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Alexandra Morgan Carrasco (born Alexandra Patricia Morgan; July 2, 1989) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a striker for the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) club San Diego Wave FC, which she was a captain of, and the United States national team. She co-captained the United States with Carli Lloyd and Megan Rapinoe from 2018 to 2020.
Shortly after graduating early from the University of California, Berkeley, where she played for the California Golden Bears, Morgan was drafted number one overall in the 2011 WPS Draft by the Western New York Flash. There, she made her professional debut and helped the team win the league championship.
Morgan, who was 22 at the time, was the youngest player on the national team at the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup, where the team was runner-up.
At the 2012 London Olympics, she scored the match-winning goal in the 123rd minute of the semi-final match against Canada. She finished 2012 with 28 goals and 21 assists, joining Mia Hamm as the only American woman to score 20 goals and provide 20 assists in the same calendar year and making her the sixth and youngest U.S. player to score 20 goals in a single season. She was subsequently named U.S. Soccer Female Athlete of the Year and was a FIFA World Player of the Year finalist.
Morgan also helped the United States win their titles at the 2015 and 2019 FIFA Women's World Cups, where she was named to the Dream Team for both tournaments, while she won the Silver Boot in 2019.
Morgan joined Portland Thorns FC in the NWSL's inaugural season in 2013 and helped the team win the league championship that year. Morgan played for the Thorns through the 2015 season, after which she was traded to the expansion team Orlando Pride.
In 2017, Morgan signed with French team Lyon, where she won the continental European treble, which included the UEFA Women's Champions League.
Morgan joined the expansion team San Diego Wave FC in 2022; she received the NWSL Golden Boot as the league's top scorer that year and helped win the NWSL Shield the following season.
Off the field, Morgan teamed with Simon & Schuster to write a middle-grade book series about four soccer players: The Kicks. The first book in the series, Saving the Team, debuted at number seven on The New York Times Best Seller list in May 2013. Additionally, a film starring Morgan in her acting debut, Alex & Me, was released in June 2018 where she plays a fictionalized version of herself.
In 2015, Morgan was ranked by Time as the top-paid American women's soccer player, largely due to her numerous endorsement deals. Morgan, along with Canada's Christine Sinclair and Australia's Steph Catley, became the first women's soccer players to appear on the cover of FIFA video games in 2015 -Morgan appeared alongside Lionel Messi on covers of FIFA 16 sold in the United States. She was named one of Time's 100 Most Influential People of 2019 and 2022.
On September 5, 2024, Morgan announced via social media that she would be retiring and her last match would be September 8, 2024.
More information: Instagram-Alex Morgan
Born to Pamela and Michael Morgan in the Los Angeles County suburb of San Dimas, California, Morgan was raised with her two older sisters, Jeni and Jeri, in the nearby suburb of Diamond Bar. She was a multi-sport athlete growing up and began playing soccer at an early age with AYSO, and her father was among her first coaches. However, she did not begin playing club soccer until age 14 when she joined Cypress Elite. With the club team, she won the Coast Soccer League (CSL) under-16 championship and placed third at the under-19 level.
Morgan attended Diamond Bar High School, where she was a three-time all-league pick and was named All-American by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA). At the school, she was known for her speed and sprinting ability.
Morgan played for Olympic Development Program (ODP) regional and state teams as well. She later credited the program as an integral part of her development as a soccer player: ... programs like ODP helped me especially because I did come into the club scene late and it was important for me to play as much as possible, play with the best players and learn from the best coaches. That, for me, was crucial to my development.
In 2006, at 17 years old, Morgan was called up to the United States under-20 women's national soccer team.
On January 14, 2011, Morgan was the first overall pick in the 2011 WPS Draft by the Western New York Flash.
After the WPS later suspended operations in early 2012 due to legal and financial difficulties, Morgan joined her national teammates Hope Solo, Sydney Leroux, Megan Rapinoe and Stephanie Cox on the Seattle Sounders Women for the 2012 season.
On January 11, 2013, Morgan was one of three U.S. national team players to join the Portland Thorns FC for the inaugural season of the National Women's Soccer League via the NWSL Player Allocation.
On October 26, 2015, it was announced that the Thorns had traded Morgan, along with teammate Kaylyn Kyle, to expansion team Orlando Pride in exchange for the Pride's number one picks in the 2015 NWSL Expansion Draft and 2016 NWSL College Draft as well as an international roster spot for the 2016 and 2017 seasons.
On January 5, 2017, Morgan signed with French champions Olympique Lyonnais (Lyon) for a reported $33,000 per month.
Following the Champions League Final, the Pride announced Morgan's addition to their 2017 active roster on June 21, 2017, waiving Christina Burkenroad to make room on the 20-player roster. After recovering from the hamstring injury she suffered in the final, Morgan made her competitive return for Orlando on July 1 against the Chicago Red Stars.
On September 12, 2020, Morgan signed with English FA Women's Super League team Tottenham Hotspur.
Morgan returned to Orlando Pride ahead of the 2021 season.
On December 13, 2021, expansion team San Diego Wave FC announced the signing of Morgan.
More information: The Guardian
the journey is just as important as the outcome.
Alex Morgan
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