Portland’s Sophia Wilson scores 95th-minute game winner for first goal as a mom
Sophia Wilson waited more than a year for this moment. The Portland Thorns forward scored her first goal since returning from maternity leave against Angel City FC at BMO Field on Saturday night, and it was the one that mattered. After 541 days since her last NWSL goal, Wilson lifted Portland to a 2-1 comeback win with a finish in the 95th minute of a tightly contested match, sealing all 3 points and marking a personal milestone in one of the league’s most thrilling games this season.
“It was definitely a long time coming,” Wilson said on ESPN with tears in her eyes. “I think I tried not to put too much pressure on myself, just coming back and playing at this level. “But I really needed a goal, if I’m being completely honest.
And I think once I get one, hopefully more will come. ” Wilson’s goal was not just an addition to her long list of accolades. It was the return she’d been working for after a deliberate pause she made to have a family while her career was on an upward swing.
In 2024, after winning gold at the Paris Olympics with the U. S. women’s national team, Wilson made a choice that still feels radical in elite sport: She stepped away.
After announcing her pregnancy in early 2025, she missed the entire NWSL season and all national team friendlies. By September 2025, she had given birth to her daughter, Gianna, beginning a new chapter that reshaped her life and career. For a player who had already built one of the most decorated resumes in the league, the risk was real.