We are back with another special, this time we will be taking a look at Tottenham’s new number 13, X2 World Cup Champion Alex Morgan.
Alex Morgan plays for the Orlando Pride in the NWSL (now on loan to Tottenham Hotspur Women). I have had the honor to see Alex play live on numerous occasions for the USWNT, in London at the 2012 Olympic final against Japan, for the Orlando Pride and last year in France with USWNT at the 2019 World Cup.
Who is Alex Morgan.
Let’s start at the beginning, Alex Morgan was born in San Dimas California and started her soccer/football journey at the age of 14. During her time at high school Alex was a three time all league pick and was named NSCAA’s (National Soccer Coaches Association Of America) All American. Alex attended the University of California, Berkley where she played for the Golden Bears from 2007-2010 scoring 45 goals in 67 appearances.
Alex made her United States U-20 debut in 2008 in which she helped the team get to the U-20’s Women’s World Cup in Chile. Alex also scored in the final against North Korea in which her goal was voted for as goal of the tournament and came 2nd in goal of the year as voted for by FIFA. Alex also won the bronze boot for finishing the 3rd highest goal scorer of the tournament and went on to make her debut as a substitute for the senior team in 2010 against Mexico replacing Amy Rodriguez.
Alex went on to score her first goal for the national team in October of 2010 against China giving the United States a 1-1 draw. Those that had heard of Alex Morgan and that seen her play knew that there was something special about her with many saying that she would be the future of the USWNT.
The year is 2011, the year of the baby horse.
In the Chinese zodiac 2011 was the year of the rabbit, in the United States it was the year of the baby horse. In January 2011 Alex Morgan was drafted 1st in the WPS draft (Women’s Professional Soccer college draft) by my first ever team the Western New York Flash.
Alex’s debut season in the WPS was a success, she scored on her home debut in a 3-0 win against Atlanta and in her debut season scored 4 goals in 13 appearances as well as winning the WPS championship. At the age of 21 Alex was included in the roster for the 6th edition of the Women’s World Cup that took place in Germany. The United States started in typical manner winning their first two games and qualifying for the quarter finals. Unfortunately Alex had to wait for her first World Cup goal but it was most definitely worth the wait because on the 82nd minute July 13th 2011 Alex Morgan scored her first World Cup goal in the Semi Finals of the Women’s World Cup ensuring the U.S.A advanced to the Final. In the final game against Japan, the U.S. were unlucky to not be ahead. Needing a plan b Pia Sundhage substituted Alex Morgan in for Lauren Cheney on the 46th minutes just 15 days after her 22nd birthday and 23 minutes later Morgan thanked her coach with a thunderous shot from just inside the area to give the United States a deserved 1-0 lead.
Unfortunately the perfect year hit a bump in the road because the United States went on to lose 3-1 in the shootout after the game ended 2-2 after extra time in a game that the U.S. dominated.
New Year, New Goal.
After the WPS suspended operation due to financial difficulties, Alex Morgan joined the Seattle Sounders in 2012. Due to commitments with the national team Morgan made just 3 starts for the Sounders scoring 2 goals. 2012 was the year of the London Olympics, the U.S. had made the podium at every Olympics since women’s soccer was first introduced at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta in which the USWNT went on to take Gold after defeating China 2-1 in the final. The 2000 Olympics in Sydney was a bit of a comedown with the U.S. picking up silver after falling to Norway 3-2 after extra time. The next two Olympics were much happier times for the USWNT after defeating Brazil in 2004 and 2008 to take Gold once again.
The 2012 Olympics was Morgan’s first Olympic games and she could not have gotten off to a better start scoring 2 goals in the opening match against France. Unfortunately Morgan had to wait 4 matches to get another goal for the U.S. but it definitely was worth the wait. On August the 6th 2012 the USWNT took on Canada in the Olympic games Semi Finals. The game turned out to be a rollercoaster of emotions for both sets of fans and definitely one of the best games of the tournament. The U.S. found themselves trailing Canada by 1 all game with Christine Sinclair bagging herself a hat-trick to give Canada a 3-2 lead in the Semi Finals. Abby Wambach converted a penalty in the 80th minute to draw the U.S. level for the 3rd time in the game. The game remained at 3-3 throughout extra time, the referee gave a minimum of 3 minutes injury time and in the 122nd minute HAO (Heather O’Reilly) ran onto a Wambach pass down the right wing, centred the ball which was met by Alex Morgan’s head and put into the back of the net to give the U.S. the lead for the first time in the game and ensure the United States advanced to their 3rd Olympic final in a row.
