Alex Morgan says an emotional goodbye in the last game of her football career

Three days after announcing her retirement from soccer, US soccer icon Alex Morgan said an emotional goodbye during her final appearance with the NWSL’s San Diego Wave.

Morgan, 35, is pregnant with her second child and announced Thursday that Sunday’s Wave game against the North Carolina Courage will be the last of her professional soccer career.

Before the game, Morgan exited the tunnel at Snapdragon Stadium while holding her daughter Charlie’s hand. Fans greeted her with a standing ovation and signs in the stands reading “Thank you, Alex,” “Everyone’s watching Morgan,” and “I’m not crying, you’re crying.”

Morgan then hugged her teammates before a pre-game ceremony and was presented with a number 63 jersey to commemorate her 63rd games with the Wave.

Morgan then made her final brief appearance on the pitch as a player. With the score at 1-1, Morgan left the field in the 13th minute. She hugged her teammates again as the stands gave a standing ovation. She then unlaced her football boots and waved goodbye to her fans with tears in her eyes before leaving the field.

The moment capped a tremendous career as a club and college player and star of the U.S. Women’s National Team. Morgan, who was an honorable mention All-American in high school, was a finalist for the Hermann Trophy, which honors the best female college soccer player at Cal.

She joined the Portland Thorns in 2013 and led them to the NWSL championship title in the league’s inaugural season. She moved to the expanding Orlando Pride in 2017 and also played for European clubs Lyon and Tottenham Hotspur before joining the Wave in 2022. She played her last 63 games as a professional with San Diego.

She was a star of the USWNT and helped the USA to World Cup victories in 2015 and 2019. With the USWNT, she won Olympic gold in London in 2012 and bronze in Tokyo in 2021. She played 224 games for the USWNT and is the sport’s eighth-leading goalscorer of all time in international competitions with 123 goals.

She was and remains a passionate advocate for equal opportunity and equality in women’s sports and played a key role in advocating for equal pay for members of the USWNT and the USMNT.