SAN DIEGO — What is the insanely productive state of Alex Morgan's game, a goal-scoring avalanche in the debut season for San Diego Wave FC? How do you explain the absurd level of play at 33, as she shreds defenders like a spry 20-something?
Start here: She's running out of body parts.
In the U.S. national team's run to the CONCACAF title in July, Morgan buried the championship-cinching penalty kick against Wave goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan of Canada. The stunner, though, came earlier versus Haiti on an utterly ridiculous, sideways, side-footed goal — believed to be a career first — that defied rational explanation.
Then on Sept. 10, in a 4-3 loss at Washington, Morgan raced into the box on a late corner kick to tie the game with a twisting airborne header … off her ponytail.
"Just my pony, yeah," said Morgan, who leads the Wave into Saturday's NWSL record-setting sellout at Snapdragon Stadium against Angel City. "My husband texted me after and was like, 'Great goal with your pony.' He's like, 'That's a first.'
"There's not many other body parts I could score with (left)."
At the tail end of 2021, some whispered Morgan's remarkable big-stage career was losing steam. For the first time since college, she was not a member of the U.S. women's national team.
For eight months, she found herself in international limbo. It seemed as if USWNT coach Vlatko Andonovski was transitioning to American soccer's next generation with an eye on a youthful horizon. Time topples everyone, at some point.
Instead of melancholy resignation, Morgan scored. And scored. And scored. No player in the 12-team NWSL has crept closer than four of her league-leading 15 goals. The two players with 11 are 20-year-old Diana Ordonez of the North Carolina Courage and Sophia Smith, 22, of Portland Thorns FC.
Morgan focused on showing more than telling. No amount of lobbying or politicking would pave the path back to the USWNT. Relentless production redirected the question from "Does she deserve a spot?" to "How could she not have a spot?"
Was the uncertainty motivating? Was charging back validating?
Morgan paused.
"Being left off the national team roster for quite a few months was difficult," she said. "I had to internally process where I was at the moment and where I had to be to get back on the national team.
"I think I started focusing less on the national team and more on my day to day, which was playing here with the Wave and buying into everything (coach) Casey (Stoney) wanted us to do as a team."
As outside doubts lingered, Morgan used 2022 to cement the fact that she remains one of the most feared goal scorers on the planet.
"She had a point to prove, in terms of the national team," Stoney said. "I hope she continues to prove that point."
Morgan settled into San Diego, closer to family in Southern California and husband Servando Carrasco's roots at St. Augustine High School. They began a family of their own with daughter, Charlie.
The fit? Damn near perfect.
"That's huge," said Morgan, in terms of refreshing her soccer reserves. "Family is everything to me, above soccer, above everything. If I have the support from my family and I'm able to forget about soccer sometimes after training or after games and focus on life outside of soccer, I think that creates a balance that creates happiness, on and off the field."
Once she worked her way back into 90-minute form, Morgan weaponized the experience age brings. She became more creative, versatile and unpredictable. She is not simply running for daylight, outsprinting defenders to wide open spaces.
Opponents game-plan against the iconic star. Right now, it hardly seems to matter.
"I think it's hard to truly shut down a player like Alex," said teammate Naomi Girma, a defender for the USWNT. "If you give her a sliver, she's going to make something out of it. She doesn't need a lot of space or 10 shots on goal to score. She'll take any little thing she's given and make the most out of it.
"A lot of times I'm like, wow, I don't even know how she saw that."
The instincts around the ball remain singular.
"Alex is a predator inside the box," said Wave President Jill Ellis, who coached Morgan during a pair of World Cup-winning runs. "She's the first to every ball. Physically, technically, she's always going to commit to finding ways to score.
"What I love about her this year, she's scored goals coming in off the left, she's scored with her head, she's scored with penalty kicks. There's a diversity in how she's scoring goals, which makes her very hard to defend.
"At this point in a career, it's rare to see a player add layers to her game. She's getting assists, she's stepped into a leadership role. She's scoring from set pieces, from penalty kicks. She's a multi-pronged threat."
Is this a resurgence or simply a resumption of where her feet and fearlessness were meant to take her?
Ellis said Morgan is built of more complex wiring than that.
"I remember when I first met Alex when I was the (USWNT) head coach," Ellis said. "She didn't talk about medals. She talked about, 'How am I going to get better.' That's been a thread throughout her entire career. She always sat at the front of the classroom in team sessions, never cut corners at practice.
"It's so wonderful to see her have this moment, to be in the hunt of the golden boot (as the NWSL's leading scorer) and lead this team into the playoffs. I'm incredible proud and happy for her.
"Her future with the national team was uncertain. What I respect about Alex is, she took that time to really drill into becoming the best version of herself, focusing on what she could bring to this club. The (USWNT) coach had made a point of saying your performance in the league will dictate an invitation. And deservedly so, she was invited back."
In a conversation about how long she plans to chase soccer's top levels, there was a mention of ageless NFL star Tom Brady playing at 45.
"I won't be a Tom Brady," said Morgan, with a grin. "I'm not playing until I'm 45 or saying I'm retiring then unretiring. I don't know (how long I'll play). I feel good right now. I just want to take it year by year. I don't want to get too far ahead of myself.
"I feel like I'm in peak form."
Peak ponytail form, at that.
