USA Soccer Hero and Former Stanford Standout Featured in New Nike Ad

Dylan Grausz | Aug 15, 2024

Aug 3, 2024; Paris, France; Japan midfielder Yui Hasegawa (14) and United States forward Sophia Smith (11) during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at Parc des Princes. Mandatory Credit: Yukihito Taguchi-USA TODAY Sports / Yukihito Taguchi-USA TODAY Sports

2024 will go down as a year to remember for former Stanford Cardinal Sophia Smith. Not only has she evolved into a marquee player for the United States Women’s National Team, helping the squad win CONCACAF Women’s Gold Cup, but she made her Olympic debut in Paris and was crucial in bringing home the gold medal to the USA. And now after bursting onto the scene, Smith is achieving celebrity status, recently being featured in a new ad by Nike.

In the new ad, which is on TikTok, Smith is shown dribbling a ball in between an opponent’s legs before getting by the defense and scoring a goal, with the slogan for the ad being ‘Winning Isn’t For Everyone.’ During the sequence in which Smith scores the goal, a narrator says ‘the good news is you made it into the highlight reel’ in reference to Smith but also says ‘the bad news, is you made it into the highlight reel’ in reference to the defender in the ad letting Smith get by her. This ad represents Smith’s dominance for the United States and as a team that Nike branded, shows that she is on the path of becoming the face of the USWNT.

Smith, who was among the 18 women selected to the 2024 Olympic squad, proved most vital throughout the entirety of the games as a member of the starting 11, with her most memorable moments coming when the U.S. faced Germany, where she scored two goals in a 4-1 group stage win, followed by the game-winning goal in the semifinals against the same team to help the U.S. win 1-0 and secure a spot in the gold medal game.

One of the three members of the U.S. attack dubbed “triple espresso” that featured her, Mallory Swanson and Trinity Rodman, Smith made her presence known in a big way for the United States all tournament long, leading the team in shots and shots on target and finishing second behind Swanson in goals and assists, scoring three goals and recording two assists. The attack showed out big time all tournament long, with the front three of Smith, Swanson and Rodman scoring 10 of the team's 12 tournament goals; their 10 goals was more than any other country in the entire Olympics. 

Now an Olympic champion, Smith will return to her NWSL team, the Portland Thorns, who are currently in fifth place in the league ready to go back to work and help her squad climb the standings. Coming back with a new sense of confidence and swagger, Smith will use her performance in the Olympics as a building block for future success.

Only 24-years-old and in the early years of her national team career, recording her first cap in November of 2020, Smith is still young and has a lot left in the tank, but if her early performances are any indication of what is to come, the United States are in good hands as long as she is around.