something else to kind of turn the page over and just go play and represent the country,” Smith said.