Alex Morgan accomplished a feat rarely seen in professional soccer on Saturday night at Torero Stadium when the forward became only the third player in NWSL history to score four goals in a game and lead San Diego Wave FC to a 4-0 win over NJ/NY Gotham FC.
The feat, referred to as a “Haul” in soccer, had only been accomplished previously by forwards Samantha Kerr on Aug. 19, 2017, and Kristen Hamilton on July 5, 2019.
Morgan’s performance was the most goals she has scored in competition since recording five for the USWNT in World Cup Group Play against Thailand on Aug. 11, 2019.
Morgan’s first score came off a penalty kick conversion a minute into added time to end the first half, the next came via penalty kick in the 66th minute, the third was a left-footed shot from five yards out in the 70th minute, and scoring her final one a minute into second-half added time off a turnover that she calmly placed in the back of the net.
“The ball just dropped my way tonight after the two penalties,” Morgan said. “All around it was such a great team performance. We were everywhere around this pitch. I don’t get these goals without the amazing crosses that forced the handball or the header by [Amirah Ali], or the other defensive work, so it was a really great team effort by everyone tonight.”
San Diego had to overcome the loss of forward Abby Dahlkemper late in the first half with teammate Kaleigh Riehl coming in as her replacement playing effectively throughout. The team also got another impressive outing from goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan who picked up her second clean sheet in a row to start the regular season.
Sheridan, who played for Gotham FC from 2017 to 2021, made some impressive saves including one in the 72nd minute when she denied striker Paige Monaghan from six yards out and another in the 73rd minute when she once again denied Monaghan with a spectacular diving save off a 20-yard shot.
“I felt a lot of emotions tonight, that was my old team and it’s like my family,” Sheridan said after the game. “It’s really important to us that we represent our home really well and that we keep clean sheets at home. When people come here, we want it to be a really hard place to play and a hard place to score and we accomplished that today.”
The victory puts San Diego Wave in first place in the NWSL standings with 6 points and a goal differential of +5 with their next match coming this Sunday, May 15 at Torero Stadium against the Chicago Red Stars before going on a four-game road trip that will not see them back at Torero Stadium until June 8.
“We trained well all week, so I wasn’t surprised by the performance,” said San Diego Wave head coach Casey Stoney. “I said in the huddle that it takes every single one of those players all week to prepare the team. What a great night for the fans.”
This was the team’s second four-goal game since its 4-2 win over Angel City FC on April 2 in the 2022 NWSL Challenge Cup.
Photo courtesy: Jared Martinez/San Diego Wave FC
