American soccer player Sophia Smith (11) controls the ball in a game against New Zealand on Feb. 20, 2022, in Carson, California.
Credit: © Ringo Chiu/Shutterstock

Professional soccer player Sophia Smith is a champion. Even though the United States Women’s National Team was eliminated from the 2023 FIFA World Cup tournament, Sophia Smith showcased her talents as a rising star. Australia and New Zealand are hosting the World Cup this year. Smith scored two points against Vietnam, a feat known as a brace, on July 21st. While Smith led U.S.W.N.T. to the next round of the tournament, the team lost to Sweden on Aug. 6th. The loss marked the team’s earliest exit from the tournament in history.

Sophia Smith isn’t new to the spotlight. Smith led the Portland Thorns to win the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) championship in 2022. At only 22 years old, Smith became the youngest player in NWSL history to be named league Most Valuable Player (MVP). She is known for her versatility (ability to do many things well) on the field and skilled dribbling.

Sophia Olivia Smith was born on Aug. 10, 2000, in Windsor, Colorado. Smith attended Fossil Ridge High School in Fort Collins. She was named First-Team All-Conference during her freshman year. Smith began playing for the Under 17 USA team in 2016. In 2018, while playing for the USA Under 20 team at the Women’s World Cup in France, Smith scored three goals. Smith enrolled at Stanford University to play soccer in 2018. She helped Stanford win the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) Women’s Soccer Championship in 2019.

In 2020, after her sophomore season at Stanford, Smith was named the number-one recruit for the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL). Smith left college to pursue soccer full-time in the league. She was drafted to the Portland Thorns. The 2020 season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Smith debuted for the United States Women’s National Team (USWNT) in November 2020. In a game against Uzbekistan on Apr. 9, 2022, Smith scored three goals—a feat known as a hat trick—becoming the youngest USWNT player to score a hat trick since 2000 and the fifth youngest in league history.  In July 2022, Smith scored twice for the United States team to defeat Jamaica 5-0 at the 2022 CONCACAF Women’s Championship, qualifying the United States team for the 2023 FIFA World Cup and the 2024 Summer Olympics. CONCACAF stands for Confederation of North, Central America, and Caribbean Association Football. FIFA stands for Fédération Internationale de Football Association (International Federation of Association Football). Soccer is called football in much of the world.

Portland Thorns FC forward Sophia Smith (9) controls the ball in a game against Kansas City Current on Oct. 29, 2022, in Washington, D.C.
WASHINGTON, DC, USA – 29 OCTOBER 2022: Portland Thorns FC forward Sophia Smith (9) goes around Kansas City
Credit: © Tony Quinn, Alamy Images

In 2022, Smith set a Portland Thorns record for scoring 14 goals in a regular season. On Oct. 29, 2022, Smith scored a goal when the Portland Thorns won the NWSL Championship against the Kansas City Current 2-0.

March 13, 2020

This Sunday, March 15, is the bicentenary of the northeastern state of Maine. Throughout 2020, bicentennial celebrations and events are commemorating Maine’s entrance to the Union as the 23rd state in 1820.

The beautiful, rocky coast of Maine attracts thousands of vacationers to the state each year. The Portland Head Light, in Cape Elizabeth, is one of the best-known American lighthouses. It was built in 1791. credit: © Shutterstock

A special bicentennial flag is flying above Maine’s public and government buildings in 2020. This Sunday, Statehood Day celebrations in Augusta, the capital, include birthday cake, music, poetry, and speeches. Events later in the year include a bicentennial parade, a sailing ships festival, and the sealing of a time capsule. Special bicentennial programs include a “Maine in the Movies” series, which celebrates the state’s role in Hollywood films, and the mass planting of white pine saplings in new or existing public parks. The state is even publishing The Maine Bicentennial Community Cookbook to showcase the state’s unique culinary traditions.

Maine state map. credit: World Book map; map data (c) MapQuest.com, Inc.

The Maine region was the home of Native Americans for thousands of years before English colonists first settled the area in 1607 (13 years before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock). Such difficulties as cold weather and a lack of leadership, however, forced the settlers back to England in 1608. Colonists, primarily fishermen, returned to make permanent settlements in Maine in the 1620′s. Maine was a part of Massachusetts throughout its colonial history and for 44 years after the Declaration of Independence established the United States in 1776.

The Maine quarter features a lighthouse on a granite coast and a schooner. The lighthouse is the Pemaquid Point Light, northwest of Portland. The lighthouse dates from the 1820’s and is a popular tourist attraction. Granite is a common feature of Maine’s coastline and one of the state’s leading mined products. The schooner resembles one of Maine’s famous windjammers (sailing ships). credit: U.S. Mint

In 1785, a movement began for the separation of Maine from Massachusetts and for Maine’s admission to the Union as an individual state. Many people in Maine protested heavy taxation, poor roads, the long distance to the capital city of Boston, and other conditions. But before the War of 1812, most voters wanted Maine to remain a part of Massachusetts. The separation movement grew much stronger after the war. Many of those who favored separation won election to the legislature. They swayed many voters to their side. The people voted for separation in 1819, and Maine entered the Union the next year.

The name Maine probably means mainland. Early English fishermen used the term The Main to distinguish the mainland from the offshore islands, where they settled. New Englanders often refer to Maine as Down East. They call people who live in Maine Down Easters or Down Easterners. These terms probably come from the location of Maine east of, or downwind from, Boston. Ships from that port sailed down to Maine, and ships from Maine traveled up to Boston.

The poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is from Portland, Maine’s largest city, and the American Civil War hero Joshua Chamberlain is from the town of Brewer. The author Stephen King, a native of Portland, sets many of his novels in Maine.