Alex Morgan sent yet another message to doubters: Don’t count her out.
With a header in the 88th minute, Morgan scored the solo goal in the 2024 Challenge Cup against 2023 league champions NJ/NY Gotham to lead the San Diego Wave and win the first trophy of the season.
“The ball came straight to me, so I knew I couldn’t mess it up,” said the 34-year-old forward in a postmatch interview at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey.
Wave midfielder Savannah McCaskill hit an inswinging corner placed to Morgan, recording the assist in her debut with the club. Team captain Morgan placed the header in the bottom corner.
Game sponsor UKG will pay each San Diego player $3,500 in prize money, while players on Gotham FC will each get $2,200.
Morgan was named the 2024 UKG NWSL Challenge Cup Most Valuable Player, earning an additional $2,000 in prize money.
This year’s one-and-done Challenge Cup gave fans their first look at new players.
San Diego welcomed seven new players to its roster during the offseason including two rookies from the 2024 NWSL draft and two international players.
Defender Kennedy Wesley of Stanford was the Wave’s first selection in the first round (12th overall) of the draft, and forward Mya Jones was selected in the third round (47th overall) from the University of Memphis.
Kaitlyn Torpey joins the Wave from Australia after playing three seasons with Melbourne City, and Swedish defender Hanna Lundkvist joins San Diego from Atlético de Madrid.
Among other players, Savannah McCaskill joined the Wave after two seasons with Angel City where she appeared in 23 games (23 starts) while earning four goals and three assists in the 2023 season.
Naomi Girma, Jaedyn Shaw and Abby Dahlkemper started this match for the Wave. In the second half, all-time great Morgan came on to the pitch.
After initially being left off the national roster, Morgan was called up for the USNWT to replace an injured Mia Fishel and netted two goals in the Gold Cup competition won Sunday by the U.S. at Snapdragon Stadium.
The Wave’s first home match is 7 p.m. Saturday, March 23, against KC Current.
San Diego clinched the Shield on Oct. 15 with a 2-0 win over Racing Louisville, finishing the season with the best regular season record in NWSL. Gotham finished the season by defeating OL Reign in a 2-1 final Nov. 11 at Snapdragon Stadium to win the 2023 NWSL championship.
In the offseason, the league formed two expansion teams: Bay FC and the Utah Royals. The Wave will host Bay FC on April 27 and Utah on May 8.