Revenge Match.
On August 9th 2012, the USWNT met rivals Japan again 1 year after heartbreak in the World Cup Final in Germany. The U.S. came out the strongest of the teams and it was Alex Morgan who turned down the left flank to set up Carli Lloyd who put the U.S. up after 8 minutes on the clock. Both teams rode their luck a little in the match with both teams having chances to win the game but it was the U.S. that came out on top by 2-1 with Lloyd grabbing both goals for the U.S. to give team USA victory over their rivals Japan and their 3rd Olympic gold in a row and giving Alex Morgan her first Gold at senior level.
On top of winning the Olympic gold, Morgan was announced as the female athlete of the year (2012) by U.S. Soccer as well as finishing 3rd in the 2012 FIFA Ballon d’Or vote behind Marta and winner Abby Wambach.
In 2013 Alex Morgan moved from the Seattle Sounders to the Portland Thorns. Morgan scored her first goal for the Thorns at their home opener against Seattle Reign in a game in which the Thorns won 2-1. Morgan finished Portland’s joint top scorer alongside Christine Sinclair with 8 goals and 5 assists. Portland finished 3rd in the regular season and went on to defeat Western New York Flash 2-0 in the Championship final.
In 2014 the Thorns again finished 3rd in the regular season, losing to eventual winners Kansas 2-0 in the Semi Finals with Morgan scoring 6 goals in 15 appearances for Portland during the 2014 season.
New Year, Same Foe.
In the 2015 season Morgan made just 4 appearances for the Thorns due to commitments with the national team. The Thorns finished 6th that season with Morgan scoring one goal in a match against the Washington Spirit. In the lead up to the World Cup in Canada Morgan suffered a knee injury that kept her out for two months.
Morgan started the first two group matches on the bench due to an injury and made her first 2015 World Cup start in the final group game vs Nigeria in which the U.S. won 1-0 to top the group. Alex Morgan started her second game in a row in the round of 16 against Colombia and earned a penalty in 47th minute when Morgan was one on one with Colombian keeper Catalina Pérez before being brought down inside the box. But the always reliable Abby Wambach put her penalty wide but the U.S. finally got their breakthrough in the 54th minute when who else but Alex Morgan gave the U.S. the lead to settle some nerves and scored her first goal of the tournament. The U.S. went on to win the game 2-0 with Carli Lloyd converting from the spot.
The U.S. then went on to defeat China 1-0 in the Quarter Finals before taking on Germany in the Semi Finals. It was a balanced game between two heavyweights but the best chances fell to the U.S. and had it not been for Nadine Angerer the United States would have gone in at the break leading. Morgan was a huge threat to the German goal and earned a penalty when German defender Annike Krahn cut across and blocked Morgan to give away the penalty which Captain America Carli Lloyd herself scored to give the U.S. the lead. Substitute Kelley O’Hara scored the 2nd late into the game ensuring the U.S. made their 2nd World Cup final in a row.
3 in a row.
On July 5th the U.S. met a familiar face in Japan for the final of the 2015 World Cup. This was the 3rd meeting between the two in 4 years with the previous meeting being in the final of the 2012 London Olympics. The U.S. were out for revenge after suffering heartache at the hands of Japan 4 years earlier in Germany. The U.S. knew that they would have to take all their chances or risk missing out on the World Cup again and thats exactly what the U.S. did. It took the U.S. just 3 minutes to take the lead when a Megan Rapinoe corner was met by Carli Lloyd who gave the U.S. a dream start. By the 16th minute Carli Lloyd scored a hat-trick and the goal of the tournament shooting from the half way line putting the ball over Ayumi Kaihori into the Japanese net to give the U.S. their 4th of the game. The U.S. went on to win the game 5-2 and finally got their hands on the World Cup after waiting 14 years since winning the tournament on home soil in 1999.
