It was a family affair for Alex Morgan as she prepared to say “see you later” to fans, and to the game she’s played professionally for the last 15 years.
Morgan played her final game with the San Diego Wave on Sunday as they took on the North Carolina Courage. But before the game, she posed for photos with her 4-year-old daughter, Charlie, who sported a matching orange, pink and turquoise San Diego Wave jersey with her mom.
The mother-daughter duo stepped onto the pitch together at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego and joined in on the national anthem.
They shared emotional moments, too, as Morgan gave her daughter a forehead kiss and Charlie also gave her mom’s baby bump a kiss.
Morgan announced her retirement on Sept. 5. In an emotional and lengthy Instagram reel, she said her decision to retire was “a long time coming” but also highlighted the growth of professional women’s soccer over the years.
"Charlie came up to me the other day and said that when she grows up, she wants to be a soccer player. And it just made me, like immensely proud," the former U.S. women’s national team captain said. "Not because I wish for her to become a soccer player when she grows up, but because a pathway exists that even a 4-year-old can see now. 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."
During her historic career, Morgan won two World Cups and two Olympic medals, including 2012’s Team USA gold medal and 2020’s bronze medal. She also helped fight for equal pay for the women’s national team, which resulted in a historic agreement in 2022 that gave the women’s national team the same pay as the men’s national team.
Morgan and her husband, former pro soccer player Servando Carrasco, are expecting a second child.
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