Alexandra Morgan Carrasco (born Alexandra Patricia Morgan; July 2, 1989) is an American former professional soccer player. She played in four editions of the FIFA Women's World Cup with the United States national team, winning in 2015 and 2019, and finishing second in 2011. She co-captained the national team with Carli Lloyd and Megan Rapinoe from 2018 to 2020, and with Lindsey Horan in 2023. In 2012, Morgan and the U.S. team won the gold medal at the Summer Olympics, and Morgan registered 28 goals and 21 assists, becoming the second American woman after Mia Hamm to register 20 goals and 20 assists in a calendar year. She was named U.S. Soccer Female Athlete of the Year for 2012 and was a FIFA World Player of the Year finalist. Morgan was ranked by Time as the top-paid American female soccer player in 2015, largely due to her numerous endorsement deals.
At the professional level, Morgan was drafted number one overall in the 2011 Women's Professional Soccer Draft by the Western New York Flash. After helping the Flash win the league championship, she joined Portland Thorns FC in the inaugural season of the National Women's Soccer League. Morgan and the Thorns won the 2013 league championship before she was traded to Orlando Pride. In 2017, she signed with the French club Lyon, where she won the continental European treble, including the UEFA Women's Champions League. While playing for San Diego Wave FC in 2022, Morgan received the NWSL Golden Boot as the league's top scorer, and helped the team win the NWSL Shield the following season.
Off the field, Morgan teamed with Simon & Schuster to write The Kicks, a children's book series about four soccer players. The first book in the series, Saving the Team, debuted at number seven on The New York Times Best Seller list in May 2013. A film starring Morgan, Alex & Me, was released in 2018. Morgan was named one of Time's 100 Most Influential People in 2019 and 2022. She retired from soccer in 2024.
Early life Morgan was born to Pamela and Michael Morgan on July 2, 1989, in San Dimas, California, a suburb of Los Angeles. She was raised with her two older sisters, Jennifer and Jeri, in nearby Diamond Bar. She played multiple sports growing up and began playing soccer at an early age with the American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO). Her father was one of her first coaches. She began playing club soccer at age 14 when she joined Cypress Elite. With Cypress, she won the Coast Soccer League (CSL) under-16 championship and placed third at the under-19 level.
Morgan played soccer at Diamond Bar High School, where she was known for her speed and sprinting ability. She was a three-time all-league pick and was named All-American by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA). She also played for Olympic Development Program (ODP) regional and state teams. She said ODP was crucial to her development as a player, due to her late entry into club soccer.
College career Morgan attended University of California, Berkeley, where she played for the California Golden Bears from 2007 to 2010. She led the Golden Bears in scoring during her first and fourth seasons. During a match against Stanford in the second round of the 2007 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship, Morgan scored an equalizer with less than two minutes left in regulation time, resulting in a 1–1 draw. The Golden Bears were ultimately defeated during a penalty shootout. Morgan helped the Golden Bears reach the NCAA Tournament four years in a row, advancing to the second round twice. In her junior year, she was a finalist for the Hermann Trophy and the Honda Sports Award. Morgan finished her college career ranked third all-time in goals scored (45) and points (106) for Berkeley. She graduated one semester early, with a degree in Political Economy.
Club career
2011: Western New York Flash
On January 14, 2011, Morgan was the first overall pick in the 2011 Women's Professional Soccer Draft by the Western New York Flash. She scored her first goal for the Flash during their 3–0 win over the Atlanta Beat on May 1, 2011. During the 2011 season, she played in 14 matches and scored four goals. The club won the regular season title and the 2011 WPS Championship title.
2012: Seattle Sounders Women After the WPS suspended operations in early 2012 due to legal and financial difficulties, Morgan joined her national teammates Hope Solo, Sydney Leroux, Megan Rapinoe and Stephanie Cox on the Seattle Sounders Women for the 2012 season. Morgan said she was excited to play in Seattle because of its passionate soccer fans. Due to her national team commitments and preparation for the 2012 Summer Olympics, Morgan made only three regular-season appearances for the club, scoring two goals and serving two assists. During the season, the Sounders sold out nine of their ten home matches at the 4,500-capacity Starfire Stadium. Average attendance during the 2012 season for the Sounders Women was four times higher than that of the next closest team.
2013–2015: Portland Thorns FC
In January 2013, Morgan joined Portland Thorns FC for the inaugural season of the National Women's Soccer League via the NWSL Player Allocation. She scored her first goal for the Thorns on April 21 as they achieved a 2–1 victory over Seattle Reign FC. With a total of eight goals and five assists during the regular season, Morgan was the team's joint scoring leader with Christine Sinclair. The Thorns finished third in the league during the regular season, then captured the championship title by defeating Western New York Flash 2–0, with Morgan assisting on the second goal. Morgan was named to the NWSL Second XI on August 28.
