This story was originally published by Dead Spin
Alex Morgan, a longtime member of the United States women’s national team, announced her retirement from soccer on Thursday.
In a video posted to social media, Morgan said she will play one final match for her team, San Diego Wave FC, when they play the North Carolina Courage at home on Sunday.
Morgan, 35, also revealed that she is pregnant with her second child.
“I grew up on this team, it was so much more than soccer,” Morgan told the USA Soccer website. “It was the friendships and the unwavering respect and support among each other, the relentless push for global investment in women’s sports, and the pivotal moments of success both on and off the field.”
She started training the national team in 2009 at age 20 and was part of two World Cup-winning teams (2015, 2019) and also won an Olympic gold medal (2012).
“I am so incredibly honored to have borrowed the crest for more than 15 years,” Morgan said. “I learned so much about myself in that time and so much of that is a credit to my teammates and our fans. I feel immense pride in where this team is headed, and I will forever be a fan of the USWNT. My desire for success may have always driven me, but what I got in return was more than I could have ever asked and hoped for.”
Morgan’s name is etched among the greats in U.S. women’s soccer history. Twice, she was named U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year (2012 and 2018).
She scored 123 goals, good for fifth all time, and is ninth in U.S. history with 53 career assists. The United States’ record in matches she played is 177-15-32. She put across a goal in 86 of her 224 international appearances, and her team never lost in those matches, going 76-0-10.
Her 176 combined goals and assists rank fifth all-time in USWNT lore behind only Mia Hamm, Abby Wambach, Kristine Lilly and Carli Lloyd.
In the pro ranks, she was part of the championship-winning Portland Thorns FC in the first season of the National Women’s Soccer League in 2013. She also has played for the Orlando Pride and Wave, with stops in Europe mixed in.
Morgan has played in 12 matches this season with the Wave and has one assist. In her NWSL career, she has 88 points (60 goals, 28 assists) in 149 matches (138 starts).
Morgan and her husband, Servando Carrasco, also are the parents of a 4-year-old daughter, Charlie.
–Field Level Media
