Sophia Wilson suspension extended to two games for hair-pulling incident

The NWSL on Oct. 8, 2026 extended Sophia Wilson's suspension to two games after reviewing her red card from the Oct. 3 match against Boston Legacy and upgrading it to Major Game Misconduct. Wilson pulled the hair of defender Lais Araujo in the 22nd minute; referee Calin Radosav issued the red card in Boston's 4-2 win. She will miss matches against Bay FC on Oct. 18 and the North Carolina Courage on Oct. 23. Portland sits seventh, one spot above the playoff cutoff, with three regular-season games remaining. Wilson has scored 13 goals this season, third in the league, with five assists in 27 matches (24 starts). This was the second red card of her career. She was NWSL MVP in 2022, Best XI in 2022, 2023 and 2024, and led the Thorns to the 2022 NWSL championship. Thorns coach Robert Vilahamn said he spoke to Wilson and their player was pulling her shirt and then she tried to pull back and obviously reached her hair. He said the rule is tough but that's the rule, they got Sophia out of the moment, she apologized afterwards and takes accountability and she'll learn from this.