New name, new motherhood, new Soph.
U.S. Women’s National Team star striker returns to her home state on Friday at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park for the USWNT’s final friendly of a three-match series against Japan. Wilson, a Windsor native, made her comeback to the USWNT lineup in the opening two friendlies for the first time since October 2024.
In the 18 months between appearances, Wilson (nee Smith) got The couple then had their first child, a daughter named Gigi, last September. The ensuing maternity leave kept Wilson off the pitch for the USWNT for all of 2025 and she didn’t play for the NWSL’s Portland Thorns, either.
Wilson called her return to Colorado for the stars and stripes “a full-circle moment” as she plays in front of her family with Gigi in the stands.
“Anytime I get to go back and play in Denver, I have all the feels because that’s a place where I really grew into who I am as a soccer player and as a person, too,” Wilson said. “So getting to go back and play with the national team at this point in my career now with my little girl, it’s like a dream come true.”
The 25-year-old is the 18th mom to play for the USWNT, and when she finds the net again, she’ll be the ninth mom to score for the team.
She started in the Americans’ last Saturday in San Jose and came off the bench in the team’s 1-0 defeat in Seattle on Tuesday in a match where head coach Emma Hayes experimented with It marked the first time the USWNT has been shut out in a defeat in 42 games.
Wilson says that becoming a mom has shifted her perspective on life and has her relishing moments out on the pitch more than before.
“We (as a professional athletes) put too much pressure on things that we can’t control,” Wilson said. “I feel like (with Gigi) I’ve learned to just focus on what I can control and enjoy every moment as it comes, because life goes fast.
“I’ve realized that my career is going by and while I’m still in my prime years, I want to enjoy it all. You can’t play soccer forever, unfortunately. So more than anything, being present in every moment is what I’m trying to do and take from being a mom now.”
Setting an example for the next generation
Wilson, a former Real Colorado star, has won at every level she’s played at.
While starring at Stanford, she led the Cardinal to the 2019 Division I national title. The Thorns drafted her No. 1 overall in 2020, and she became the in ’22, when she led Portland to the title and was named MVP of that game as well. Wilson also won the NWSL Golden Boot in ’23 as the league’s top scorer.
She was also part of the along with Trinity Rodman and Mallory Swanson that propelled the U.S. to a gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Swanson, a fellow Colorado native who in the gold-medal match, missed the 2025 NWSL season on maternity leave but is expected back to the league and the USWNT
While soccer fans wait on the return of Swanson, Wilson has been patient with herself in her ramp-up to get her game back to best-in-the-world level in the lead-up to the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil.
“Obviously, I know that getting back to playing at a high level is not just a straight path, and it’s not going to happen with the snap of my fingers,” Wilson said. “… I hope that I carry myself in the same way that (former USWNT star) Alex (Morgan) did (after her maternity leave), where it showed young girls and athletes that it is very possible to do both — have a family and play the game at a high level.
“It’s so important that women feel supported and feel confident in whatever it is that they choose to do. But knowing you can do both (is paramount).”
Friday’s match will also give Colorado soccer fans their first glimpse at USWNT captain Lindsay Heaps since the midfielder signed with Denver Summit FC in January. Heaps, who scored the game-winning goal in the first friendly against Japan — her 40th goal for the USWNT — is finishing her season with OL Lyonnes before joining Summit FC sometime this summer, likely in June.
