Orlando Pride forward Alex Morgan is the 2018 U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year, U.S. Soccer announced on Friday. The award was voted on by U.S. women’s national team coaches, national team players who appeared in 2018, members of the U.S. Soccer Board of Directors, U.S. Soccer’s Athletes’ Council, NWSL head coaches, former players […]

Orlando Pride forward Alex Morgan is the 2018 U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year, U.S. Soccer announced on Friday.The award was voted on by U.S. women’s national team coaches, national team players who appeared in 2018, members of the U.S. Soccer Board of Directors, U.S. Soccer’s Athletes’ Council, NWSL head coaches, former players and administrators, select college coaches and select members of the media. The other four nominees for the award included Chicago Red Stars midfielder Julie Ertz, Portland Thorns midfielder Lindsey Horan, Portland Thorns forward Tobin Heath and Seattle Reign forward Megan Rapinoe. Morgan led the USWNT in scoring this year with 18 goals in 19 games. She also picked up three assists. This is the second time she has earned the U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year award; she earned her first in 2012. [Empty Body] Morgan had six multiple-goal games this year. On July 26 against Japan in the Tournament of the Nations, she scored a hat trick that moved her to third place all-time in the U.S. for multiple-goal games. She has 26 multiple-goal games in her career which is tied with Michelle Akers (26), and behind just Mia Hamm (38) and Abby Wambach (45). After her performance in 2018, Morgan is just two goals shy of reaching 100 career goals with the national team. In the NWSL, Morgan helped the Orlando Pride by scoring five goals and earning two assists in 1,500 minutes played over 19 games. Morgan had 25 chances created for the Pride and also won 94 duels, 56 of which were aerial duels, good for 12th in the NWSL. “It was an incredible year for the U.S. Women’s National Team, going undefeated, and there were a lot of players that stepped up and played essential parts in leading this team,” Morgan said in U.S. Soccer’s release. “Of the five of players nominated, any one was deserving, so I am incredibly honored to have won this award.” In addition to the announcement of the U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year award, U.S. Soccer also awarded the Young Female Player of the Year award on Friday, recognizing Stanford University junior defender Tierna Davidson.