Alex Morgan has played in the NWSL since its inception in 2013 and won multiple Olympic medals and World Cups with the U.S. women’s national team since 2010. With that resume, it would be fair to think the star forward has seen it all.

But Morgan says the “most exciting thing” in her career didn’t happen until she saw the San Diego Wave’s brand new Snapdragon Stadium, a home she’ll be able to share with 32,000 others, located on the campus of San Diego State University at Mission Valley.

As of Tuesday morning, the Wave had sold over 27,000 tickets to their opening match at the new stadium on Sept. 17, breaking the NWSL single-game attendance record. One of the first players to sign with the Wave, Morgan knows how hard the expansion club has worked on and off the field to make this milestone possible.

“I’m so proud to be a part of that,” she said. “I just feel fortunate to be able to experience things like breaking records still in my career and being wowed and impressed, and this is one of those moments that I’ll look back and see as one of those ‘wow’ moments for me in my career. Just seeing the growth of women’s sports in general.”

The previous NWSL single-game attendance record was 25,218, set by the Portland Thorns at Providence Park in 2019. The league drew outsized attention that year following the USWNT’s run to the World Cup title in France.

With less than a month until their home opener against Angel City FC, @sandiegowavefc announced that they’ve eclipsed the 27K mark as they set their sights on selling out Snapdragon Stadium.

The current @NWSL single-game attendance record of 25,218 was set in 2019 by @ThornsFC. pic.twitter.com/6QRNcdaRgA

— Just Women’s Sports (@justwsports) August 23, 2022

San Diego will host fellow 2022 expansion team Angel City FC at the Snapdragon opener. Morgan scored her first goals with the Wave against Angel City in the group stage of the 2022 Challenge Cup, launching her on a torrid goal-scoring pace.

After notching four goals in the preseason tournament, Morgan now leads the NWSL Golden Boot Race with 12 regular season goals, helping the Wave stay near the top of league standings. On Saturday against the Houston Dash at the Wave’s temporary field, Torero Stadium, she became the fifth player to score 50 NWSL goals in her career.

Morgan’s impressive club campaign earned her a call-up to the national team in June for the Concacaf W Championship. Before then, she hadn’t appeared for the team since October. Referencing her eight-month hiatus from the USWNT as an opportunity to “reset,” Morgan went on to lead the team to the Concacaf title in July and win the Golden Ball as the tournament’s best player.

Morgan credits her success this year to the support she’s received from the Wave and the positive locker room culture her teammates have fostered. It helps that San Diego is where she calls home and where she looks forward to settling down when her playing days are over. To play for the city is something she couldn’t have imagined even just one year ago.

“Now, having this opportunity, it just feels like I’m very settled, happy,” she said. “I want to represent the city proudly, and I think that that’s just translating to my on-field success.”

An absolute beauty of a goal for @alexmorgan13’s 5️⃣0️⃣th 🤩

🎥» @NWSL pic.twitter.com/L97LnlgUAS

— U.S. Women's National Soccer Team (@USWNT) August 21, 2022

When Morgan initially heard there was going to be a team starting in San Diego, she remembers being intrigued but unsure of the club’s short- and long-term goals.

It was the same when the Wave staff told Morgan six weeks ago that they were hoping to sell out the Sept. 17 match against Angel City. She was “cautiously excited,” wondering how they would make it happen.

Every step of the way, the team has lived up to its promises of helping grow the women’s game. And Morgan, 33, has held up her end of the bargain on the field, leading the Wave’s unprecedented charge to second place in the standings at 8-5-4 and ambitions for more in the playoffs.

“I’m just extremely impressed with their execution of this and seeing how the city has rallied behind this team in only the six months of our existence that we’ve been here in San Diego, representing this city and this club,” she said. “It’s just been really fun for me and it’s almost created some youthful energy for me all over again. I think that’s helped with our success on the field.”

Jessa Braun is a contributing writer at Just Women’s Sports covering the NWSL and USWNT. Follow her on Twitter @jessabraun.

On Thursday, US Soccer announced that the USWNT will cap off its 2024 campaign with a December 3rd friendly against the Netherlands in The Hague — the team's 23rd game this year.

The match comes three days after the US side's previously announced meeting with 2022 European champions and 2023 World Cup finalists England at London's iconic Wembley Stadium. 

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To stay the best, the USWNT will play the best

Following their gold medal-winning run at the 2024 Paris Olympics, the USWNT reclaimed their world No. 1 ranking. In order to stay there, head coach Emma Hayes noted, the team must seek out matches against other top international foes.

"It was a fantastic summer for our team, and we’re going to take a lot of great lessons and memories from our time in France, but now we are looking forward to continuing our process,” said Hayes.

"In order for our team to keep learning and growing, and for the coaching staff to continue to evaluate players, we need to play the best teams possible. Playing matches in Europe against some of the world’s top teams will be an important part of our journey."

With England sitting at No. 2 in the world and the Dutch at No. 11, this final 2024 road trip is exactly what the US boss ordered.

The Dutch are a familiar friendly foe

In their 11 previous meetings with the Netherlands, the USWNT has only lost once: a 4-3 defeat in their first-ever matchup in 1991. In the years since, the States have had the upper hand, logging eight wins and two draws.

The duo has ramped up the drama in their matches, though, facing each other in world championships in three of their last four bouts.