New Year, New Challenge.
In 2015 it was announced that the Western New York Flash would be rebranded and relocated to North Carolina after the 2016 season. In the same year it was announced that Orlando would be getting a NWSL team called the Orlando Pride. Coming from a family of New Yorkers it was a no brainer that I would support the Flash. In 2005 most of my family moved from New York to Orlando Florida so when it was announced the Flash would be no more and that Orlando would be getting a team I knew the Pride would be my new team. In 2015 Morgan was traded by the Thorns in exchange for the Prides number 1 draft pick. On February 17th 2016, Alex Morgan made her debut with the Orlando Pride away against her former team the Portland Thorns. Due to the 2016 Rio Olympics Morgan made just 15 appearances for Orlando scoring 4 goals.
Rio 2016.
The U.S. kicked off their Olympic title defence on August 3rd against New Zealand opening their campaign with a 2-0 victory with goals from Carli Lloyd and Alex Morgan. The world champions entered the tournament as favorites and qualified first from their group with 7 points ahead of France on 6 points. The quarter finals threw up some classic match up’s but none were bigger than the United States vs Sweden. This match up could have easily been a final match, the U.S. came into this game as favorites and took the game to Sweden from the offset. The U.S. should have ended the game within 90 minutes but Hedvig Lindahl was Sweden’s rescuer on the day. The U.S. saw themselves fall behind in the 60th minute with a goal by Swedish substitute Emma Blackstenius but on the 77th it was Alex Morgan who drew the U.S. level with a half volley after an error by Samuelsson. After 64% possession, 12 corners to 3 and a total of 26 shots to Sweden’s 3 it all came down to a shootout in which Sweden went on to win 3-4. For the first time ever since women’s soccer/football was introduced at the Olympics the U.S. would not medal.
In 2017 Alex Morgan signed a 6 month loan deal with Olympique Lyon and made her debut on January 14th 2017. Morgan enjoyed some amazing moments while at Lyon including scoring 3 goals in the quarter finals of the French Cup against Rodez and 4 goals in the semi finals against Hénin-Beaumont. Morgan went on to score 12 goals in 16 appearances for Lyon and won the French league, the Coupe de France and the UEFA Women’s Champions League.
Alex Morgan returned to Orlando and made her return on July 1st 2017 against the Chicago Red Stars. Alex went on to score 9 goals in 14 appearances for Orlando. The Pride finished in their highest ever position of 3rd in the NWSL regular season but unfortunately were beaten 4-1 in the playoff Semi Finals to eventual Champions the Portland Thorns. In 2017 Morgan opted to terminate her option to extend at Lyon and instead decided to return to the Pride for the start of the 2018 season. Fan’s expected the Pride to go a step further in 2018 especially after bringing in reinforcements such as highly rated Shelina Zadorsky from the Washington Spirit, unfortunately the Pride were unable to to deliver finishing 7th in the table winning 8, drawing 6 and losing 10 resulting in Pride coach Tom Sermanni leaving by mutual agreement.
In October 2018 the U.S. comfortably qualified for the 2019 World Cup after a successful qualifying campaign beating Canada 2-0 in the final with Lavelle and Morgan getting the goals for the U.S. in Texas. Morgan won the tournaments golden boot after finishing on 7 goals in 5 games during the qualifiers.
Title Defence.
After beating Spain and losing to France in January 2019 the pressure was on the U.S. to successfully defend their title. Many said that the U.S. were in crisis with many fans asking for Jill Ellis to be fired less than 6 months before the start of the competition. Many believed that losing to France in a friendly the year of a World Cup was a good omen because back in 2015 the U.S. fell 2-0 to France in a friendly in Lorient and went on to lift the World Cup in Vancouver Canada.
The U.S. started their World Cup title defence against Thailand in Reims and ran out 13-0 winners with Alex Morgan scoring 5 goals in the opening game. The U.S. won their next two group games by 2-0 against Sweden and 3-0 against Chile to qualify for the round of 16. Next in line to dethrone the U.S. was Spain who made the U.S. work hard for the victory, but went on to win the game 2-1 thanks to two Megan Rapinoe penalties. On June 28th the World Champion’s took on one of the tournament favorites in hosts France in Paris. The U.S. took the lead in the 5th minute through a Megan Rapinoe free kick and then doubled their lead through a Rapinoe penalty in the 2nd half. The French cut the USWNT’s lead down to 1 with a Wendy Renard header in the 81st minute but the U.S. went on to book their place in the semi finals after a 2-1 victory over the home nation.
