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.[7] She co-captained the United States women's national soccer team with Carli Lloyd and Megan Rapinoe from 2018 to 2020.[8][9]
For other people named Alex Morgan, see Alex Morgan (disambiguation).
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. 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. 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.
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. Morgan played for the Thorns through the 2015 season, after which she was traded to first-year franchise Orlando Pride. 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. The first book in the series, Saving the Team, debuted at number seven on The New York Times Best Seller list in May 2013. Additionally, a film starring Morgan in her acting debut, Alex & Me, was released in June 2018 where she plays a fictionalized version of herself.
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. She was named one of Time's 100 Most Influential People of 2019 and 2022.[10]
Personal life[edit]
Morgan married soccer player Servando Carrasco on New Year's Eve 2014.[247] The pair met at UC Berkeley where they both played soccer.[248] In October 2019, the couple announced they were expecting a baby girl in April 2020.[249] Their daughter was born on May 7 of that year.[250]
Although the name is rarely used any more, Morgan was given the nickname "Baby Horse" by her teammates on the U.S. women's national team for her speed, running style, and youth.[251][252][253] Morgan received the key to the city of Diamond Bar, her hometown, on January 24, 2016.[254][255]
On Sunday, October 1, 2017, Morgan was one of a group of fellow athletes visiting Epcot in Bay Lake, Florida, who were described in a police incident file as being "impaired and verbally aggressive....toward staff and around guests". The three members of the group, including Morgan, were given trespass warnings, banning them from Disney property, though no charges were filed. According to a deputy, Morgan was "yelling, screaming and....appeared to be highly impaired". The athlete later posted an apology in a Tweet that read, in part, "I will learn from this and make sure it does not happen again."[256]
In September 2017, Morgan and U.S. teammate Megan Rapinoe were the first two female players in the United States to sign up for the Common Goal campaign, created by Juan Mata of Manchester United, wherein players donate 1% of their wages to support soccer-related charities.[257]
Morgan is vegan.[258][259] She and NBA player Kyrie Irving were crowned by PETA as Most Beautiful Vegan Celebrities of 2019.[260]
Western New York Flash
Portland Thorns
Lyon
San Diego Wave
United States U20
United States
Individual
