Things moved quickly for Alex Morgan on Monday.
She was preparing for a preseason game with her MLS team, San Diego Wave FC, later that evening, when she received news that she was being called up to join the United States women’s national team for its CONCACAF Gold Cup opener.
“I got out there (Indio on Monday) at 5, then I got the call at 7 that I needed to get to L.A.,” she said following Tuesday’s opener. “I drove to L.A. and got here at around 11 p.m. The good thing was I was planning to play (Tuesday) with San Diego … it didn’t feel it was too crazy of a scenario, because my husband was telling me to prepare myself, because you could get called in any day.
“A lot of players are going through preseason and you never know. I kind of had that mindset until the last minute, you just never know what’s going to happen. When I got a missed call from (interim coach) Twila (Kilgore) and a text saying call me back, I knew something was up.”
Morgan, 34, was called in as a replacement for forward Mia Fishel, who suffered an ACL injury during Monday’s training.
Morgan entered Tuesday’s 5-0 win over the Dominican Republic in the 67th minute and ended the night with a penalty kick in the 92nd minute. The goal snapped a 10-game goalless streak for Morgan in her 216th appearance with the national team.
The USWNT will continue Group A play Friday against Argentina at 7:15 p.m. The early game will feature Mexico against the Dominican Republic. Both games will be played at Dignity Health Sports Park.
“Alex is a total pro,” Kilgore said. “I knew she would stay ready, we’ve been in pretty consistent contact. She was the next person to call in and ready for the challenge. She was in the right place a lot, we just didn’t find her, then it was really good to convert her PK. It’s really good to have her back in the squad.”
Fans in attendance might have been confused to see Morgan wearing No. 7 instead of her usual No. 13. According to…
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