Sophia Wilson facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Sophia Wilson

Wilson in 2024
Personal information
Birth name	Sophia Olivia Smith
Date of birth	(2000-08-10) August 10, 2000 (age 24)
Place of birth	Windsor, Colorado, U.S.
Height	5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Position(s)	Forward
Team information
Current team	Portland Thorns
Number	9
Youth career
	Real Colorado
College career
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2018–2019	Stanford Cardinal	33	(24)
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2020–	Portland Thorns	75	(44)
International career‡
2015–2016	United States U17
2017–2020	United States U20	25	(21)
2020–	United States	58	(24)
Medal record Women's soccer Representing the  United States Olympic Games Gold 2024 Paris Team CONCACAF W Championship Winner 2022 Mexico CONCACAF W Gold Cup Winner 2024 United States
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of November 1, 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of October 27, 2024

Sophia Olivia Wilson (born August 10, 2000), whose maiden name was Smith, is an American professional soccer player. She plays as a forward for Portland Thorns FC in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). She also plays for the United States national team.

Wilson played college soccer for the Stanford Cardinal. She helped them win the national championship in 2019. The Portland Thorns picked her first overall in the 2020 NWSL College Draft. In 2021, she was the top scorer for the Thorns when they won the NWSL Shield. In 2022, she led the Thorns to win the NWSL Championship. She was named the NWSL Most Valuable Player and the Championship MVP. In 2023, she won the NWSL Golden Boot as the league's top scorer.

Wilson played for the United States' under-17 and under-20 teams. She made her debut for the senior United States team in 2020. She was named the U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year in 2022. Wilson scored three goals at the 2024 Paris Olympics. There, the United States women's national team (USWNT) won the gold medal.

Early Life and Youth Soccer

Sophia Wilson was born to Mollie and Kenny Smith on August 10, 2000. She grew up in Windsor, Colorado, near Fort Collins, Colorado. She has two older sisters, Gabrielle and Savannah. Her father played basketball at the University of Wyoming. Her older sister Savannah played basketball at the University of Northern Colorado. Savannah became the all-time leading scorer there.

Sophia's father knew she would be a soccer star when she was six years old. He saw her play very well in a 3-on-3 league. Once, on the way to a game, she told her father she would score ten goals, and she did! Sophia started playing co-ed soccer when she was very young. She played for the Timnath Twisters and then Arsenal Colorado. She won two state cups with Arsenal Colorado in 2012 and 2013.

Wilson went to Fossil Ridge High School. She played for the varsity soccer and basketball teams as a freshman. She scored 10 goals and had 4 assists in just 8 games. She was named First-Team All-Conference. She also played club soccer for Real Colorado. She was first called up to the U-14 national team in 2013. With Real Colorado, her team finished second at the ECNL National Championship in 2014 and 2016. They were fourth in 2015. As a high schooler, Sophia and her family often drove 3–4 hours for soccer practice. She was called up to the senior U.S. national team when she was just 16.

College Soccer Career

Wilson attended Stanford University and played for the Cardinal team. She had a short but very successful college career. She became a two-time Pac-12 Champion and NCAA Champion in just two seasons.

In her first year (2018), Wilson scored 7 goals and made 2 assists in 13 games. She led the Pac-12 Conference with three game-winning goals. She was named to the All-Pac-12 freshman and second teams.

In 2019, Wilson scored 17 goals and had 9 assists in 21 games. She was on the Hermann Trophy watch list. She helped the Cardinal win the 2019 NCAA College Cup. She scored three goals in the semi-final game against the UCLA Bruins. Stanford won the national title in a penalty shootout. Wilson made her shot in the shootout. She was named the College Cup's Most Outstanding Offensive Player. She also made the All-Tournament team. She was named to the All-Pac-12 second team. She tied for the seventh-most goals in Cardinal history, even though she played only two seasons.

Professional Club Career

Wilson playing for Portland Thorns FC at the 2022 NWSL Championship.

The Portland Thorns FC picked Wilson as the #1 player in the 2020 NWSL College Draft. Her first season with the Thorns was difficult because of a foot injury and the COVID-19 pandemic. She played in four games during the NWSL Fall Series. She scored one goal in a 3–0 win against the Utah Royals FC. The Thorns finished in first place that season.

In the 2021 season, Wilson started in 17 of her 22 games and scored seven goals. In her first regular season game on May 16, 2021, she scored two goals against the Chicago Red Stars in a 5–0 win. Portland finished first, winning the NWSL Shield. They made it to the NWSL Playoffs but lost to the Chicago Red Stars in the semi-final.

Wilson scored three goals in five matches in the 2022 NWSL Challenge Cup. She won the league MVP award for the 2022 NWSL season. The Thorns won the NWSL Championship. Wilson scored the first goal in the final game. She was named Championship MVP.

On April 1, 2023, Wilson scored her first professional three-goal game (a hat-trick). This happened in a 4–1 win against the Kansas City Current. She was named NWSL Player of the Month for March/April. She also made the NWSL Best XI team for the month. In June, she was named NWSL Player of the Month again. She scored six goals in four games that month. Wilson had a knee injury after the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup. Even with this injury, she finished the 2023 season as the league's top scorer. She won the NWSL Golden Boot with 11 goals in 17 matches. She was also named to the NWSL Best XI for the second time. In 2024, she signed a new two-year contract with the Thorns. This made her the highest-paid player in the NWSL.

International Career

Wilson has played for the United States on the under-17, under-20, and senior national teams.

