A legend is leaving the game. Today, Alex Morgan announced that she will be retiring from soccer in a heartfelt message posted on social media. She will play her final match on Sunday when the San Diego Wave host the North Carolina Courage.
Alex Morgan is one of the most decorated and heralded players in U.S. Soccer history. Nicknamed “Baby Horse” early on, she joined the national team in 2010 and had 224 caps for the United States Women’s National Team, ninth-most all time. She finishes fifth in USWNT history with 123 goals, and 9th in all-time assists with 53. The USWNT was 177W-15L-32D in matches where she was on the field. More brilliantly, the USWNT never lost (76W-0L-10D) in the 86 matches where Alex Morgan scored.
She was a winner on all levels, winning the 2011 WPS title with the Western New York Flash and winning a NWSL title with the Portland Thorns in 2013. She won the Divsion 1 Féminine, the French Cup, and the Women’s Champions League in her lone season with Lyon, and she won the 2023 NWSL Shield and 2024 NWSL Challenge Cup with the San Diego Wave. On the international level, her winning began in her youth as she was a member of the USWNT U-20 squad that won the U-20 Women’s World Cup in 2008. On the senior national team, she won the 2015 and 2019 Women’s World Cup, a gold medal at the 2012 Olympics, a bronze medal at the 2020 Olympics, 3 Concacaf Women’s Championships, 2 Concacaf Olympic qualifying tournaments, 3 Algarve Cups, 6 SheBelieves Cups, and the 2024 Concacaf W Gold Cup.
Morgan also announced that she is pregnant with her second child, and she will play in her final match on Sunday.
“I grew up on this team, it was so much more than soccer,” said Morgan in a statement released by U.S. Soccer. “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. I am so incredibly honored to have borrowed the crest for more than 15 years. 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.”
It is unclear when there will be a celebration of her career at a USWNT match. The USWNT are next in action in three home matches in late October, and it’s assumed that one of them will be that celebration. For now, fans can tune in or attend the match on Sunday to salute one of the great players in U.S. Soccer history.
