How would you sum up the career of one of football’s most famous and decorated players in a single night?
This past Sunday, this summary took just 13 minutes.
Alex Morgan walked away from the game, the National Women’s Soccer League and her storied playing career on her own accord, stopping on the field in the 13th minute of the match to the roar of cheers and applause of a crowd of 26,516 at Snapdragon Stadium. Morgan, the most famous No. 13 in women’s soccer, announced last week that Sunday’s game would be her last. Morgan, 35, is pregnant of his second son.
Despite the heatwave, Morgan’s most diehard fans came to the stadium to cheer on their heroine, wearing her jersey and holding signs that read things like, “We’ll miss you” and “You can still make the place shine in your retirement” (a nod to lyrics by Morgan’s famous friend Taylor Swift).
One of those people carrying signs was 12-year-old Gianna Cano, a native of San Dimas, the same city where Morgan was born.
Gianna Cano, 12, holds a sign celebrating Alex Morgan and his final game at Snapdragon Stadium on Sept. 8, 2024. (Abby Hamblin/The San Diego Union-Tribune)
“Watching her, her journey, inspires me,” Cano said before the game. “For me, she’s a great role model for young girls, she inspires the next generation to see, for example, a girl from San Dimas, I could be like her.”
Morgan didn’t say anything during or before the game. Instead, she marked the end of her playing days with a few tears during a brief pregame ceremony and as she walked off the field for the last time.
The game itself, a 4-1 loss to the North Carolina Courage, mattered little.
Morgan thanked her family, friends and fans before walking onto the field at Snapdragon Stadium greeting the people who came to see her.
“I think she’s a legend,” said Alex Fuller, 13, who traveled from Sacramento for the game. “I did a story on her when I was in second grade, actually, and she changed girls soccer.”
Lotus Nogueria, 11, and her sister, Sky Nogueria, before a San Diego Wave game on Sept. 8, 2014. (Abby Hamblin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Lotus Nogueria, an 11-year-old from Newport Beach, carried an Alex Morgan Funko Pop! and an Alex Morgan action figure in her backpack during the game.
“She’s just magical,” Noguería said.
Noguería first met Morgan as a child in Brazil and became a fan there before moving to Newport Beach.
“I am very happy that she has created this new generation so that girls have the confidence to become professional footballers and want to do it,” said Noguería. “I play forward, like her.”
SAN D13 GOAT
Morgan’s fans showed up in colorful and sometimes bright outfits, with many wearing jerseys from different periods of her career, including U.S. women’s national team gear and some newer looks from her era as a player for the Wave.
The Wave announced it would hand out 15,000 Morgan posters to fans arriving for the game. The club also sold T-shirts with the words “SAN D13GOAT.” (GOAT means in English, the greatest of all time)
Morgan’s teammates wore the special jerseys earlier in the day, showing them off on social media, and also wore Morgan’s signature pink bandana in their hair.
AM13 & pink prewrap name a more iconic duo pic.twitter.com/ZbWy3L8Ca0
— San Diego Wave FC (@sandiegowavefc) September 8, 2024
The special ‘San Diego Sirens’ fan section of the stadium, in the 13th minute, raised a large banner that read: “For the club, the country, the community” with the number 13 in the middle.
The star treatment
KUSI, ESPN2, CBS Sports Network, Paramount+, NWSL+ and Prime Video filmed the game for cable and streaming viewers.
It was a fitting end for a player who was a part of the NWSL since its inception and a major source of increased attention for women’s soccer.
Locals watch
Earlier Sunday, before the start of play for the Wave, San Diego’s Melanie Barcenas posted a photo on Instagram of herself as a child wearing a Morgan jersey, writing that it was “truly an honor to have shared the field” with her.
Also representing San Diego, Olympic silver medalist in skateboarding Tom Schaar served as the game’s official Wavemaker, participating in a siren-sounding ceremony to kick off the game.
Original story:
‘She’s just so magical’: Fans say goodbye to Alex Morgan at Snapdragon Stadium
Originally Published: September 10, 2024 at 4:01 p.m.