On July 2nd the World Champion’s took on England in the World Cup Semi Finals which had all the makings of a classic. The game was a rollercoaster ride for both sets of fan’s and for the neutrals. The U.S. started the game the strongest of the two and after some brilliant goalkeeping by Carly Telford the U.S. were finally able to take the lead through a Christen Press header who rose above a sleeping Lucy Bronze and Jill Scott to head the ball into Telford’s top right hand corner and give the Champion’s the lead. It took England just 9 minutes to get back into the game, after a wonderful cross by Beth Mead from the left to find Ellen White who turned in the cross with her right foot to draw England Level. After just 7 passes from the back, Horan crossed into the England box from the left and it was birthday girl Alex Morgan who rose above Demi Stokes to head the U.S. back into the lead. In the 78th England were award what seemed a soft penalty after Becky Sauerbrunn and Ellen White came together in the area but the penalty should have never come because in the lead up to the penalty Jade Moore came in strong to foul Sammy Mewis followed by Millie Bright deliberately kicked the ball at a floored Mewis. Up stepped the always reliable Steph Houghton to take the spot kick for England but Alyssa Naeher guessed right to keep the score at 2-1 and helping the U.S. advance to their 3rd World Cup Final in a row.
At 30 years of age Morgan took part in her 3rd World Cup final in a row taking on European Champions the Netherlands on July 7th 2019. The U.S. started the final the strongest of the two teams as the Netherlands seemed to come out with a plan to be physical, play defensive and try to catch the U.S. on the counter. Alex Morgan enjoyed a lively final and was involved in lots of the action and should have gotten a penalty after being nudged by Dominique Janssen in the box and she hit the post after her effort was saved by Veenendaal’s foot.
The U.S. had to wait until the 57th minute for their breakthrough after wonderful link up play between Pride team mates Ali Krieger and Alex Morgan lead to Morgan being a victim of a high challenge by Stefane van Der Gragt who kicked Morgan in the back of her right shoulder. After much debate and consultation with VAR the U.S. were awarded a penalty which Megan Rapinoe converted to give the U.S. a well deserved lead. 9 minutes later a wonderful solo run and goal by Rose Lavelle extended the champion’s lead. The game finished at 2-0 as the U.S.A successfully defended their title winning their 4th World Cup overall and giving Morgan her 2nd World title.
Alex Morgan picked up the silver boot after scoring 6 goals in 7 matches with 3 assists. In October 2019 Alex Morgan announced that she and husband Servando Carrasco were expecting their first child but Morgan vowed to be back in time for the 2019 Olympics in Tokyo. Due to the events of 2020 the Olympics was postponed until 2021. The NWSL brought soccer back with the Challenge Cup but unfortunately the Orlando Pride had to withdraw due to positive Covid cases within the team. In early July teams in the Barclays Women’s Super League and Championship returned to training and it was announced that the Super League would be returning on the weekend of September 5th/6th.
On September 12th 2020, Tottenham Hotspur announced the loan signing of USWNT and Orlando Pride forward Alex Morgan for the 2020-21 season.
Alex Morgan knew what she wanted from a young age and has proved that with hard work and dedication dreams can come true.
Alex Morgan has gone on to win 10 major honors for the club and her Country. The 2011 WPS Championship, the 2012 Olympic Gold medal, 2013, NWSL Championship, the 2014 CONCACAF Women’s Championship, the 2015 Women’s World Cup, the 2016-17 Division 1 Féminine, the 2016-17 Coupe de France, the 2016-17 UEFA Women’s Champions League, the 2018 CONCACAF Women’s Championship and the 2019 Women’s World Cup. Alex has scored a total of 107 goals in 169 appearances for the U.S. and is still only 31 years of age. So what can Spurs fans expect from our new number 13? well below is a little hype video to get y’all excited for Alex’s debut.
COME ON YOU SPURS!
Women's Soccer Fans 