Forward Sophia Smith was named March/April Player of the Month, presented by EA SPORTS, the NWSL announced today.
Smith started four of six matches across all competitions for Portland, helping Thorns FC remain unbeaten to begin the 2023 regular season campaign. In those first five regular season games, Smith has tallied four goals and four assists. Her four assists lead the NWSL, while she is tied for the league lead in goals. Notably, Smith has recorded a goal contribution in four of Portland’s five regular season matches this season and her eight goal contributions were the most by any player in the first four games of a season in league history.
To open the campaign on March 26, Smith tallied a goal and an assist in a 4-0 win over the Orlando Pride. With her goal, she became one of two players in the NWSL to score in three consecutive home openers. It also marked the second time Smith has recorded at least one goal and one assist in the same match for Thorns FC.
Smith added to her goal total with her first career hat trick in a 4-1 win on the road against the Kansas City Current on April 1, becoming the third-youngest player in league history to accomplish the feat. The hat trick brought her career goal total to 25 goals, which is tied for third-most in Thorns FC history. In addition, she became the third player in club history to tally a hat trick alongside Nadia Nadim and Christine Sinclair.
The Thorns FC forward added to her assist total with three assists across two matches, setting up Portland’s lone goal in a 1-1 draw against Houston on April 14. Smith notched her first career multi-assist game on April 22 in a 2-0 win at home against Racing Louisville FC. With the multi-assist game, she became the fourth player in club history to record both a multi-goal and multi-assist game in her career with Portland.
The NWSL Player of the Month presented by EA Sports is selected each month of the regular season by the NWSL Media Association, a collection of writers that cover the league on a consistent basis, and the NWSL’s on-air broadcast talent.
