Alex Morgan
By Tanvi Deokar
Early Life
Alex Morgan was born on July 2, 1989 (age 26), San Dimas, CA. She was born to Pamela S. and Michael T. Alex grew up with 2 older sister named Jeri and Jeni.
Starting Soccer
When Alex Morgan was young she would play all types of sports including soccer. She started playing club soccer when she was 14 when she joined Cypress Elite. With the club team, she won the Coast Soccer League (CSL) under-16 championship and placed third at the under-19 level. Morgan went to Diamond Bar High School where she was a three-time all-league pick and was named All-American by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. At school she was known for her speed and sprinting ability.
Next Step
Morgan played for Olympic Development Program (ODP) regional and state teams as well. At age 17, Morgan was called up to the United States under- 20 women's national team. While playing in a scrimmage against the men's junior national team, she endured an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury and did not play for the team again until April 2008.
College!!
Morgan attended UC Berkeley where she played for the California Golden Bears from 2007 to 2010.throughout her collegiate career, she led the Golden Bears in scoring and to the NCAA Tournament in each of her four years, advancing to the second round twice. After being named a candidate for the Hermann Trophy during her junior year, Morgan became the first California player to be named one of the top-three Hermann Trophy finalists. She was also one of four finalists for the Hondo Sports Award, given to the best overall candidate in each sport.
Portland Thorns FC, 2013–2015
On January 11, 2013, Morgan was one of three U.S. national team players to join the Portland Thorns FC for the inaugural season of the National Women's Soccer League. She scored her first goal for the Thorns during the team's home-opener at Jeld-Wen Field in front of 16,479 spectators helping her team defeat the Seattle Region FC 2–1.The club finished third during the regular season. On August 31, 2013, Portland captured the inaugural National Women’s Soccer League championship title after defeating regular season champions Western New York Flash 2–0. Morgan was named to the NWSL Best XI Second team on August 28.