Two-time Women's World Cup champion Alex Morgan announced she is pregnant with her second child and is retiring from professional soccer.
The 35-year-old Morgan will play her final match with her club team, the San Diego Wave of the National Women's Soccer League, on Sunday at Snapdragon Stadium.
In addition to World Cup titles in 2015 and 2019, Morgan also won a gold medal with the United States at the 2012 London Olympics. She first joined the national team in 2009.
“I grew up on this team, it was so much more than soccer,” Morgan said in a statement. “It was the friendships and the unwavering respect and support among each other, the relentless push for global investment in women’s sports, and the pivotal moments of success both on and off the field. I am so incredibly honored to have borrowed the crest for more than 15 years. I learned so much about myself in that time and so much of that is a credit to my teammates and our fans. I feel immense pride in where this team is headed, and I will forever be a fan of the USWNT."
Morgan said soccer has been a part of her life for 30 years.
Accomplishments that she said helped shape and expand women's soccer.
"We're changing lives and the impact we have on the next generation is irreversible ... and I'm proud in the hand I had in making that happen," Morgan said.
"She's just a great human being. She fights for women's rights. She fights for equal pay. And she is a huge part of the San Diego community," said Amy Holmes with the San Diego Sirens, an independent supporter group of San Diego Wave Futbol Club.
"Choosing to come here and take a risk on a brand new team ... We're so grateful for that, and she has really ingrained herself in our community," Holmes said.
While Morgan’s retirement is bittersweet, Holmes says it brings new opportunities, "We'll miss her immensely on the field, and we hope she stays involved with the team. But it's definitely an opportunity, for you know the club, and also the national team, to bring in some youth and to bring in someone to fill those shoes. They have huge shoes to fill."
San Diego Wave FC will also be holding a celebration of Morgan’s career at their final home game on Nov. 3.
