Sophie Schmidt, Alphonso Davies win Canada Soccer Player of the Month awards

Sophie Schmidt and Alphonso Davies have been named Canada Soccer’s Players of the Month for July after helping their teams lift trophies.

Schmidt and the Houston Dash won the Challenge Cup, capping the NWSL’s return to play. Schmidt’s header off the crossbar led to the winning goal in the semifinal and she scored the winner in the final from the penalty spot.

Schmidt became just the second Canadian to score in an NWSL final (after Christine Sinclair in 2013) and the first to score the championship-winning goal.

Three other Canadians were part of the winning Houston side: Nichelle Prince, Allysha Chapman and Maegan Kelly.

Davies, who celebrated winning his second German Bundesliga title in June, captured a second German Cup title with Bayern Munich on July 4. Paul Stalteri, in 2004, is the only other Canadian to win both German competitions. Davies, named the Bundesliga Rookie of the Season, is the first Canadian to win both titles twice.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 31, 2020.