Sophia Smith Voted 2022 Biosteel U.S. Soccer Female Player Of The Year; Jaedyn Shaw Voted 2022 Chipotle U.S. Soccer Young Female Player Of The Year

For the second time, fans were able to vote for the U.S. Soccer Player and Young Player of the Year Awards with those votes weighted at 15% of the total. Of the five finalists for the Female Player of the Year Award, Smith garnered 50.8 percent of the overall tabulated votes followed by Alex Morgan (18.4%).

Votes for U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year and Young Female Player of the Year awards are collected from respective National Team coaches, National Team players who earned a cap in 2022, members of the U.S. Soccer Board of Directors, U.S. Soccer Athletes’ Council, National Women’s Soccer League head coaches and select media members, administrators and college coaches.

Shaw earned 35.1 percent of the overall vote for the Young Female Player of the Year, just ahead of forward Alyssa Thompson (34.4%), who debuted for the senior USWNT this year at age 17.

Shaw, who turned 18 last November, entered the NWSL via the Discovery Process and signed her first professional contract with the Wave on July 18 after training for six months with the Washington Spirit. She made her pro debut on July 30, scoring 28 minutes into her first game and first start against the Chicago Red Stars. The goal turned out to be the game-winner in the Wave’s 1-0 victory and she got on a plane the next day to join the U.S. U-20 WYNT for its pre-World Cup training camp in Houston, Texas.

Shaw made a late run to earn a spot on the roster in Costa Rica, but then she played in all three matches, starting two, in what was her first FIFA World Cup. She ended the year with seven U-20 caps and three goals, scoring against Costa Rica, Mexico and the Netherlands, the latter two to help the USA win the Sud Ladies Cup in Aubagne, France. Shaw is age-eligible for the 2024 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup.

The Texas native not only became the youngest player to score in her first National Women’s Soccer League match, but remarkably, scored in three of her first four professional matches, finishing the season year with three goals — one with her left foot, one with her right and one with her head — in seven games spanning 378 minutes played, helping the Wave reach the NWSL semifinals.

Twenty-two of the 25 U.S. Soccer Young Female Player of the Year winners have earned caps with the full USWNT and 15 of them have gone on to play in a FIFA Women’s World Cup.

The U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year has been awarded since 1985, when midfielder Sharon Remer earned the first Female Player…