Alex Morgan stars in transition game for U.S. soccer
Through much of this fall, as she has been all over the place playing for two soccer teams, Alex Morgan often wished she could be in two places at once.
The irony is Morgan is spending Thanksgiving week in the one place she would have preferred not to be.
Chicago.
That’s where the U.S. women’s soccer team found itself because of a stunning loss to Mexico last month that kept it from the final of the regional qualifying tournament for the 2011 World Cup in Germany. The regional finalists were guaranteed World Cup spots.
That forced Team USA, ranked No. 1 in the world, into a home-and-home playoff with Italy for the last of 16 places in the 2011 field.
And the team can thank Morgan for making the place it is in now significantly more comfortable.
Her goal in the fourth minute of extra time last Saturday in Padua, Italy, gave Team USA a 1-0 win over the Italians. That means the U.S. makes the World Cup with a win, tie or a 1-0 loss in the second leg of the playoff Saturday (11 a.m. Pacific) at Toyota Park in suburban Bridgeview. Italy needs to win and score at least two goals to advance.
Morgan’s decisive strike in Italy came just eight minutes after she entered that game and just eight days after she had played for California in Gainesville, Fla., where her college career ended with a 2-1 loss to Duke in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
“It has been a little hectic, but it’s what I signed up for,” Morgan said. “And I only have to deal with it a month more.”
She has done more than 10 college papers while on the road with the national team to stay on track for a December graduation — after just 3 1/2 years — with a degree in political economy.
The 21-year-old from Diamond Bar has been a star for Cal, its leading scorer each of the past four years — even after missing eight of 20 games this fall because of commitments to the national team.
Morgan has played just 235 minutes in eight appearances for the national team since her debut in March. U.S. Coach Pia Sundhage feels that limited role has helped Morgan transition back and forth between two very different levels of soccer.
“It’s not coming from college and playing 90 minutes,” Sundhage said. “A small role gives her the chance to be successful, and she has been and has helped the team.”
Morgan has scored three times in her limited action, and two were what the U.S. team’s top scorer, Abby Wambach, calls “big-time, world-class goals.” The other secured a 1-1 tie with China in an exhibition last month.
“I think Alex has the potential of being the next very, very dominant forward on this team,” Wambach said. “She has a knack for scoring goals.”
That involves being in the right place at the right time. Even Chicago.
phersh@tribune.com
