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The case for the most essential USWNT player: Alex Morgan

In her return to the USWNT, Alex Morgan has set an example for the next generation. (Jaime Lopez/Jam Media/Getty Images)

Each month in the leadup to the World Cup, Just Women’s Sports will make the case for one player as most essential to the success of the U.S. women’s national team in 2023. Next up: Alex Morgan.

A staple for the U.S. women’s national team for more than a decade, Alex Morgan again should prove instrumental as the team sets its sights on a third straight World Cup.

Morgan’s career with the USWNT to this point puts her in the conversation for one of the greatest strikers of all time. But for five training camps, from October 2021 through April 2022, she was left off the roster.

The 33-year-old took her absence not as a slight but as a challenge.

She responded by putting together the best NWSL season of her career, which included winning the Golden Boot. Upon her return to the national team for World Cup qualifiers, Morgan excelled, scoring the title-winning goal in the Concacaf W Championship run.

She was named the best player in the tournament following that win. She finished as the USWNT’s leading scorer and tied for the top spot overall in the the July competition.

“She’s a winner,” USWNT head coach Vlatko Andonovski said of Morgan at the time. “She knows how to win big games. She knows how to perform in big games. She’s done it before. She’s won World Cups, she’s won an Olympics, she’s won big tournaments. That doesn’t come overnight.”

The pressure of the spotlight doesn’t phase Morgan, as she showed from the penalty spot. In 2022, she converted on 100% of the penalties she took for both the San Diego Wave and the USWNT. She went 8-for-8, including six for the Wave and two for the USWNT.

She also was one of just three USWNT players to be nominated for the Ballon d’Or, alongside Catarina Macario and Trinity Rodman.

An injury late in 2022 just hammered home her importance to the USWNT. She missed the squad’s October friendlies against England and Spain with a knee injury, and without her, the team stumbled in back-to-back losses.

Not to mention, Morgan knows how to show up at the World Cup. Look no further than her five-goal performance against Thailand in 2019, which matched Michelle Akers for the most goals scored by an American woman in a World Cup game.

Beyond Morgan’s play, her presence as a veteran and an advocate for her fellow players makes her instrumental not only to their success but to their well-being.

Morgan has been a central figure as the NWSL and U.S. Soccer have dealt with the fallout of coaching abuse and misconduct.

In 2019, she warned U.S. Soccer against hiring Paul Riley as the USWNT head coach, an ESPN documentary revealed in October.

Riley had been dismissed from the Portland Thorns in 2015 following allegations of sexual harassment and sexual coercion. During the 2015 season, Morgan had helped Thorns teammate Mana Shim submit her complaint about Riley to team owner Merritt Paulson.

Morgan did everything she could to keep Riley from the head coaching job for the USWNT, she said in the documentary.

“I did my part in stopping him from becoming head coach,” Morgan said. “And that was sharing as much information as I could with the people who were in charge of selecting the next head coach.

“The response by U.S. Soccer was no, they had never heard of this misconduct or harassment. Not the report that Mana submitted, not the investigation, and that this was a surprise to them.”

Morgan has since joined U.S. Soccer’s participant safety taskforce, which aims to help prevent abuse across all levels of the sport. The taskforce is chaired by Shim.

She also was one of the players that helped bring a lawsuit against U.S. Soccer as part of the USWNT’s fight for equal pay. The team achieved that goal earlier this year, settling the lawsuit and agreeing to a new CBA that guarantees equal pay.

Last Thursday, President Joe Biden signed into law the Equal Pay for Team USA Act, which ensures that all athletes who represent the U.S. on the global stage will receive equal pay. According to legislators, that would not have been accomplished without Morgan.

“I also want to thank heroes like Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan, who brought that case against U.S. Soccer,” said U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), who first introduced the act in 2019 alongside fellow Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV). The bill was introduced shortly after the USWNT sued for equal pay following their World Cup win.

“U.S. women’s soccer led the charge after winning the World Cup and making it clear to everyone that women athletes deserve equal pay,” Cantwell continued. “With President Biden’s signature, we’re ensuring that when you wear the Team USA logo, you will truly be equal.”

Who is the most essential USWNT player?

WNBA, Players Union Spar Over CBA Negotiations at All-Star Weekend

WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert speaks to media at a 2025 press conference.
The current CBA between the WNBPA and the league expires at the end of October. (Mike Lawrence/NBAE via Getty Images)

This year's All-Star action extends beyond the court, as more than 40 players — including All-Stars, executive committee members, and WNBPA representatives — met with the WNBA in Indianapolis on Thursday for the second CBA negotiations of 2025.

"I'm encouraged. I'm just so inspired by the amount of players that showed up, the engagement that was there," WNBPA president Nneka Ogwumike said after Thursday's session, which drew the largest turnout in union history.

"It was something that was very informative for me. First time being able to see and hear the wording from both sides," Chicago Sky star Angel Reese added. "I was really eager to know and understand what was going on."

With revenues booming, both players and the league are struggling to settle issues surrounding payouts, revenue sharing, and the salary caps ahead of the current CBA's October 31st expiration date.

"This business is booming — media rights, ratings, revenue, team valuations, expansion fees, attendance, and ticket sales — are all up in historic fashion," the WNBPA wrote in a statement following Thursday's meeting. "But short-changing the working women who make this business possible stalls growth. The only thing more unsustainable than the current system is pretending it can go on forever."

While CBA negotiations continue, the union indicated that players are open to a work stoppage should they fail to reach a new deal by the end of this WNBA season.