She played in the 2016 FIFA U-17 World Cup. In early 2017, she scored nine goals in six games. This is thought to be a record for youth national teams. On March 31, 2017, when she was 16, Wilson was called up to the senior national team for the first time. This was for two friendly games against Russia.

Wilson was part of the under-20 squad that finished second at the 2018 CONCACAF U-20 Championship. She was then named to the USA U-20 team for the 2018 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup.

Wilson with the United States in 2021

Wilson was called up to the senior national team's first training camp of 2020. This was from January 5 to 15. She had also been part of a talent identification camp in December 2019.

On November 27, 2020, Wilson played her first game for the national team against the Netherlands. She became the first player born in the 2000s to play for the senior national team.

2023 FIFA Women's World Cup

Wilson was chosen for the U.S. team for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. In the team's first group stage match against Vietnam, she scored two goals and helped with the third goal. The team won 3–0. Wilson was involved in every goal and was named Player of the Match.

In the knockout stage match against Sweden, Wilson played the entire game, including extra time. The score was 0–0, so the game went to a penalty shootout. Wilson was one of three U.S. players who missed their penalty shots. This led to the U.S. team being eliminated from the World Cup.

2024 Season Highlights

Wilson was part of the USWNT team for the 2024 CONCACAF W Gold Cup, which the U.S. won. She scored one goal against Canada in that tournament. She was also on the team for the 2024 SheBelieves Cup. She scored two goals in the final, which the U.S. also won in a penalty shootout. Wilson scored her shot in the shootout and was named Most Valuable Player of the tournament.

2024 Olympics

Wilson was chosen for the 18-player team for the 2024 Summer Olympics in France. She scored two goals in the 4–1 win against Germany in the group stage. She scored again against Germany in extra time in the semifinals, winning 1–0. The United States beat Brazil 1–0 in the final. Mallory Swanson scored the winning goal, and the U.S. won the gold medal.

Personal Life

Wilson met her husband Michael Wilson, an NFL player, when they were both at Stanford University. She changed her name, including for her professional career, after they married in January 2025. On March 5, 2025, the couple announced they were expecting their first child.

Wilson, along with USWNT stars Mallory Swanson and Trinity Rodman, are known as "Triple Espresso." They gave themselves this name during the 2024 Olympic tournament. This trio scored 10 of the team's 12 goals on their way to winning the gold medal.

Career Statistics

Club Appearances and Goals

International Appearances and Goals

Scores and results list United States's goal tally first; score column indicates score after each Wilson goal.

List of international goals scored by Sophia Smith

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition	Ref.
1	September 21, 2021	Cincinnati, Ohio	Paraguay	2–0	8–0	Friendly
2	April 9, 2022	Columbus, Ohio	Uzbekistan	3–0	9–1
3				4–0
4				6–0
5	June 25, 2022	Commerce City, Colorado	Colombia	1–0	3–0
6				2–0
7	July 7, 2022	Guadalupe, Mexico	Jamaica	1–0	5–0	2022 CONCACAF W Championship
8				2–0
9	September 3, 2022	Kansas City, Kansas	Nigeria	1–0	4–0	Friendly
10				3–0
11	October 7, 2022	London, England	England	1–1	1–2
12	November 13, 2022	Harrison, New Jersey	Germany	1–1	2–1
13	July 22, 2023	Auckland, New Zealand	Vietnam	1–0	3–0	2023 FIFA Women's World Cup: Group stage
14				2–0
15	December 2, 2023	Fort Lauderdale, Florida	China	1–0	3–0	Friendly
16	March 6, 2024	San Diego, California	Canada	2–1	2–2 (aet) (3–1 p)	2024 CONCACAF W Gold Cup
17	April 9, 2024	Columbus, Ohio		1–1	2–2 (5–4 p)	2024 SheBelieves Cup
18				2–1
19	June 4, 2024	Saint Paul, Minnesota	South Korea	2–0	3–0	Friendly
20	July 13, 2024	Harrison, New Jersey	Mexico	1–0	1–0
21	July 28, 2024	Marseille, France	Germany	1–0	4–1	2024 Summer Olympics: Group stage
22				3–1
23	August 6, 2024	Lyon, France		1–0	1–0	2024 Summer Olympics: Semi-final
24	October 24, 2024	Austin, Texas	Iceland	3–1	3–1	Friendly

Honors and Awards

Stanford Cardinal

• NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship: 2019

Portland Thorns FC

• NWSL Championship: 2022
• NWSL Shield: 2021
• NWSL Challenge Cup: 2021
• NWSL Community Shield: 2020
• Women's International Champions Cup: 2021

United States U20

• CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship: 2020
• Sud Ladies Cup: 2018

United States National Team

• Summer Olympic Games Gold Medal: 2024
• SheBelieves Cup: 2021, 2022, 2024
• CONCACAF Women's Championship: 2022
• CONCACAF W Gold Cup: 2024

Individual Awards

• US Soccer Female Player of the Year: 2022
• NWSL Most Valuable Player: 2022
• NWSL Championship Most Valuable Player: 2022
• NWSL Best XI: 2022, 2023, 2024
• NWSL Player of the Month: June 2022, March/April 2023, June 2023
• SheBelieves Cup Most Valuable Player: 2024
• Sud Ladies Cup Best Player: 2018
• Sud Ladies Cup Top Scorer: 2018
• ESPN FC Women's Rank: #5 on the 2024 list of 50 best women's soccer players 2024
• IFFHS Women's World Team: 2024

See also

• List of United States women's international soccer players