Alex Morgan had the ideal circumstance for a fairy tale conclusion to her career, but it was not meant to be. Only a few days prior to her announcement that she was expecting her first child and will be finishing her career following the match against the North Carolina Courage, Morgan made her San Diego Wave debut.
The 35-year-old, who had stated before the game that she would only be playing a limited amount of minutes, began the encounter at Snapdragon Stadium. Following a pregame ceremony to commemorate Morgan, the celebration was disrupted by the Courage, who took the lead through a header from Haley Hopkins after just four minutes.
Morgan was only expected to play a brief amount of time, but when the Wave were awarded a penalty after just ten minutes, she had the ideal opportunity to cap off the game with a goal. However, Morgan’s spot kick was too close to the goal, and Casey Murphy—who has spent years playing alongside Morgan on the U.S. women’s national team—made a simple stop to prevent the Wave from scoring.
After an incredible 15-year professional career, Morgan was taken out of the game and given one final opportunity to say goodbye three minutes later. After giving each of her colleagues a hug, the two-time World Cup champion took off her shoes and said a tearful goodbye to the San Diego crowd.
The Wave’s chances of making the playoffs were further diminished with the subsequent 4-1 loss. Though it wasn’t exactly the perfect farewell, Morgan’s place in history as an all-time great was assured long before she left the field.