Rookies Sonia Citron, Kiki Iriafen Hit the 2025 WNBA All-Star Court

Washington Mystics rookie All-Stars Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen chat during a 2025 WNBA game.
Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen will play in their first WNBA All-Star Game on Saturday. (Jess Rapfogel/Getty Images)

Team Clark has youth on their side this weekend, with Mystics rookie Sonia Citron gearing up to hit Saturday's 2025 WNBA All-Star court alongside Washington teammate and fellow 2025 draft pick Kiki Iriafen.

"I was not expecting this at all," Citron told WNBA legend Lisa Leslie on Between the Lines last week, referencing her surprise All-Star call-up. "I'm still in shock. I don't really think it's hit me yet."

"We're young, we've got a bunch of shooters, a little bit of everything" she said of Team Clark's lineup.

Saturday's game isn't Citron's only assignment this weekend, with the All-Star debutant also set to compete in Friday's 3-Point Contest.

The Mystics are on the rise this year, exceeding season expectations behind first-year firepower to send three players in Citron, Iriafen, and Washington's scoring leader Brittney Sykes to the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game.

Citron is currently averaging five rebounds and 14 points per game — trailing only Sykes's 17 points per game on Washington's stat sheet. Her rookie campaign has her shooting 45% from the field and 36.5% from beyond the arc.

Fellow first-year Iriafen is also impressing, leading the Mystics with 8.5 rebounds per game as well as sinking nearly 12 points per game while shooting 46% from the field.

"[The rookies] have really played a key piece in our success this season with us being so young, but also them being so adaptable," second-year forward Aaliyah Edwards told Leslie in an earlier episode. "And they're runners for Rookie of the Year, so why not only have one when you can have two? I'm just loving it."

How to attend a live taping of "Between the Lines"

Just Women's Sports is taking over Indianapolis with multi-faceted activations for the 2025 WNBA All-Star weekend — including a live recording of Between the Lines with Lisa Leslie.

Featuring interviews with Napheesa Collier (Minnesota Lynx), Rhyne Howard (Atlanta Dream), Kelsey Mitchell (Indiana Fever), and Lexie Hull (Indiana Fever), the exclusive podcast taping will occur at 110 S Pennsylvania Street at 3 PM ET on Saturday.

Sabrina Ionescu, Allisha Gray Headline WNBA All-Star 3-Point Contest

New York Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu lines up a shot during the 2023 WNBA All-Star 3-Point Contest.
WNBA All-Star Sabrina Ionescu set the single-round 3-Point Contest record in 2023. (David Becker/NBAE via Getty Images)

Even with Indiana Fever sharpshooter Caitlin Clark sidelined, Friday's 3-Point Contest and Skills Challenge will heat up the Indianapolis competition before Saturday's 2025 WNBA All-Star Game tips off.

Single-round record holder Sabrina Ionescu (New York Liberty) and reigning champion Allisha Gray (Atlanta Dream) headline the 3-Point Contest, with Kelsey Plum (LA Sparks), Sonia Citron (Washington Mystics), and Clark-replacement Lexie Hull (Indiana Fever) rounding out the bill beyond the arc.

Gray will also be on hand to defend her 2024 Skills Challenge title, with Natasha Cloud (New York Liberty), Skylar Diggins (Seattle Storm), Erica Wheeler (Seattle Storm), and Courtney Williams (Minnesota Lynx) looking to upend the Dream guard.

Players are shooting for more than just bragging rights in the Friday competitions, with Aflac boosting prize money for the second year in a row.

The insurance giant will award $60,000 to the 3-point Contest winner and $55,000 to the Skills Challenge champ, topping off the league's $2,575-per-player All-Star bonus check.

With big money on the line, both Gray and Ionescu are battling to become just the second WNBA player to win multiple 3-Point Contests, following in the footsteps of retired Sky guard and four-time event champion Allie Quigley.

How to watch the All-Star 3-Point Contest and Skills Challenge

The 2025 WNBA All-Star Skills Challenge and 3-Point Contest will take the Indianapolis court at 8 PM ET on Friday, with both competitions airing live on ESPN.

Minnesota Lynx-Fueled Team Collier Readies for WNBA All-Star Game

Minnesota Lynx All-Stars Courtney Williams and Napheesa Collier celebrate a 2025 WNBA regular-season win.
2025 WNBA All-Star captain Napheesa Collier will play alongside her Lynx teammate, Courtney Williams. (Matt Krohn/Getty Images)

Team Collier is looking locked and loaded for Saturday's 2025 WNBA All-Star Game, with captain Napheesa Collier heading up a roster stocked with talent from the league-leading Minnesota lineup.

The Lynx star will start the game alongside 2023 MVP Breanna Stewart (New York Liberty), Allisha Gray (Atlanta Dream), Nneka Ogwumike (Seattle Storm), and rookie phenom Paige Bueckers (Dallas Wings).

Team Collier's bench showcases a balanced group of Courtney Williams (Minnesota Lynx), Skylar Diggins (Seattle Storm), Angel Reese (Chicago Sky), Alyssa Thomas (Phoenix Mercury), and Kelsey Plum (LA Sparks).

Kayla McBride (Minnesota Lynx) will also join the squad, replacing the injured Rhyne Howard (Atlanta Dream), boosting the team's Minnesota contingent to three players.

Adding to the Lynx representatives is Minnesota manager Cheryl Reeve, who will serve as the squad's head coach following a first-of-its-kind draft-day swap between the Collier and fellow All-Star captain Caitlin Clark.

"I'm just glad people are understanding Phee's greatness," Reeve said about Collier before the 2025 WNBA All-Star weekend. "There's nothing else you can say at this point."

With a steady front and backcourt presence, Team Collier has experience on their side as they take on a youth-heavy Team Clark on Saturday.

How to watch Team Collier at the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game

Team Collier and Team Clark will square off in the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game in Indianapolis at 8:30 PM ET on Saturday.

Live coverage of the game will air on ABC.

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