Alex Morgan

Alexandra Morgan Carrasco (born Alexandra Patricia Morgan; July 2, 1989) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a striker.

She is the captain of San Diego Wave FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), the highest division of women's professional soccer in the United States, and the United States women's national soccer team.

In 2006 at age 17, Morgan was called up to the United States under-20 women's national soccer team.

Morgan attended University of California, Berkeley, where she played for the California Golden Bears from 2007 to 2010.

She led the Cal Bears in scoring during her first season with the team.

During a match against Stanford in the second round of the 2007 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship, Morgan scored an equalizer with less than two minutes left in regulation time, resulting in a 1–1 draw.

The team was ultimately defeated during penalty kicks.

Despite continued absences due to U.S. national team commitments throughout her collegiate career, Morgan led Cal in scoring and helped the team reach the NCAA Tournament four years in a row, advancing to the second round twice.

After being named a candidate for the Hermann Trophy during her junior year, Morgan became the first Golden Bear to be one of the top three finalists for the award.

She was one of four finalists for the Honda Sports Award, given to the best overall candidate in each sport.

Morgan finished her collegiate career ranked third all-time in goals scored (45) and points (106) for Cal. She graduated from Berkeley one semester early, with a degree in Political Economy.

While playing in a scrimmage against the men's junior national team, she sustained an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury and did not play for the team again until April 2008.

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.

On January 14, 2011, Morgan was the first overall pick in the 2011 WPS Draft by the Western New York Flash.

She was the first Cal player to be drafted in the first round of Women's Professional Soccer (WPS).

Morgan scored her first goal for the Flash during the team's home opener—a 3–0 win over the Atlanta Beat on May 1, 2011.

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.

In 2013, the inaugural season of the National Women's Soccer League, Morgan joined Portland Thorns FC and helped the team win the league title that year.

The first book in the series, Saving the Team, debuted at number seven on The New York Times Best Seller list in May 2013.

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 played for the Thorns through the 2015 season, after which she was traded to first-year franchise Orlando Pride.

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.

In 2017, Morgan signed with French team Lyon, where she won the continental European treble, which included the UEFA Women's Champions League.

Off the field, Morgan teamed with Simon & Schuster to write a middle-grade book series about four soccer players: The Kicks.

She co-captained the United States women's national soccer team with Carli Lloyd and Megan Rapinoe from 2018 to 2020.

Additionally, a film starring Morgan in her acting debut, Alex & Me, was released in June 2018 where she plays a fictionalized version of herself.

She was named one of Time's 100 Most Influential People of 2019 and 2022.

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."