Soccer Great Alex Morgan Tells Why Now Was Time to End Storied Career

In recent years, much of soccer star Alex Morgan’s focus has been on motherhood — continuing to play as a mom and introducing her daughter to strong, confident women.

Motherhood also led to her decision this week to retire as a professional player.

San Diego Wave FC will celebrate Morgan’s storied career during the club’s home match at 5 p.m. Sunday against the North Carolina Courage. She predicts she’ll have “limited minutes’ in the game.

The match will be aired across CBS Sports Network, Paramount+, NWSL+, Prime Video, ESPN2 and locally on KUSI.

Olympic and World Cup champ Morgan learned of her pregnancy with her second child a few weeks ago. Since then, it has been an emotional roller coaster for her.

She shared the news with her teammates Wednesday, a day before announcing on social media.

“As unexpected as it was,” she told the media Friday morning, “I was so happy because this was what our family wanted — a couple of months sooner than expected. Nonetheless, we were overjoyed.”

What Morgan hasn’t revealed to the public until now is that she wanted a “big, chaotic family — not too big — like I had growing up.” (She has two older sisters.)

When the 2024 season started, she quietly determined this would probably be her last with the Wave, she said.

“I was not expecting to finish my career midseason,” she said at a Snapdragon Stadium press conference that included teammates in the back of the room.

“At the beginning of 2024,” said the 35-year-old. “I wanted to end this season going to playoffs, winning the championship. You have big hopes for your last year. Unfortunately, plans don’t always go as you draw that up.”

The misfortune is that the Wave has won only three matches this season. Morgan scored no goals this season, and the team sits in 12th place in the National Women’s Soccer League. In addition, Morgan was left off the national team for the Olympics.

Standing in the back of the room, present and presumed future star defender Naomi Girma asked Morgan the last question — about Morgan’s career highlights.

Morgan said she enjoyed seeing multiple fellow mothers playing on the national team, and about letting loose to show natural – not robotic athlete — emotions when celebrating championships.

Morgan said she didn’t regret this last year of play.

“As much as this year has been difficult mentally, physically with injuries, left off an important roster, it’s all part of the character that I have built to respond to things to overcome adversity,” she said.

As she consulted with her doctor and spoke with her husband about when it would be the safe point in her pregnancy to leave, Morgan decided it was now.

Calling it a “bittersweet way to end,” the star forward said: “It just felt like this was the right time. I felt like the last couple weeks, I sort of lost a step in playing. I felt like for my body and my mind and my heart that this was the right decision at this time.”

Family has always been important for her, she said, inspired to play soccer while watching her sisters play.

And the support system that she’s had with her siblings, parents and teammates has gotten her through the peaks and valleys of her career.

“I have not done anything in my career alone. Ever. I’ve always stood on the shoulders of my family, of my siblings, of my teammates at times,” Morgan said.

Morgan’s achievements include gold and bronze Olympic medals, 123 USWNT goals, World Cup Championships and gold and silver boot awards — for most goals in a season.

As much as Morgan has been celebrated for her accomplishments on the field, she has been a champion of players rights from equal pay to safe conditions for women on and off the field.

Abuse of players on some teams led to coach firings in recent years.

“I hope my legacy is that I pushed the game forward,” she said, “that I helped gain respect for the women’s game, helped other players and myself not only to be respected in the game, but have better resources, be protected, have player’s safety at the forefront.

In addition: “Have women soccer players just do that, play soccer and not to have worry about so many other things that we’ve … continually had to fight for.”

These efforts will also highlight her future.

Morgan said she has found her calling in “investing in women’s sports, doing as much as I can to give as big of a platform to women’s sports as possible.”

This will be accomplished through her philanthropic efforts, including the launch of the Alex Morgan Foundation in 2023, which focuses on supporting and empowering young girls in sports.

Morgan has also been a co-founder of Togethxr, a media platform that amplifies the stories of women in sports and beyond.

Morgan also is giving financial support to a new 3-on-3 women’s pro basketball league starting in January.

During the news conference, Morgan reminisced about beginning to play soccer at 5 and how she grew into being competitive, fearless, confident and eager to try everything.

Morgan now sees those traits in her 4-year-old daughter, Charlie Elena Carrasco, who accompanies her to her matches and plays with the ball on the pitch after competition ends.

She felt it was important for Charlie to be surrounded by fellow professional, strong women.

There’s been a special cheering section for Alex Morgan at Snapdragon Stadium, where young girls scream and shout in support of Morgan.

At a match last season, a girl seated in that area began shouting encouragement for Morgan as the player lay on the pitch injured.

The girl repeatedly urged Morgan to “shake it off” and resume playing.

Asked for advice to the upcoming young players, the soccer star said: “For a young girl, there is no secret to success. It’s all about hard work. It’s all about believing in yourself, betting on yourself and having that confidence.”

She also spoke about the necessity for a strong support system whether they be family members, friends or teammates.

“I want young girls to know that anything they set their minds to, they can achieve,” Morgan said. “And I am trying to help create a pathway for every young girl to see that and know if you see it, you can be it. . .. Do anything and everything. Do what you think is impossible.”

Progress in women’s sports in the past decades and particularly in the NWSL in the last five years has been “incredible,” Morgan said.

While she fought tears briefly when speaking about the disappointments of the last year, she feels comfortable bowing out after these improvements for players.

Speaking of sports equity, equal pay and protections for players in the recent bargaining agreement, she said, “The present of women’s soccer and the future are in such an amazing place where I have done everything that I needed to do.”

“We are more than fine,” she concluded. “We are great.”