Daily News | Sophia Smith gets a Colorado homecoming with the USWNT as one of the NWSL’s most exciting players
, he called Smith and starting left winger Mallory Pugh — coincidentally another Coloradan — “the two most exciting players to watch right now in the league.”
Smith plays a more central position for her club than she does for her country, and she grew up as a striker, not a winger. The position change has occasionally annoyed some U.S. fans. But it happened because it makes sense for Smith to play off the creative talents of Catarina Macario, who plays in the striker’s space but isn’t a traditional pure finisher.The answer ended up being obvious: These players are good enough and smart enough to make it work.
It probably won’t matter much in Concacaf’s upcoming women’s championship tournament, which will serve as World Cup and Olympic qualifying. The U.S. is far superior to almost every team it will face. But it’s still a useful question. “It’s always really exciting to have someone to chase after — and it’s Alex Morgan, of course,” Smith said. “It’s friendly competition. And obviously it’s great to score goals, but for my team to be doing well is even better. This league is just fun — it’s fun to have people scoring lots of goals.”