Alex Morgan: Breaking Barriers and Building Legacies

Alex Morgan on her last day for San Diego Wave. @alexmorgan13 on Instagram

In September 2024, Alex Morgan retired from football, marking an end to an illustrious international and club career. Morgan played her final game for San Diego Wave FC after announcing her retirement to the world. 

Morgan’s career will go down among the most legendary.  Since making her debut with the team in March 2010, no player on the USWNT, has been more involved in goals than Alex Morgan, with a total of 175 contributions (123 goals, 52 assists). This is just one statistic to summarise the career success that has inevitably led to Morgan’s icon status.

Early Stardom

Beginning her senior career, Morgan’s first international goal came on her third cap. On the 6th October 2010, the USA played China in a friendly. China held onto a 1-0 lead until Morgan secured a late equaliser to secure the 1-1 draw. This foreshadowed what greatness was to come.

Morgan played through the evolution of the women’s game in the United States, playing throughout as the NWSL was later formed. However, Morgan had already claimed an icon status before the NWSL.

After graduating early from the University of California, Berkeley, Morgan was drafted number one overall in the 2011 WPS Draft. There she made her professional debut with the Western New York Flash and helped the team to win the league championship.

At the 2011 Women’s World Cup, 22-year-old Morgan was the youngest on the national team. At the London 2012 Olympics Morgan further cemented this icon status by scoring the match-winning goal in the 123rd minute of the semi-final match against Canada. 

Club Triumphs and International Legacy

During the NWSL’s inaugural season in 2013, Morgan was allocated to the Portland Thorns. Morgan helped the team win the league championship that year. Morgan played for the Thorns through the 2015 season, after which she was  traded to Orlando Pride.

In 2017, Morgan made the move many don’t; to play European football. Morgan signed with French side Lyon, where she won the continental European treble.

Returning to Orlando Pride, Morgan continued to play into the pandemic which caused soccer restrictions in the USA. Many players began moving to leagues where they could continue to play. Morgan made the move to English top league WSL side Tottenham Hotspur.

In 2020. Morgan returned to Orlando Pride ahead of the 2021 season. In December, 2021, expansion team San Diego Wave FC announced the signing of Morgan, the terms of the trade revealed Orlando received a record $275,000 in allocation money. The team made great success in their inaugural season, becoming the first expansion side to qualify for the playoffs. 

On September 5th 2024, Morgan announced on her social media that she would be retiring following San Diego Wave’s game against the North Carolina Courage on September 8th, along with announcing her second pregnancy.

Morgan started her last match as captain and was substituted after 13 minutes, in honour of the number she wore throughout her career. Morgan’s final match was the first women’s sporting event to be shown simultaneously on multiple channels and streaming services in the United States.

Morgan's hard work and dedication led to countless successes for both club and country. With 223 caps for the USWNT and 123 goals, including 9 World Cup and 6 Olympic goals, she became renowned for her scoring ability.

A 2019 and 2015 World Cup champion, 2012 Olympic gold medalist, and 5-time SheBelieves Cup winner, Morgan also excelled at the club level, winning the 2013 NWSL Championship and 2022 Golden Boot with 15 goals. She scored 60 NWSL career goals and earned 6 selections to the FIFA FIFPro Women’s World XI, as well as two U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year awards in 2012 and 2018.

Beyond the Pitch:

Beyond her success on the field, Morgan became a household name and celebrity icon. Appearing on chat shows, red carpets, acting in television shows and films, signing endorsements with the likes of Nike, Panasonic, Coca-Cola, and making friends with the likes of Taylor Swift, Morgan became a star. 

With a platform comes great responsibility, and Morgan recognised and honoured this. 

Morgan became an outspoken advocate for equal pay. Morgan was one of the 28 players who brought the lawsuit against U.S. Soccer, suing them for pay discrimination.

In 2016, five members of the team, including Morgan, filed a complaint against the national federation for wage discrimination, this later filed as a lawsuit in 2019, dismissed by a court in 2020 and later appealed.

It finally reached an agreement in May 2022, resulting in equal pay with the men’s team and $22m in back pay for the women’s team players. Morgan became one of the main faces of this dispute as she spoke endlessly on this long journey fighting for equality.

In 2021, NWSL team North Carolina Courage fired coach Paul Riley amid allegations of sexual coercion and inappropriate comments spanning over a decade.

An investigation into more than a dozen players Riley coached from 2010 resulted in two named players going on the record with allegations against him.

Alex Morgan once again stepped up, using her voice as the face of women’s football to many. Morgan joined the pair on NBC’s Today show to speak about the league's failure to act. Morgan called on the league to set up policies to protect players and amplified the victims’ voices. 

A Lasting Legacy

Alex Morgan, a trailblazer for many and a voice to those who did not have a platform. Amongst her outstanding career, Morgan used her platform for good, leaving women’s football a better place.

Not only did Morgan fight for equal pay amongst her USWNT teammates, she used her platforms to be a voice for sexual assault victims in the NWSL, and created a foundation to offer girls and women paths in sport.