Soccer star Alex Morgan retiring after Sunday's San Diego Wave match

SAN DIEGO — Alex Morgan, the transcendent women’s soccer player who became the face of San Diego Wave FC and an icon to girls in the United States and beyond, says she is retiring.

Morgan posted a video to X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday morning saying she will play one more match on Sunday before wrapping her career. San Diego hosts the North Carolina Courage at 5 p.m. inside Snapdragon Stadium.

Morgan, 35, also announced that she is pregnant with her second child. She and her husband Servando Carrasco, a San Diego native, have a 4-year-old daughter together.

“I had a feeling at the beginning of 2024, I felt in my heart and soul that this was the last season that I would play soccer,” she said. “Soccer has been a part of me for 30 years. it was one of the first things I ever loved. I gave everything to this sport, and what I got in return was more than I could have ever dreamed of.”

San Diego made Morgan the face of its NWSL franchise before playing its first game. In December 2021, the club traded an NWSL-record $275,000 to acquire Morgan, a Diamond Bar native who played collegiately at Cal. Morgan led the club with 15 goals in 17 matches during a stellar 2022 season. She logged seven goals and five assists in 2023, and the Wave won the NWSL Shield as the team with the best regular-season record in the league.

The 2024 season has been a letdown, both physically and in terms of production. Morgan missed significant time with an ankle injury, was left off the United States’ Olympic team for the Paris Games, and has watched the Wave (3-8-7) tumble to 12th place in the 14-team NWSL, prompting two separate coaching changes. Despite appearing in 12 matches and starting nine of them, Morgan has yet to score. She started and played 69 minutes in last weekend’s draw with the Washington Spirit.

Morgan’s struggles have done little to dim what has been a stellar career.

As a member of the United States Women’s National Team, Morgan scored more than 200 goals in 337 appearances and won two Women’s World Cups and an Olympic gold medal. She is the Wave’s all-time leader in goals (28) and assists (11). She has won the NWSL Championship, NWSL Shield, NWSL Challenge Cup and a Champions League title.

The Wave have 11 matches remaining in their season, only eight of which count toward the NWSL standings.

But for Morgan, Sunday will mark the end.

“I cannot wait to celebrate with you one last game,” she said. “It’s been a ride, and thank you.”