During the 2014 season, Morgan scored six goals in her 15 appearances for the Thorns. The club again finished third during the regular season, but was eliminated during the playoffs. During the 2015 season, Morgan made only four appearances for the Thorns due to her national team commitments at the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup. She scored one goal during a 3–3 draw against the Washington Spirit on August 31. The Thorns finished in sixth place during the regular season with a record.
2016: Orlando Pride On October 26, 2015, it was announced that the Thorns had traded Morgan, along with her teammate Kaylyn Kyle, to the expansion team Orlando Pride in exchange for the Pride's number one picks in the 2015 NWSL Expansion Draft and 2016 NWSL College Draft as well as an international roster spot for the 2016 and 2017 seasons. Morgan scored four goals in her 15 appearances for the Pride. The club finished in ninth place during the regular season with a record.
2017: Lyon
On January 5, 2017, Morgan signed with Division 1 Féminine club Olympique Lyonnais (Lyon) for a reported $33,000 per month. The six-month contract included a mutual option for an additional season. Morgan made her 2016–17 debut on January 14 during a 3–0 win against En Avant de Guingamp, and recorded two assists. On May 7, she scored two goals during her team's 9–0 win over ASJ Soyaux, after which Lyon was named league champions for the eleventh consecutive season. Morgan scored five goals in her eight appearances during the regular season.
On March 12, Morgan scored a hat-trick against Rodez to lead Lyon to a 6–0 win and advance to the semi-finals of the French Cup. She scored four goals and recorded two assists during the semi-final against Hénin-Beaumont, with three of the four occurring within ten minutes. Lyon won the Cup after a penalty shootout on May 19. Morgan did not play during the French Cup final due to a lingering hamstring injury suffered during a match against Paris Saint-Germain.
Morgan made her 2016–17 UEFA Women's Champions League debut in the quarterfinals on March 23 during Lyon's 2–0 win over VfL Wolfsburg. On June 1, she started in the 2017 UEFA Women's Champions League Final but was substituted off after 23 minutes due to the hamstring injury. Lyon won the match after a penalty shootout.
2017–2020: Return to Orlando
Following the Champions League Final, the Pride announced Morgan's addition to their 2017 roster. After recovering from her hamstring injury, Morgan made her competitive return for the Pride on July 1 against the Chicago Red Stars. She scored nine goals in fourteen games in 2017, and the team achieved an record. At the conclusion of the season, Morgan was named to the league's 2017 Second XI.
Even though her contract with Lyon allowed her to return in 2018, Morgan announced in September 2017 that she would end the contract early and stay with the Pride for the 2018 season. The team failed to match the success of 2017, finishing seventh out of nine teams in the league with a record of . Morgan played in nineteen games for the Pride, contributing five goals over the course of the season. She spent most of the 2019 season training and playing with the U.S. national team, and finished the season injured. She played in six games for the Pride in 2019 and failed to score.
2020: Tottenham Hotspur On September 12, 2020, Morgan signed with the English FA Women's Super League team Tottenham Hotspur. The contract reportedly ran from September through December 2020, with an option to extend the deal through May 2021 for the end of the 2020–21 FA WSL season. Morgan had not played since August 2019 and had given birth in May 2020, and it took her until November 7 to make her debut for the Spurs. She scored her first goal for the club on December 6, a penalty kick in a 3–1 victory over Brighton & Hove Albion. The following week, Morgan scored another penalty as the Spurs defeated Aston Villa 3–1. On December 21, Tottenham announced that Morgan would end her contract with the club and return to the United States.
2021: Return to Orlando Morgan returned to Orlando Pride ahead of the 2021 season, although she missed the start of the 2021 NWSL Challenge Cup while playing international friendlies against Sweden and France. On April 21, she served an assist on the only goal in a 1–0 Challenge Cup win over Washington Spirit. She became the first player in league history to score in each of the first four games of the regular season, and in May she was named NWSL Player of the Month for the second time in her career.
2022–2024: San Diego Wave FC
On December 13, 2021, the expansion team San Diego Wave FC announced Morgan's signing. Orlando received a record $275,000 in allocation money and Angharad James in return.
Morgan scored a career-high 15 goals (including five from penalty kicks) in 17 games for the Wave during the 2022 regular season. Her scoring tally won her the NWSL Golden Boot. She scored all four goals in a 4–0 win over Gotham FC on May 7, becoming the third NWSL player to score four goals in a game after Sam Kerr and Kristen Hamilton. The Wave became the first expansion team to qualify for the playoffs, losing to eventual champion Portland Thorns in the semifinals.
The following season, Morgan led the Wave to an 11–4–7 record and the NWSL Shield as the top team of the 2023 regular-season standings. She scored on the final matchday of the season in a 2–0 win over Racing Louisville, pushing the Wave two points ahead of the Thorns. The Wave lost in their first playoff game to the Seattle Reign. Morgan recorded seven goals in total for the Wave, tied for 5th most in the league that season.