Norton is a prep soccer rankings riser. I’ve evaluated her at both the ECNL and high school levels. She always seems to have the ball at her feet. Sophia is great at distributing the ball in tight spaces; she can hit players in stride and shake defenders off her hip. Scanning is one of her strengths, as she’s always finding players in open pockets, and her ability to play as a box-to-box player can be attributed to her fitness. She’s a player with a high soccer IQ and someone USYNT scouts should take a look at.

She was a key part of the offense.  Sophia made quick and decisive passes as well as made stops on defense on both ends of the pitch.  She’s a box-to-box player who makes her presence felt when the ball is at her feet or when tracking players on defense.  I’ve recently evaluated Sophia at the ECNL level.  She had a great showing as she took on one of the best 2028 players in the nation on the top ranked MVLA team.  The Cincinnati commit sets the standard for Pirates to follow.

She led her team in the midfield and provided the offensive push and defensive support in slowing down the high-powered Gunners attack.  Tracking back on defense and stopping players making runs to the box is where she made the greatest impacts on defense. On the offensive side, she made quick and decisive passes to get her team into scoring range and high level scoring opportunities. She was great at disrupting the MVLA attack in their defensive third. The Cincinnati commit was Force’s MVP of the match.

Norton is headed to Cincinnati in 2027. The Bearcats have struggled this season at 2-3-4. The top 30 California midfielder has an impressive resume thus far. As an ECNL Norcal Conference 1st team selection and getting some minutes in the USLW League with SF Glen’s as well suggests she can handle the level of a Power 4 school. Leaving a very good Bay Area Surf side for a not as proven De Anza Force team this season is definitely a mystery I’d love more clarity on. But overall seems like a solid fit.

Scout Grade: B

The FC Bay Area earned All-Conference honors, moving the midfielder up 34 spots to No. 60. Norton just projects comfort and coolness on the pitch. She is just so calm on the ball, so calm in orchestrating from the No. 6 spot as she knows when to speed things up or let things calm down. She understands when she has space to possess as she is not in a hurry to get rid of the ball if there is nothing available immediately. But when the opportunity is there, she very cleverly and accurate plays a ball or carries up field, which she can comfortably do.