One of the greatest soccer players of all time officially hung up her boots on Sunday.
In her 150th NWSL match, Alex Morgan symbolically removed her equipment in the center circle of Snapdragon Stadium in the 13th minute — the number she has worn on her back her entire career — marking a transitional era for the United States women’s national team as she passes the torch to the next generation of American superstars with her timely exit.
“I feel like I did everything that I could have. I left everything on the field. I did everything I ever wanted to do and more,” Morgan proclaimed. “With this decision, I feel so at peace because I am ready to start a family. I am ready to hang up the boots and allow the next generation to flourish and just relish in the spotlight.”
Fellow Wave teammates Naomi Grima, Jaedyn Shaw, and Melanie Barcenas are three of those stars of the future who must be prepared to not only take over as the faces of San Diego Wave but also three of the prominent pieces in the national team for years to come. Girma is already arguably the best defender in the world at 24, Shaw has scored seven goals in her 16 USWNT caps at 19, and Barcenas, although yet to earn a call-up to the full national team at such a young age, is potentially the future of the team at 16 years old.
“That’s just amazing to be able to share the field with someone you idolized growing up and just knowing she played a big part in the reason why I’m even able to step up this field today with all these amazing women,” Barcenas beamed. “It’s just really an honor and a privilege to be able to get one last game with her tonight.”
As a fellow USWNT legend nearing the end of her career, Christen Press can empathize with Morgan while training with 19-year-old rising USWNT star Alyssa Thompson each day at Angel City FC.
“I was particularly excited when Alyssa became my teammate because she’s such a talented player and I think having that connection and relationship makes us all better on the field,” Press shared. “It’s also just a joy to watch someone who has a lot of room for growth, and these relationships I think just really benefit her and bring us all a lot of fun.”
From the youth contingent, Trinity Rodman confirmed the outstanding notion of a passing of the torch. The “Triple Espresso” combination of Rodman alongside Sophia Smith and Mallory Swanson in the USWNT front three going forward will be on their own, without the assistance of the last generation any longer and they are ready.
“You can say she’s changed the game of soccer but it’s so much more than that. She’s changed the world in such an amazing way with how many people that she can touch,” Rodman said. “She’ll never get enough credit for everything she’s changed in the sport and outside of the sport. For me, I’ve just looked up to her. Me and Soph[ia Smith] were just talking about it after the game. It’s like she’s our mom and we’re like ‘bye!” The training wheels are coming off and it’s passing the torch again but in my head, Alex Morgan is never going to retire but now that it’s real it’s honestly wild.”
Morgan ends her illustrious 15-year national team career with 224 USWNT caps, 176 USWNT goal contributions (5th all-time), 123 USWNT goals (5th all-time), two World Cup titles, and an Olympic gold medal. Most incredibly, in the 86 matches in which Morgan has scored, the USWNT has never lost (76-0-10).
But her impact can be best seen in the 26,516 fans who showed up in San Diego to celebrate Morgan one last time, many of which were young boys and girls with handwritten signs displaying their affection for their idol or wearing her jersey just as Barcenas once had.
“It’s just so incredible to be able to see the 26,000 out here tonight and week in and week out, just so many little girls, little boys, showing up and wanting to be the next Alex Morgan, Naomi Girma, Melanie Barcenas. They’re creating a dream and a passion, an inspiration, out of watching, this team, the national team, the NWSL in general.
“I’m really proud of the part I played and how it got to where it is today and how women’s soccer is so accessible nowadays. So my message to those young girls or boys waiting for their turn is just to work hard and believe in yourself.”
Perhaps Morgan’s daughter Charlie, who recently shared a dream to be a professional soccer player like her mother, or Charlie’s soon-to-be sibling will fulfill that dream themselves to carry on the family legacy.
One member of that American soccer legacy happens to be Wave’s current interim head coach and fellow United States national team legend Landon Donovan who echoed Morgan’s sentiment of progress while heaping praise on the woman he’s only known personally for a month in his postgame press conference.
“What she’s done for the sport of soccer in this country, for women’s sports, and for women, I think is unmatched,” Donovan said. “It’s been an honor, truly an honor, to see her and get to know her in person over the last four weeks.”
The fans in attendance also stuck with Donovan, causing one American icon to take in just how much another American icon has resonated in the hearts of fans around the world.
“When you looked at the stadium tonight and you saw what she’s meant to people, it’s hard to quantify what that means,” Donovan said. “I don’t think there will ever be another one like her.”
All that life-changing work for the past fifteen years has laid the stage for the training wheels Rodman refers to to finally come off with confidence, having already shown an ability to win with the new generation in the driver’s seat. Without Morgan at the recent 2024 Paris Olympics, the USWNT still claimed gold led by Triple Espresso, proving the pathway Morgan has worked her entire career to build has paid off in spades.
“I’m so proud of the U.S. national team going to France and winning gold. That to me is a proud moment because I see some of those players playing in that game. I see Trinity, Soph, Naomi, I see even Croix [Bethune] coming in and having a big part within the team when it was a little unexpected for some of these younger players who have been able to just focus on themselves, focus on their teams, get better every day, have a pathway to do that, have the resources to do that. That’s what I fought for.”
A champion in the fight for equal pay in the women’s game, leading to a “butterfly effect throughout women’s soccer globally that is irreversible” as Morgan adeptly proclaimed herself, there is no understating the impact of a player who does not only transcend women’s soccer but transcends sport altogether.
Here’s to you, Alex. You leave the game so much better than you found it.
An AI could never…
Seriously though, the “Triple Espresso” is going to be a lot of fun to watch, but seeing Morgan and Wambach do there thing is something we’ll miss.