Who is Alexandra Patricia Morgan? The sporting world knows her as Alex Morgan, she is an American soccer player from Diamond Bar, California. She is a forward for Seattle Sounders Women and member of the US Women's National Team. Morgan was the youngest player on the USA's roster at the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup.Early life and collegiate career
Morgan was born July 2, 1989 in Diamond Bar, California, the daughter of Pamela S. (née Jeske) and Michael T. Morgan.[1] She attended Diamond Bar High School. As a freshman at the University of California, Berkeley,
Morgan was the leading scorer for the Golden Bears with eight goals in
2007. Her last goal of her freshman season came against Stanford in the second round of the 2007 NCAA
Tournament, tying the game at 1–1 with less than two minutes left in
regulation time and forcing the Cardinal into overtime and then to penalty kicks. However, Stanford prevailed, and went on to the third round of the tournament.[2]Morgan continued to lead the Golden Bears' scoring during her sophomore season with nine goals in 2008, despite being out for part of the season due to national team commitments.[3] The Golden Bears bowed out of the first round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament while Morgan was playing at the 2008 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup.
At the beginning of the 2009 NCAA season, Morgan was named a candidate for the Hermann Trophy Watch List,[4] the first Golden Bear to be considered in this category since Laura Schott in 2001. She scored fourteen goals and eight assists during the Bears' 2009 season.[5]
Morgan is third all-time in goals scored (45) for the Golden Bears.[6]
Club career
Western New York Flash
On January 14, 2011, Morgan was drafted number one overall in the 2011 WPS Draft by the Western New York Flash.[7] She was the first California Golden Bears women's soccer player to be drafted in the first round of Women's Professional Soccer.International career
Due to an anterior cruciate ligament injury that slowed her progress in 2007, Morgan was not called up to train with the United States under-20 women's national soccer team until April 2008.[8] Her first appearance for the U-20s came at the 2008 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship in Puebla, Mexico, where she scored her first international goal against Cuba.[9]Morgan was named to the United States U-20 women's national team that competed in the 2008 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in Chile, scoring a total of four goals in the tournament against France, Argentina and North Korea; her last goal scored against North Korea was subsequently voted the best goal of the tournament,[10] and later FIFA's second-best goal of the year.[11] Morgan's performance on the field earned her the Bronze Shoe as the tournament's third-highest scorer and the Silver Ball as the tournament's second-best player behind teammate Sydney Leroux.[12]
She has been capped by the senior national team, first appearing as a substitute in a match versus Mexico in March 2010,[13] and scored her first international goal after coming on as a substitute against China in October 2010. Her most important goal to date came a month later in a crucial road game against Italy, with a Women's World Cup berth on the line for the United States.[14]
Morgan was on the national team that placed second in the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup. She was the youngest player on the U.S. roster. On July 13, 2011, she scored her first FIFA Women's World Cup goal in the 82nd minute of the semi-final matchup against France, giving the USA a 3–1 lead and ultimately, the victory. She scored the first goal (69') in the FIFA World Cup Final against Japan after coming on as a substitute at the half, as well as assisting on the Abby Wambach header (104') for a goal in extra time.
Morgan's strong form for the USA was shown when she was nominated for breakthrough athlete of the year at the 2012 ESPY Award. [15]
2012 Summer Olympics
On August 9, she won gold with the USA Women's football team.International goals
| Date | Location | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|
Honors
Club
- Western New York Flash
- WPS Championship:
- Winner: 2011
International
- FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup:
- Winner: 2008
- FIFA Women's World Cup:
- Runner-up 2011
- Algarve Cup:
- Winner: 2011
- Four Nations Tournament:
- Winner: 2011
Individual
- FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup Silver Ball:
- Winner: 2008
- NCAA All-American:
- First-Team: 2010
- Pac-10 Conference:
- First-team: 2008, 2009, 2010
Personal life
She met her current boyfriend Servando Carrasco, a defensive midfielder for the Seattle Sounders FC of Major League Soccer, in her first year at University of California. [16] Alex appeared in the 2012 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue appearing in a section of athletes in body paint.[17] She supports FC Barcelona.[18]
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