NWSL news: Sophia Smith runs riot, Gotham FC get back on track

In what was the final NWSL weekend for many before the World Cup, the stars were out to shine as Sophia Smith dominated the headlines. 

NWSL news: Sophia Smith propels Thorns to win over Washington in sensational match

You cannot stop Sophia Smith. You can only hope to contain her. Just ask Mark Parson’s Washington Spirit.

In the lone NWSL match on Friday, Mike Norris used a world-class display in the final third from the defending NWSL MVP to win the battle of the top two teams in the table 4-2. The Washington D.C. side equalized the match twice, but the quality of the players up front for Portland ended up to me too much to handle. The Thorns were far too efficient in front of the goal, putting up a 35 percent shots-on-target percentage compared to Washington’s which was lower than 25 percent.

It is the fourth time in the last five games in which Smith has had six or more shots. Her nine progressive carries caused all sorts of issues for a Spirit backline that has now conceded two or more goals in three successive fixtures across all competitions. Every time Smith found the back of the net in front of her home fans it was nothing short of incredible. With three goals at Providence Park, the Colorado native now has six more goal contributions than any other player in the league.

Three defenders were behind the ball when she received a pass just a few yards from the halfway line in the 11′.  She had so much ground to cover, but it didn’t matter. Her speed, and willingness to shoot early opened up the scoring for the Thorns. A player with her quality does not have a weaker foot as she struck the ball with her left boot with so much power that not even Audrey Kingsbury stood a chance. Smith continues her streak of goals to four regular season games, becoming just the third player in the history of the league with multiple streaks of four-plus games with a goal.

It was top-class goal after top-class goal on Friday night under the lights. Just days after not getting called into the World Cup squad, Ashley Hatch netted her side’s first goal of the contest. Ashley Sanchez evened the score at two apiece just a minute after halftime through a creative spectacular right-footed strike out of the reach of the goalkeeper. Washington is still tied on points with the North Carolina Courage, and OL Reign, but are behind both of them in the table due to goal differential.

In four out of the last seven matches, Norris’ side collected three or more goals. Defensively, they have given up the most goals of any team in the top eight. That does not matter when you have players like Smith, Sam Coffey, and Crystal Dunn just to name a few.