London 2012 Golden Bear Olympians: Alex Morgan, U.S. Women's Soccer

During Alex's time at Cal she earned many awards and accolades and it is not a stretch to call her the greatest Women's Soccer player to ever come through Berkeley. Alex closed her Cal career as the third leading all-time scorer in California women's soccer history with 107 points (45 goals). She was the team's leading scorer in her senior season (2010) despite missing several games due to being called up to play games on the USA National team. She led the nation in scoring for much of the season and it's not a stretch to say she would have won that title easily had it not been for her commitment to USA Soccer. Let's learn more about Ms. Morgan after the jump, GO BEARS!

Alex Morgan (via DODvClips)

The accomplishments don't stop there. Alex's career is dotted with achievement:
● First team All-American as a senior
● First-team All-Pac-10 selection four times
● First Cal player ever to be named as a finalist for the Hermann Trophy, the Heisman of women's soccer
● Led Cal to the NCAA tournament in each of her four years
● Second-team Freshman All American in 2007

She started playing regularly for the senior U.S. Women's National Team in 2010 and had her breakthrough in 2011. She now leads the team into the Olympics and will be counted on to continue her stellar scoring record to help Team USA bring home the gold.

You can watch this video to hear about Alex's preparations for the Olympics and how excited she is for this opportunity.

From her Team USA profile:

She burst onto the international scene at the 2008 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, helping the USA to the championship and scoring the winning goal in the final against Korea DPR ... 2011: Had a breakout performance at the Women's World Cup, her first at the senior level, when she came off the bench for five of the six games and became, along with Abby Wambach, one of two U.S. players to score in the World Cup semifinal and championship game ... Scored the third and game-clinching goal in the 3-1 victory over France in the semifinal and then tallied against Japan in the final to open the scoring ... Also had an assist to Wambach in the championship game, becoming the first U.S. player to get a goal and an assist in the World Cup final ... Played in 19 total matches, starting just two, but scored six goals with two assists ... Scored three goals at the Algarve Cup in Portugal and was given the Top Scorer Award ... Named one of 10 players on the short list for FIFA Women's World Player of the Year ... 2010: Earned her first career cap on March 31 against Mexico in Salt Lake City, coming on at halftime in a match played on a snow-covered field ... Played in eight matches, all off the bench, and scored one of the most important goals in recent U.S. history when she came into the first leg of the FIFA Women's World Cup Playoff against Italy in Padova on Nov. 20 and scored the winning goal in stoppage time to give the USA a 1-0 victory ... Scored her first career goal on Oct. 2 against China in Chester, Pa., tallying the tying goal in the 1-1 draw with seven minutes left ... Was the youngest player on the U.S. team at the CONCACAF Women's World Cup Qualifying tournament where she played in four games and scored two goals, against Guatemala and Costa Rica.

Here are some of her highlights from 2012 so far:

Alex Morgan 2012 Highlights (via sportyguy619)

Alex was also drafted first overall in the 2011 Women's Professional Soccer draft by the Western New York Flash where she helped them win the championship the same year. She is currently a member of the Seattle Sounders Women's Soccer club, who play in the W-League.

So as the U.S. Women's Olympic Soccer team takes the field in London, look for Alex to lead the way as they work to win a gold medal. GO BEARS and GO TEAM USA!