Alex Morgan
Alex Morgan was born on July 2nd, 1989 in San Dimas, California. From a young age she had a passion for all sports, but her passion for soccer outweighed everything else.
Alex Morgan
A Dream
At just 8 years old, she knew what she wanted to grow up to be and that was a professional soccer player. Many kids have dreams that never materialize, but for Alex Morgan she had her eyes set on greatness and nothing was going to stop her.
A Dream
Early Recognition
At the age of 14 she made her soccer debut when she joined the Cypress Elite club. It was a remarkable start and she helped her team to win the Coast Soccer League under-16 championship. Morgan placed third at the under-19 level the same year – an incredible feat for a 14-year-old.
Early Recognition
High School
Morgan attended Diamond Bar High School and there she made impressions on many influential soccer organizations. Particularly recognized by her speed and sprinting ability, all eyes were on her. The National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) named her “All-American” and she was recruited to play for the United States under-20 women’s national soccer team when she was just 17.
High School
College Days
When it came time to attend university, Morgan attended one of the best – Berkeley. There she carried her team, The California Golden Bears, to many victories. One notable game that goes down in her early soccer history was a second-round game against Stanford University. Berkeley was losing 1-0 until Morgan scored the perfect equalizer just two minutes before the final whistle.
College Days
The Youngest Sister
Not only was Alex the youngest woman on the US women’s national team, she was also the youngest of three girls at home. Her two sisters, Jennifer and Jeri are 6 and 4 years older than her, respectively. Alex joked about their competitive childhood, noting that “beating someone to us was just so sweet, even if it was just a family member.”
The Youngest Sister
Time In Madrid
What many people don’t know is that Alex Morgan is actually bilingual. She speaks English, of course, but she also speaks Spanish. She owes this to the time she spent studying in Madrid in 2009. The gift of a second language, especially Spanish would serve her well in her future.
Time In Madrid
First Goal
Morgan scored her first international goal when the U.S. team played Cuba during the 2008 CONCACAF Women’s U-20 Championship. Her coach was so impressed by her and felt confident to send her to the Under-20 World Cup in Chile.
First Goal
Beating North Korea
In 2008, Alex Morgan joined the under-20 squad that flew to Chile for the 2008 U-20 World Cup. She performed at a top level and scored 4 goals by the end of the competition. The final score against North Korea in the final was 2-1 to USA, with Morgan scoring the second goal for her team. She was also awarded the silver ball and the bronze shoe.
Beating North Korea
Runners-Up
In 2011, USA made it all the way to the FIFA World Cup finals and there they faced Japan. The game was a tough one that went all the way to a penalty shootout. By the end of the game, the Japanese team took first place by winning 3-1. As a substitute she scored the first goal for USA during the second half.
Runners-Up
The Olympics
USA made it to the Olympic Games in London in 2012 and worked their way to the finals against Japan. The loss against Japan just a year earlier was fresh in everyone’s minds. After defeating Canada in the semi-finals, the American team felt ready to recover their pride. USA led most of the game by two goals, eventually taking gold. By the end of the tournament Morgan had scored 3 goals. She was climbing the charts.
The Olympics
Making Headlines
2013 gave Morgan more than she could handle, but mostly for the best. First she received the CONCACAF 2013 Female Player of the Year award. Later she was named the youngest player of the US Soccer’s All-Time Women’s National Team Best XI. Later though, she would injure her ankle and rule herself unfit for an indefinite amount of time.
Making Headlines
Injury Strikes
Morgan recovered from her ankle injury, but then something else happened. In the spring of 2015, just a few weeks before the FIFA World Cup, Morgan sustained a knee injury. The injury presented more than just pain for the young striker, it threatened to remove her from the World Cup line-up that June.
Injury Strikes
The Big Win
Despite being injured, Morgan recovered enough to make the World Cup squad. She not only recovered, in fact she led her team to a decisive victory over USA’s biggest rival, Japan. The win was huge as it served as the revenge for the loss against Japan back in 2011. She and the team needed a well-deserved break following their massive win.
The Big Win
Baby Horse
Since Alex was the youngest player when she joined the U.S. national soccer team, her teammates adopted her under the name of “Baby Horse”. When they were asked why she received that name, they said it was because of her style of play which was fast, agile and energetic.
Baby Horse
Footballers
Morgan started dating Servando Carrasco when she was just a freshman at the University of California, Berkeley. They both shared the same interest in soccer, and each was a top player at the time. Carrasco currently plays for Orlando City as a midfielder.
