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Over the course of a career that included two women's World Cup titles and an Olympic gold medal, Alex Morgan elevated the women's game through her play on the field and activism off it.
The 35-year-old Morgan, who said she is pregnant with her second child, announced on Thursday that she is retiring from soccer after a 15-year career. She was near tears in a video posted to social media.
“This decision wasn’t easy, but at the beginning of 2024 I felt in my heart and soul that this was the last season that I would play soccer,” she said. “Soccer has been a part of me for 30 years, and it was one of the first things that I ever loved. I gave everything to this sport and what I got in return was more than I could have ever dreamed of.”
Morgan will play her final match with her club team, the San Diego Wave of the National Women’s Soccer League, on Sunday at Snapdragon Stadium.
In addition to World Cup titles in 2015 and 2019, Morgan also won a gold medal with the United States at the 2012 London Olympics and a bronze at the Tokyo Games in 2021.
Early in her career, she was known by the nickname Baby Horse, a moniker given to her by teammates because of her long strides. One of her most memorable goals came in London, the game-winner in extra time against Canada that put the United States into the Olympic final. A year earlier, she scored in the World Cup final against Japan.
At the 2019 World Cup, Morgan scored the deciding goal in a 2-1 semifinal victory over England, which she celebrated by pretending to sip tea.
Morgan played in 224 matches for the national team, ninth-all time, with 123 goals (fifth all-time) and 53 assists (ninth all-time). She was named the U.S. Soccer Player of the Year in 2012 and 2018.
Along the way, Morgan arguably became one of the most recognizable athletes in the United States. She has had partnerships with such companies as Coca-Cola, Chipotle, Google and Nike, and in 2022 was designated the most-endorsed female athlete by SponsorsUnited, which tracks sponsorship deals globally.
“Don't think many people will ever understand the weight you carried with you being the face of this team and women's football in general,” U.S. captain Lindsey Horan said in a tribute to Morgan on Instagram. “You made the game better for so many little ones looking up to you and what an incredible career on top of it.”
Her last game with the United States came on June 4, 2024, against South Korea. She was left off the roster that new coach Emma Hayes selected for this year's Paris Olympics.
Known as much for her activism as her play, Morgan was among five players in 2016 who filed a complaint to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for wage discrimination. The team went on to sue U.S. Soccer in 2019, citing inequitable pay and treatment compared to the men's national team. The lawsuit was settled and in 2022 the sides agreed to collective bargaining agreements that give the teams equal pay and benefits.
“Success for me is defined by never giving up and giving your all, and I did just that,” Morgan said. “I'm giving my all every single day on the field, and I did that giving my all in the relentless push for investment in women's sports, because we deserve that.”
Morgan has played for the Wave since 2022. A founding player in the NWSL, she also had stints with the Portland Thorns and the Orlando Pride during her career. In 2022, she was the league's Golden Boot winner for most goals. She also spent time internationally with Lyon and Tottenham.
Morgan was one of the key figures in bringing to light the NWSL abuse scandal in 2021, which led to the dismissal or resignation of five of the leagues coaches and sparked an investigation that found systemic abuse and misconduct.
Morgan was instrumental in rallying fellow players to demand the NWSL adopt an anti-harassment policy and the reforms she advocated for improved working conditions across the league. She also served on the bargaining committee for the latest collective bargaining agreement with NWSL players announced last month.
“Alex’s legacy is one that will endure for generations, not only in the records, awards and trophies she has earned, but in the countless lives she has touched along the way," NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman said.
Morgan and her husband Servando Carrasco have a daughter, Charlie, who was born in 2020.
“Charlie came up to me the other day and said that when she grows up, she wants to be a soccer player,” Morgan said. “It just made me immensely proud, not because I wish for her to become a soccer player when she grows up, but because a pathway exists that even a 4-year-old can see now. We're changing lives and the impact we have on the next generation is irreversible and I'm proud in the hand I had in making that happen, in pushing the game forward and leaving it in a place that I'm so happy and proud of.”
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer