USWNT forward Alex Morgan called time on her incredible career and her final game was Sunday’s NWSL match between San Diego Wave and North Carolina Courage.
The USWNT legend played one final time, starting and missing a penalty kick as San Diego lost 4-1 in front of a huge crowd of over 26,000 adoring fans at Snapdragon Stadium.
On the field she has been a generational talent and off it she has helped grow the women’s game, became a role model and a leader, stood up for female athletes and helped drive progress and investment in women’s soccer.
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Morgan, 35, said she planned to retire at the end of the season but that she’s retiring early after becoming pregnant with her second child.
“I have so much clarity about this decision,” Morgan said. “It has been a long time coming and this decision wasn’t easy but at the beginning of 2024, I felt in my heart and soul that this would my last season.”
Morgan has made the ninth-most appearances in USWNT history (224) and fifth in goals (123).
Alex Morgan says farewell to life as a professional player
.@alexmorgan13's powerful farewell speech 🗣 pic.twitter.com/UU7cRaKbTG
— San Diego Wave FC (@sandiegowavefc) September 9, 2024
If only that went in tonight... pic.twitter.com/YUUNEjQp7P
— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) September 9, 2024
Alex Morgan career honors with USMNT, club
Morgan was a first round draft pick out of Cal by the Western New York Flash in 2011. She went on to play for Seattle Sounders, Portland Thorns, Orlando Pride, Lyon, Tottenham Hotspur, and San Diego.
She won the WPS with WNY in 2011 and the NWSL with Portland in 2013, laying claim to a treble with Lyon as part of their 2016-17 UEFA Women’s Champions League win. She won the NWSL Shield with San Diego last season. She scored twice in nine caps for the USWNT this year but was left off the 2024 Paris Olympics squad that went on to win gold.
Morgan is a two-time Women’s World Cup winner and has won Olympic gold (2012) and bronze (2020). She was named the U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year in 2012 and 2018, a FIFA World Player of the Year finalist in 2012, and was twice a finalist for The Best FIFA Women’s Player (2019, 2022).
Alex Morgan retirement announcement video
Thank you🫶 pic.twitter.com/8BkofVOh3s
— Alex Morgan (@alexmorgan13) September 5, 2024