The USWNT's 2019 World Cup final win is arguably the team's most meaningful Dutch defeat, though recent tilts have appeared significantly tougher. While the US walked away with the win in the pair's 2021 Olympic quarterfinal, they needed penalty kicks to do so. And in the States's admittedly disappointing 2023 World Cup run, they played the Netherlands to a 1-1- draw in the group stage.

How to watch the USWNT's European friendlies

The US will take on England on November 30th at 12:20 PM ET. Their meeting with the Netherlands will kick off at 2:45 PM ET on December 3rd.

Both friendlies will air live on TNT, or you can stream the games via Max and Peacock.

The NWSL, in collaboration with Tiffany & Co., dropped revamped Shield and regular-season MVP trophies on Wednesday.

The bold new hardware is part of a plan to “set a new standard for recognition in women’s sports” by giving the Tiffany treatment to all NWSL end-of-season awards. This year's two additions join the redesigned Championship and Championship MVP awards that kicked off the league’s partnership with the jewelry company last year.

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An NWSL Shield worthy of superheroes

Both awards are handcrafted by Tiffany & Co. The refreshed MVP award includes a silver soccer ball atop a tall base.

"The best players in the world play here at the NWSL, and it is only fitting that we work with Tiffany to honor the best of the best," said NWSL chief marketing and commercial officer Julie Haddon in the league's announcement. “It has been a long time coming to create a suite of awards that are as extraordinary as our athletes."

Inspired by ancient Greco-Roman armor, the 24K gold and sterling silver Shield features a unique, interactive design. It is equipped with a handle so it can be removed from its base and held like "a true shield." 

Orlando poised to handle the new hardware

As the still-undefeated league leaders, the Orlando Pride are the clear frontrunners to claim the redesigned NWSL Shield.

The second-place Washington Spirit, third-place Gotham FC, and fourth-place KC Current are technically still in the running. However, with four matchdays left, Orlando can clinch the Shield outright by either defeating the Spirit this Sunday or winning two other remaining matches.

The regular-season MVP award race is tighter. Though Golden Boot leader Temwa Chawinga (KC) and the league's next top scorer Barbra Banda (Orlando) have pulled away from the pack.

And if Banda snags the honor, both new trophies will likely be bound for Florida.

Two games into the best-of-five 2024 WNBA semifinals, and the back-to-back defending champion Aces are staring down elimination while the Lynx evened the score last night.

With Friday's Game 3 offering a venue change, Las Vegas will need every ounce of their home-court advantage to continue their playoff run, while Minnesota's aim will be to silence the Connecticut crowd.

Aces on the brink of elimination after Game 2 loss

Tuesday's second-straight loss, an 88-84 defeat by the No. 1 seed Liberty in Brooklyn, has No. 4 seed Las Vegas on the brink of playoff elimination. The Aces are now the first reigning champions to ever fall to a 0-2 deficit in a WNBA playoff series.

Las Vegas has yet to conquer the Liberty this season, falling a franchise record-tying five straight times to same opponent, all after defeating New York in the 2023 WNBA Finals.

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New York's Sabrina Ionescu and Las Vegas's A'ja Wilson led their teams in scoring with 24 points each, while Liberty guard Courtney Vandersloot provided a crucial spark off the bench. 

Should Las Vegas turn things around when the series moves back to Nevada on Friday, they'd become the first team to ever bounce back from 0-2 to reach the WNBA Finals.

Aces guard Chelsea Gray put a positive spin on the challenge, saying "I love being in the history books, so might as well try to start there. That's going to be our mentality."

Lynx level up with Game 2 semifinal win in Minnesota

No. 2 seed Minnesota evened their semifinal score with No. 3 seed Connecticut on Tuesday, earning a 77-70 win in Minneapolis to send the series back East at one victory apiece.

Courtney Williams led the Lynx in scoring with 17 points, while a physical Minnesota defense held the Sun to less than 40% shooting from the field.

In the loss, Sun forward DeWanna Bonner became the third all-time leading scorer in WNBA postseason history. She also inked her name into the league record books as the player with the most appearances in playoff history at 83 games and counting.

Friday kicks off a guaranteed two-game run in Connecticut, with the home side on a mission to reach the Finals for the first time since 2022.

How to watch Game 3 of the WNBA semifinals

Las Vegas and Minnesota will look to pick up critical wins in Friday's Game 3, with the Aces facing a must-win scenario in front of what promises to be a rocking home crowd.

The Lynx will travel to Connecticut for a 7:30 PM ET tip off on Friday, October 4th, followed by a Liberty vs. Aces showdown in Las Vegas at 9:30 PM ET. Both games are scheduled to air on ESPN2.

In this week's episode of The Late Sub, host Claire Watkins takes a look at the first games of the 2024 WNBA semifinals, discussion whether or not Aces and Lynx fans can find the silver lining in their teams' respective shortcomings heading into Game 2.

Then, she shouts out the big winners and losers of this weekend's NWSL's slate, including this season's historic Golden Boot race and the competition to clinch one of the final playoff spots.

The Late Sub with Claire Watkins brings you the latest news and freshest takes in women’s sports. This is the weekly rundown you’ve been missing, covering the USWNT, NWSL, WNBA, college hoops, and whatever else is popping off in women’s sports each week. Special guest appearances with the biggest names in women’s sports make The Late Sub a must-listen for every fan. Follow Claire on X/Twitter @ScoutRipley and subscribe to the Just Women’s Sports newsletter for more.

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