CHESTER, Pa. — Everywhere fans turned on Thursday at Subaru Park, there were reminders of Alex Morgan’s illustrious United States national team career, from the eponymous pink pre-wrap headband station outside the gates to a Morgan bobblehead handed out to the first couple thousand fans through the gate.
U.S. Soccer honored the career of Morgan on Thursday as the USWNT faced Portugal at the same stadium where Morgan scored the first of her 123 international goals, which ranks fifth in program history. She scored her first goal in the same stadium in 2010.
Morgan retired last year as a two-time World Cup champion and Olympic gold medalist.
“You can’t go anywhere in this country without them talking about Alex Morgan, and I think the sport should show a lot of gratitude to that, because it’s important for our players to be recognizable,” USWNT head coach Emma Hayes said the day before the match. “She is, without question, in recent times, one of the most recognizable faces in our sport.”
Former teammates Abby Wambach, Megan Rapinoe, Ali Krieger and Kelley O’Hara were among those in attendance for Morgan’s ceremony before the match. Forward Trinity Rodman, who missed this training camp due to a sprained MCL, was also in attendance on the sideline before the match to support Morgan.
U.S. Soccer president Cindy Parlow Cone and federation CEO JT Batson presented Morgan, flanked by her family, with flowers and a framed jersey with the No. 224, representing her number of appearances for the team.
“There was nothing she didn’t achieve,” Hayes said. “She was a player that epitomized everything that this program is about. She’s an unbelievable credit to her family, because her drive, her desire, her determination to prove herself at the highest level is second to none.”
Prior to the match, the videoboard in the stadium ran a recording of current, younger USWNT players answering trivia about Morgan’s career before sharing what the former forward meant to them and the team.
“She has meant so much to me and the game,” USWNT forward Alyssa Thompson said Wednesday before practice at Subaru Park. “She’s made the game better. I feel like I wouldn’t be in the position I’m in right now if it weren’t for the players that came before me — especially Alex — and them fighting for equality and equal pay.
“I just want to continue her legacy, but thinking about what she did on the field is something that can’t be replicated, which is really cool.”
Last month, the San Diego Wave retired Morgan’s No. 13 jersey. Morgan ended her club career there and made San Diego a home for her family. She became a minority investor in the Wave earlier this year.
A second video tribute to Morgan at halftime Thursday ended with her daughter, Charlie, saying, “Good night, we out.”
Despite the celebrations in honor of Morgan, Portugal pulled off a surprise win over the U.S., coming back from a goal down to win 2-1.
