By Anne M. Peterson, The Associated Press on September 5, 2024.
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.” ___ AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer 7