Sophie Hirst (born February 25, 2000) is an American professional

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

player who plays as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for

Portland Thorns FC Portland Thorns FC is an American professional Association football, soccer team based in Portland, Oregon, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Established in 2012, the team began play in 2013 in the then-eight-team NWSL ...

of the

National Women's Soccer League The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is a women's professional Association football, soccer league and the highest level of the United States soccer league system#Women's leagues, United States soccer league system (alongside the USL Supe ...

(NWSL). She played college soccer for the

Harvard Crimson The Harvard Crimson is the nickname of the college sports teams of Harvard College. The school's teams compete in NCAA Division I. As of 2013, there were 42 Division I intercollegiate Varsity team, varsity sports teams for women and men at Harva ...

Early life

Hirst was born and raised in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

, where she attended Seattle Prep for high school. With Seattle Prep, Hirst played as a forward and helped the soccer team win the 2015 state championship, where she was named the MVP of the tournament. She was a three-year letterwinner for her school. Hirst played her club soccer for Crossfire Premier Soccer Club, where she helped the team to two consecutive top-three finishes in the ECNL National Finals.

College career

Hirst played for the Harvard Crimson women's soccer team from 2018 to 2022. In her first year with Harvard, she appeared in 11 games and started all but one, contributing 3 goals and 3 assists to the team. Her first collegiate goal came on August 30, 2018, with Hirst netting a

penalty kick A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...

in a 4–0 victory over

Syracuse Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area Syracuse may also refer to: Places * Syracuse railway station (disambiguation) Italy * Provi ...

. The match was also Hirst's Harvard debut. As a Sophomore, Hirst recorded 5 goals and 5 assists, receiving Second Team All-Ivy honors. She operated out of

central midfield In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

, helping Harvard tally 8 shutouts on the year. She was also active offensively, scoring a college-high 5 goals and 5 assists. In 2020, the season was canceled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, but Hirst returned in 2021 as a Senior and garnered 16 appearances, 14 of them starts. She was named to the All-Ivy First Team, stepping up from the Second-Team honor she earned in the prior season. In her senior season, she was also elected as the team's co-captain, sharing duties with teammate Jillian Wachira. During her final year at Harvard, Hirst played in a career-high 17 of Harvard's games, starting in 16. She was an Academic All-Ivy honoree and was named to the All-Ivy First Team for the second year in a row. Hirst finished her college career with 60 games and 10 goals under her belt. She also shined academically, earning high grades throughout her Harvard career while studying

neuroscience Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system (the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nervous system), its functions, and its disorders. It is a multidisciplinary science that combines physiology, anatomy, molecular biology, ...

Club career

Houston Dash, 2023–2024

On January 12, 2023, Hirst was selected in the 2nd round of the 2023 NWSL Draft by the

Houston Dash The Houston Dash are an American professional soccer team based in Houston, Texas, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). The Dash began play in the 2014 season. The team plays its home games at Shell Energy Stadium. His ...

. She was the 20th overall pick and the second-ever

player to be drafted into the

, behind Midge Purce in the 2017 Draft. The Dash signed Hirst to her first professional contract on March 25, 2023. Hirst made her debut and first start for the Dash on May 12, 2023 in a fixture against

. During the match, she made a crucial block and had a chance to score a goal in the first half. Hirst nearly played a full 90 in her debut before being substituted off for teammate

Havana Solaun Havana Marguerite Solaun (born 23 February 1993) is a professional footballer who most recently played as a midfielder for Houston Dash of the American National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Born in the United States, she represents Jamaica at ...

. She notched her first professional goal three games later, scoring the opening goal in a 2–0 win over the

Orlando Pride The Orlando Pride are an American professional Association football, soccer team based in Orlando, Florida, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). The Pride began play in the 2016 National Women's Soccer League season, 2016 ...

on June 3, 2023. In the 6th minute of the match, Orlando goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse spilled the ball from a

corner kick A corner kick, commonly known as a corner, is the method of restarting play in a game of association football when the ball goes out of play over the goal line, without a goal being scored and having last been touched by a member of the defe ...

right to the feet of Hirst, who pounced upon the opportunity and kicked the ball into the net with the outside of her foot. While she did not score any other goals in 2023, she finished the season with 12 regular season games and 2

NWSL Challenge Cup The NWSL Challenge Cup is an annual supercup competition organized by the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), a division 1 women's league in the United States soccer league system. The current (2025) cup holder is the Washington Spirit, who ...

games under her belt. Following Hirst's performance in her rookie season, the Dash decided to exercise her contract option, keeping her in Houston. During 2024, She appeared in 7 games for the Houston Dash, starting 3.

Portland Thorns, 2024–

On September 2, 2024, the Dash traded Hirst to

in exchange for a conditional $10,000 in intra-league transfer funds and $25,000 in allocation money. She made her club debut two days later in a

CONCACAF W Champions Cup The CONCACAF W Champions Cup is an annual continental women's football club competition organized by CONCACAF that determines the club champion for the region encompassing North America, Central America and the Caribbean. It is comparable to ...

victory over

Club América Club de Fútbol América S.A. de C.V., commonly known as Club América, is a professional association football, football club based in Mexico City. Nicknamed ''Las Águilas'' (The Eagles), it competes in Liga MX, the top tier of Mexican football ...

. After her first season with the Thorns, she signed a contract extension with the club lasting through 2026.

International career

Hirst played for the United States U-16 women's national soccer team, receiving call-ups in 2015 and 2016.

References

External links

*
Sophie Hirst
at

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hirst, Sophie Living people 2000 births American women's soccer players Women's association football midfielders Harvard Crimson women's soccer players Houston Dash draft picks Houston Dash players National Women's Soccer League players United States women's youth international soccer players Soccer players from Seattle 21st-century American sportswomen Portland Thorns FC players