Sophia Smith dominates as Portland Thorns beat Kansas City Current, 2-0, in NWSL Championship

Smith's early goal sparked the Thorns to a convincing win and their third NWSL title.

Portland Thorns players celebrate with the trophy after winning the NWSL championship game.Read moreNick Wass / AP

Updated Oct. 29, 2022, 10:40 p.m. ET

Published Oct. 29, 2022, 10:28 p.m. ET

WASHINGTON – The Portland Thorns earned their third National Women’s Soccer League Championship in style on Saturday, easily beating the underdog Kansas City Current, 2-0.

The league’s first title game to be played in prime time on network TV drew a lively crowd of 17,624 fans at Audi Field that included tennis legend Billie Jean King, WNBA star Elena Delle Donne, U.S. women’s soccer team manager Vlatko Andonovski, and both clubs’ boisterous supporters.

After a vibrant two-hour fan fest and a battery of fireworks on the field, it didn’t take long to have sparks in the game.

Within four minutes, Yazmeen Ryan sent an incisive pass forward for newly-crowned league MVP Sophia Smith. Kansas City’s Elizabeth Ball slid to corral it but couldn’t, and Smith was off to the races. She charged ahead, danced around former Thorns teammate AD Franch, and had an easy finish from there.

The celebration was just as sublime: a smile and shrug of the shoulders that recalled Michael Jordan’s heyday.

It was the 22-year-old’s 18th goal of the year for the Thorns in all competitions. She also has 10 in 2022 for the U.S. national team, with two games against Germany still to come next month.

Kansas City battled gamely, but lacked an attacker of Smith’s quality – and lacked any shots on target in the first half, out of five total taken. More surprising was the Current’s defensive struggles, allowing nine first-half shots and Portland a majority of the possession.

That came back to bite early in the second half. In the 56th minute, Ryan sprung free on the right and swung in a hard cross that Franch misplayed as teammate Addisyn Merrick collided with her. The ball got behind both of them and over the line, for what went down as a Merrick own goal.

The traffic remained one-way. Only a big diving save from Franch stopped Thorns substitute Hina Sugita from making it 3-0 in the 71st with a long-range curler.

As the clock kept ticking, a Portland substitution served as a reminder of the team’s championship pedigree. Christine Sinclair exited in the 73rd to savor the countdown to her fifth club title, and was replaced by Crystal Dunn – a two-time NWSL champion with North Carolina before moving west in 2020.

It was also the third NWSL title for Becky Sauerbrunn, and the second for Thorns veterans Meghan Klingenberg, Emily Menges and Kelli Hubly.

And it was the first for Smith, of what seems likely to be many.