Sofia Smith (11) celebrates with forward Trinity Rodman (6) after a goal against England at Wembley Stadium. (Peter van den Berg-USA TODAY Sports)
Portland Thorns FC forward Sophia Smith was voted the National Women’s Soccer League’s Most Valuable on Thursday.
At 22-years-old, Smith is the youngest player in NWSL history to be named the regular-season MVP.
Smith’s season, highlighted by a career-best 14 goals in 18 matches, got off to a quick start in April when she scored a goal in the Thorns’ regular-season opener. The Windsor, Colorado native went on to lead her team in scoring, recording a goal in more than half of Portland’s matches to set a club record for goals in a season.
She also registered a league-high four braces, tying the league season record for two-goal games. Smithh also was perfect from the spot with three penalty-kick conversions and served as the tone-setter for Portland with five game-opening tallies.
Smith enjoyed a five-game scoring streak spanning from June 8 to Aug. 5, in which she tallied eight goals, earning herself June player of the month honors. She was also named to the September/October Best XI of the Month thanks to a productive cycle that saw her record three goals.
Smith also led the league in both shots (76) and shots on goal (49), accounting for nearly a third of the Thorns’ shots on target.
The No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 Draft, Smith’s MVP award marks the first major league award for the forward. She finished second in the 2022 NWSL Golden Boot race behind San Diego Wave FC attacked Alex Morgan.
In addition to the league’s top accolade, Smith will receive a cash bonus from Budweiser to celebrate her efforts on the pitch this season.
Morgan finished second in MVP voting, while North Carolina Courage forward Debinha was third.
The list of five finalists was decided after a preliminary round of voting by owners, general managers, coaches, players and media. The finalists were then voted on by fans, owners, general managers, coaches, players and media.
Voting Breakdown:
Preliminary Round: Owners/GMs/Coaches (25%), Media (25%) and Players (50%)
Final Round: Players (50%), Owners/GMs/Coaches (20%), Media (20%) and Fans (10%)
NWSL MVPs
2013: Lauren Holiday, FC Kansas City
2014: Kim Little, Seattle Reign FC
2015: Crystal Dunn, Washington Spirit
2016: Lynn Williams, Western New York Flash
2017: Sam Kerr, Sky Blue FC
2018: Lindsey Horan, Portland Thorns FC
2019: Sam Kerr, Chicago Red Stars
2021: Jessica Fishlock, OL Reign
2022: Sophia Smith, Portland Thorns FC
