After a spectacular 2018 campaign, USWNT forward Alex Morgan has been named the U.S. Soccer Female Athlete of the Year.

During a year in which the U.S. compiled an 18-0-2 record, Morgan was the offensive star, scoring 18 goals in the 19 games she played, her second highest total in a calendar year for the national team.

This is the second time time Morgan has taken home the award, previously winning in 2012 after a 28-goal, 21-assist year while helping the U.S. win the Olympic gold medal.

U.S. Defeats Rival Canada, Captures CONCACAF Championship

During the 2018 season, Morgan helped the U.S. win the SheBelieves Cup in March, the Tournament of Nations in August and the CONCACAF Women’s Championship title in October, booking a spot in the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

Morgan was the top goal scorer in the Tournament of Nations, registering a hat trick against Japan, the fourth of her international career, while also scoring against Brazil. In the CONCACAF Women’s Championship she scored seven goals in four matches, taking home the Golden Boot and being named to the tournament’s Best XI Team. Her two-goal game in the semifinal against Jamaica secured the U.S.’s spot in the World Cup, and she added a clinching-goal in the final against Canada.

During the year, Morgan scored goals against nine different countries, tallying against Denmark, Mexico, China PR, Japan, Brazil, Trinidad & Tobago, Jamaica, Canada and Scotland. She had six multi-goal games during the year, moving into third place in U.S. history in multi-goal outings, tied with Michelle Akers (26) and trailing only Mia Hamm (38) and Abby Wambach (45). She also tallied three assists for the USWNT to along with her 18 goals.

After leading the U.S. in goals in 2017, Morgan has now scored 25 goals in 26 games for the U.S., dating back to the final match of the 2017 Tournament of Nations against Japan. With the 2018 year now concluded, she sits at 98 career goals, just two shy of becoming the seventh player to hit the mark in the USWNT’s history.

For her club team, the Orlando Pride of the NWSL, Morgan scored five goals and added two assists in 1,500 minutes played.

U.S. Young Player of the Year Announced

20 year-old Stanford junior Tierna Davidson was also honored on Friday, winning the U.S. Soccer Young Female Player of the Year award.
She registered her first cap at age 19 in the first USWNT match of the year, a 5-1 victory over Denmark. She became the third teenager since 2013 to earn their first U.S. cap.

She helped the U.S. win the SheBelieves Cup in March, playing every minute of the three games against Germany, France and England.

She also started all 12 games she played in 2018, playing 1,049 minutes and tallying an assist against Denmark and her first career goal against Chile on August 31.

2019 Schedule Released

In other USWNT news, U.S. Soccer announced on Wednesday the USWNT schedule prior to next summer’s World Cup. The U.S. will begin the year in Europe on Jan 19, taking on 2019 World Cup host France and then travel to Spain for a matchup on January 22. After that, the U.S. will play eight games in the U.S., traveling to eight cities before the World Cup. They will first take on Japan, England and Brazil in the 2019 SheBelieves Cup before playing friendlies against Australia, Belgium, South Africa, Mexico and a to be determined opponent. The U.S. will then travel to France with the World Cup set to begin on Friday, June 7.

What’s Next

Up next, the USWNT awaits the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup Draw, when the U.S. will learn who they will take on in the group stage. The event is scheduled for tomorrow and starts at 10 a.m. MT and can be seen on FS2.

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Alex Morgan, Tobin Heath Lead U.S. Past Jamaica, Punch Ticket To 2019 World Cup

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