San Diego, CA
Soccer Star Alex Morgan Adds Key to City to Titles, Awards Collected in Storied Career
San Diego leaders Thursday presented soccer star Alex Morgan with the key to the city, acknowledging her athletic contributions and advocacy for equal pay in women’s sports.
“Very few athletes rise to the level of world champion. Even fewer people change what future generations see as possible. Alex Morgan is both,” said City Council President Sean Elo-Rivera. “Thanks to her, young girls are growing up seeing and believing they can be professional athletes and all people are reminded that barriers are meant to be broken.”
He praised Morgan as a “trailblazer” who elevated “(this) beautiful game while raising the profile of U.S. Women’s soccer.” Mayor Todd Gloria called her “a true legend” who had inspired young girls, including his niece.
Gloria and Elo-Rivera, joined by council members Raul Campillo, Joe LaCava and Marni von Wilpert, presented the key to Morgan in a conference room where the former captain of the San Diego Wave also signed memorabilia for her hosts.
On top of her legendary soccer career, @alexmorgan13 has inspired an entire generation of women to push limits and strive for greatness. I joined @MayorToddGloria in delivering Alex a Key to the City and a Proclamation. Excited to see more great work from @AlexMorganFndn in SD! pic.twitter.com/DsKhvKXrTe
— Councilmember Marni von Wilpert (@marnivonwilpert) October 24, 2024
The San Diego City Council earlier proclaimed Sept. 8 as Alex Morgan Day in recognition of her final professional match with the Wave, at Snapdragon Stadium.
“What a ride it’s been,” Morgan told the crowd after the game, in which she played the first 15 minutes before removing her boots, hugging her teammates and walking off the pitch for the final time.
Morgan was acquired by the Wave before the club’s inaugural 2022 season. She scored 23 goals in 51 games for the team.
She scored 123 goals in 224 games with the U.S. national team, which she helped guide to two FIFA Women’s World Cup titles in 2015 and 2019 and an Olympic gold medal in 2012.
The Diamond Bar native played college soccer at Cal and was selected first in the 2011 draft by the Western New York Flash of the defunct Women’s Professional Soccer league. The club won a championship that same year in what turned out to be the league’s final season.
She joined the Portland Thorns in 2013 and helped lead it to a championship in the inaugural season of the National Women’s Soccer League. Morgan played with the Thorns through 2015 when she was traded to the expansion Orlando Pride.
She played in Florida from 2016-2021, interrupted by brief stints with the French first division team Lyon in 2017 and Tottenham Hotspur of England’s Women’s Super League in 2020.
Morgan last year launched the Alex Morgan Foundation, which is dedicated to “creating equity and opportunity on the field and off by supporting girls and women as they find their path in sport and in life,” according to a statement from the foundation.
City News Service contributed to this report.