Ending a nearly yearlong international scoring drought, San Diego Wave forward Alex Morgan netted a penalty kick Tuesday for the U.S. Women’s National Team.
Her goal came in a 5-0 victory over the Dominican Republic in a CONCACAF Gold Cup match at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson.
Morgan was called up Tuesday to replace forward Mia Fishel, who tore the anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee in training Feb. 19.
Entering the pitch in the second half, Morgan scored her 122nd international goal with a left-footed shot to the bottom right corner in the 92nd minute.
Before this week, her absence on the roster was noticeable — after taking part in the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2023.
Eighteen-year-old Olivia Moultrie scored twice for the U.S. — the third-youngest player in USWNT history to score multiple goals in a match. Lynn Williams also scored. Midge Purce made three assists.
Jenna Nighswonger, the reigning NWSL Rookie of the Year, scored a penalty goal in the 86th minute.
Other Wave players on the pitch in Carson were Abby Dahlkemper and Jaedyn Shaw.
Meanwhile, the Wave earned a 2-1 win over Bay FC in the first match of the Coachella Valley Invitational in Indio.
Forward Elyse Bennett scored in the 39th minute, assisted by Makenzy Doniak, and then midfielder Amirah Ali scored the game-winner in the 80th minute, with the assist from Bennett.
The Wave take on the Portland Thorns for their second and final match at Coachella on Saturday, Feb. 24 at 11:00 a.m.
Morgan has appeared in 215 matches for the USWNT, scoring 122 goals and adding 52 assists across her 15-year international career.
The forward ranks in the top 10 in USWNT history in goals, assists and multigoal games, while being named two-time U.S. Soccer Female Athlete of the Year (2012, 2018) and four-time CONCACAF Player of the Year (2013, 2016, 2017, 2018).
The rules regarding replacing players due to injury in the Gold Cup dictate that the replacement player must wear the same number as the player they are replacing, so Morgan wore Fishel’s No. 7 jersey instead of her usual No. 13.
The USA’s Gold Cup group will play all matches entirely at Dignity Health Sports Park. The USWNT faces Argentina on Friday and then finishes the first round against Mexico on Monday.
All of the USA’s games will kick off at 7:15 p.m. Tickets to matches are available here.
The top two finishers in each of the three Gold Cup groups along with the two best third-place teams qualify for the knockout stage, which will commence with the quarterfinals at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles on March 2 and 3, followed by the semifinals and final at San Diego’s Snapdragon Stadium on March 6 and 10, respectively.
San Diego is set to begin the NWSL season March 15 against NY/NJ Gotham at Red Bull Arena in the newly reformatted 2024 NWSL Challenge Cup, streaming live on Prime Video at 5:00 p.m.
The Wave opens regular season play March 23 at Snapdragon Stadium. The match is set to begin at 7 p.m. and tickets are available for purchase here.
