Sophia Smith, Mallory Swanson, Trinity Rodman help U.S. reclaim status as ‘feared’ team

Sophia Smith is having a blast at the Olympics, and a lot of it has to do with the U.S. team’s formidable front three.

Smith, along with Mallory Swanson and Trinity Rodman, are helping the United States reclaim its status as a team to be feared.

“I feel like we’re clicking really well, really fast. And I think this is only like 70% of what we can do,” Smith said. “I think the more games we get together, the more we’re going to be playing off each other and just learning each other’s tendencies. But it’s so much fun playing with them.”

It’s a marked contrast to last year’s Women’s World Cup, when Smith left the field in Melbourne in tears after the United States was sent home early by Sweden.

So far in France, Swanson has three goals and Smith has a pair, while Rodman contributed the team’s first goal of the tournament.

Smith scored both of her goals in the team’s 4-1 victory on Sunday over Germany that clinched the Americans a spot in the quarterfinals at their first major tournament under coach Emma Hayes.

The United States, the winningest women’s soccer team at the Olympics with four gold medals, finished with the bronze in Tokyo. Then came the World Cup disappointment, and the Americans’ reputation slipped while other teams caught up.

A loss to Mexico earlier this year in the CONCACAF Women’s Gold Cup helped drop the team to No. 5 in the FIFA international rankings — the lowest rank for the U.S. ever.

The team was already in transition, awaiting the arrival of Hayes in May after she finished up the season with Chelsea. Hayes was hired to lead the United States back in November.

“You can see I’m not making any changes to the lineup because you have to build connections,” Hayes said following the victory over Germany, ranked No. 4 in the world. “I think that was my sixth game in charge maybe, so I’m still learning about them, let alone what they’re learning about each other.”

Smith, 23, has made 52 appearances with the national team since her debut in 2020, scoring 22 goals. Under Hayes, she’s been playing a more central position.

“Emma’s biggest goal for me is playing in this No. 9 position. I tend to shift away from the box, but it’s about getting me to stay in the box and get those tap-in goals –- the ones I tend to score,” Smith said.

Hayes said it’s clear that Smith is thriving.

“She’s my type of player,” Hayes said. “She gives to the team and I think she’s having to learn as a No. 9 — when to hold, when to stretch, when to play off of ten. So coaching her is so much fun because she absorbs it.”

Back home, Smith is in her fifth season with the Portland Thorns in the National Women’s Soccer League. She was the NWSL’s most valuable player and the U.S. Soccer player of the year in 2022.

She and Swanson go way back, both having played for the same club in Colorado, and Rodman complements the pair. Together, they have six of the team’s seven goals heading into Wednesday’s group finale against Australia in Marseille on Wednesday.

In contrast, the team had just four goals in four games at the World Cup.

“I think we’re all similar, but we’re all different in our own ways. Obviously, Trin is a flank player, she’s out wide, she’s going one-v-one. She’s creative out there and she creates a lot of things for us,” Smith said. “I think Mal and I are a little more central players, intertwining with each other and finding those spaces in and around the ball. So I feel like we all just work well off each other in different ways.”

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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