Footballers
Getting Married
In 2014, Morgan married Servando Carrasco, Their wedding was held on New Year’s Eve of 2014 and the soccer couple tied the knot with friends, family and a collection of soccer stars.
Getting Married
Rowdy Disney Trip
In mid-2017 Alex Morgan, her husband and a group of friends all went to Disneyland for some time off. A drunk and rowdy incident of Alex shouting and drinking brought negative attention to the soccer star. Realizing her mistake, she quickly apologized for her actions and expressed that she “will learn from this make sure it does not happen again.”
Rowdy Disney Trip
Breaking Records
Leading up to the 2016 Rio De Janeiro Olympic Games, Morgan was on fire. In a qualifier game against Costa Rica, Morgan fired a ball into the back of the opposition’s net in a record time of 12 seconds – the fastest in the tournament’s history. She then put in another, securing a 5-0 win over the Costa Ricans.
Breaking Records
Rio Olympics
In 2016, everyone favored the Americans to win the tournament, but there was a surprise for everyone watching. Despite making it to the second round, Sweden put up a fight that the Americans weren’t ready for. After Morgan scored an important equalizer, the two teams went to penalties. But it was there that the Swedes took advantage and won the game 4-3.
Rio Olympics
Signing Into The Future
At the end of 2016, Alex Morgan decided to follow her heart and sign with French football club, Olympique Lyonnais. When asked about how she felt about the move, she simply explained, “I felt like I had to follow my gut, and my gut was telling me I needed to explore something to continue to help evolve myself as a player and challenge myself a little bit more.”
Signing Into The Future
The Kicks
In May 2013, Alex wrote and published her own book. The book series is called “The Kicks” and is intended for middle graders. When it first launched, it made it all the way up to 7th place on the New York Times Best Seller’s list for that tier. As you can imagine, the book is all about soccer, but it educates kids about the importance of personal empowerment, self-confidence and the advantages of teamwork. All of the qualities she writes about in the book, she displays on the field.
The Kicks
Equality
During an interview with Health magazine in 2016, Morgan explained that although FIFA and soccer in general have come a long way, there are still pockets of inequality. Part of that inequality is not just based on perceptions, but on actual evidence. “The issue of us having to play on artificial turf for the World Cup? That’s just proof to us that FIFA doesn’t see us as equals to the men. I feel like the best teams in the world deserve the best playing surfaces, and they deserve the fair pay for fair play,” she explained.
Equality
Key To The City
In 2016, her hometown of Diamond Bar awarded her a key to the city to pay tribute to her great achievements. She also turned out to be the first ever recipient of the city’s key, which was a huge honor for her. In return, she gave the city a shirt with her name, number and autograph on it.
Key To The City
Making The Cover
Alex made another record first for female athletes when she featured on the cover of FIFA 2016. The game itself had an almost life-like copy of the American soccer star, so much so that Alex herself was blown away when she saw her character.
Making The Cover
Endorsing Brands
Since Alex Morgan became such a sensation and inspiration to young girls and grown women alike, she has taken to product endorsements to help encourage healthy lifestyles. It’s not just the run of the mill sports brands who she endorses, it is also companies that promote healthy eating and living, which she supports.
Endorsing Brands
Morgan VS Nadal
During an interview, Morgan was asked which athlete she would like to compete against in any other sport other than soccer. Her answer was “Tennis is my favorite sport to watch other than soccer, so I would love to play against Rafael Nadal. It would really be amazing to just step on the court and play against him.” She continued, “I mean, maybe I’d ask him to take it easy on me!”
Morgan VS Nadal
Female Beckham
Alex Morgan has been noted for her beauty on many occasions, and although it seems flattering, she isn’t too thrilled about it. She wants to be seen as the athlete she is and not the pretty face she has. Her team captain and fellow teammate, Abby Wambach put it best when she said that Morgan is the face of female football. “I’d absolutely compare her to David Beckham in terms of her appeal.”
Female Beckham
Her Inspiration
When Morgan was posed with the question about who she finds inspiring to her, she had answers at the ready. “Taylor Swift, Jennifer Lawrence, Reese Witherspoon, and Jessica Alba are all women who have been able to break barriers and stand up for themselves and gender equality.” But what Alex Morgan might not realize, is that she herself is an inspiration.
Her Inspiration
Inspiring
Alex Morgan is a shining example of what it means to chase after one’s dreams, no matter what the circumstances might be. Today she gives children the inspiration they need to realize that no matter how great their dreams might be, they’re in arm’s length of where they stand.
Inspiring
