Alex Morgan has left a clear mark on American soccer both on the field and off it. She built a strong career and pushed for fair treatment of women in the sport.
Born on July 2, 1989, in San Dimas, California, Alex Morgan tried many sports as a child and began focusing on soccer in her teens.
She played for the University of California, Berkeley, where she quickly became the team’s top scorer in her first season.
In 2011 Morgan was the first player picked in the college draft by Western New York Flash, but the women’s league then folded and she spent time playing at a semi-professional level with Seattle Sounders Women.
When the National Women’s Soccer League began in 2013, Morgan joined Portland Thorns FC and helped the team win the league title that year.
She later moved to Orlando Pride, had a short spell with Olympique Lyonnais in France where she won trophies, and returned to Orlando before joining San Diego Wave, where she scored 15 goals in her first season with the club.
Morgan made her U.S. national team debut on March 31, 2010, and scored her first international goal that same year.
She was an important player in the U.S. teams that won the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2015 and 2019, and she also played at the 2011 World Cup and at multiple Olympic tournaments.
Off the field, Morgan has worked to improve pay and conditions for women athletes. She joined other players in a gender-discrimination complaint against the national federation and helped push for a settlement that led to equal pay in 2022.
She also fought for better rules for mothers in the sport, arranging for her daughter to travel with her team and pressing clubs to support players who are parents. Her actions have helped set new standards for female athletes and influenced changes that aim to make the sport fairer for future players.
