Morgan Brian

Morgan Brian

At the award ceremony of Japan 2012 FIFA under-20 women's world cup
Personal information
Full name	Morgan Paige Brian
Date of birth	(1993-02-26) February 26, 1993
Place of birth	St. Simons, Georgia, United States
Height	5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	University of Virginia
Number	6
Youth career
Team
	Ponte Vedra Storm
2011-	University of Virginia
National team‡
	United States U17
	United States U18
	United States U20
	United States U23
2013–	United States	4	(1)
† Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of February 3, 2014

Morgan Paige Brian (born February 26, 1993) is an American soccer player. She currently plays as a midfielder for University of Virginia and for the United States women's national soccer team.^[1]

Early life

Born in St. Simons, Georgia to parents, Vickie and Steve Brian, Morgan attended Frederica Academy in St. Simons Island, Georgia. In 2011, she was named Gatorade Player of the Year and Gatorade National Girls' Soccer Player of the Year. after leading her team to the state championship with six goals. She was named the 2010 Parade National Girls Soccer Player of the Year, the 2010 NSCAA Youth Player of the Year, 2010 NSCAA High School and Youth All-American as well as 2010 ESPN Rise All-American. She was twice named Parade All-American and was a two-time Gatorade Georgia State Player of the Year.^[2][3]

As an eighth grader, Brian played for the varsity team and was All-Region and All-State, helping her team to second place in the state tournament. As a freshman at Frederica, she was named team MVP, All-Region and All-State and helped the Knights clinch the state title. She scored 83 goals and provided 50 assists in her first two years of high school soccer and had 71 goals and 30 assists during her senior season.^[4]

Brian played club soccer for the Ponte Vedra Storm from U-12 to U-19. She won state championships at the U-18 and U-17 levels with the Storm and was the national runner-up with the U-17 team. She helped the Storm win the U-19 national title during the summer of 2012.^[4]

University of Virginia

Brian currently attends the University of Virginia. As a freshman in 2011, she started in 22 games and appeared in 23 of the 24 total matches. As a midfielder, she was the second-leading scorer for the Cavaliers with 11 goals and eight assists. She was named the Soccer America National Freshman of the Year, NSCAA First-Team All-American, Second-Team Soccer America MVP and was a semifinalist for the Hermann Trophy. She was named the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Freshman of the Year and First-Team All-ACC.^[4] During her sophomore year, she appeared in 15 games, starting 13, after missing the beginning of the season due to representing the United States at the 2012 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup where she helped the US take home gold. Brian scored four goals and served seven assists for the Cavaliers. She was named NSCAA 1st Team All-Southeast Region, First Team All-ACC, ACC Tournament MVP as well as Second Team Soccer America MVP, Second Team TopDrawerSoccer.com Team of the Season, and First Team VaSID All-State.^[5] She was named winner of 2013 Hermann Trophy.^[6]

Playing career

International

After the award ceremony at Japan 2012 FIFA under-20 women's world cup. From left to right: 4-Crystal Dunn, 3-Cari Roccaro, 7-Kealia Ohai, 1-Brayne Heaberlin (GK), 9-Chioma Ubogagu, 6-Morgan Brian, 17-Taylor Schram, 16-Sarah Killion

Brian was a member of the United States U-17 women's national soccer team that placed third at the 2010 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup in Costa Rica. At age fifteen, she was the youngest member on the squad.^[7]

Brian was a member of the United States U20 squad that won the 2012 CONCACAF Under-20 Women's Championship and earned a spot at the 2012 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in Japan. During the qualifying tournament, she played in four games totaling 337 minutes, scored one goal and served one assist. Her goal occurred during the team's 4-0 semifinal victory over Mexico, which earned the squad its berth to the U-20 Women's World Cup.Leading up to the World Cup, she earned 15 U-20 caps and scored three goals.^[4]

Brian would later help the team win the 2012 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in Japan; playing all six matches and scoring a goal.^[8] Describing Brian, head coach Steve Swanson said, "Morgan does everything extremely well, which is rare for any midfielder. She can finish, she makes great runs, she's an excellent passer, she can take players one-on-one and she can head the ball. There are not a lot of things she can't do, but what sets her apart is her brain. She's got an amazing soccer brain for her age and she's still one of the younger players on this team."^[7]

Senior team

In June 2013, Brian was called to the national training camp by head coach Tom Sermanni, in preparation for a series of friendly matches between the United States and South Korea. On June 15, 2013, she earned her first cap for the senior team during a match against South Korea, subbing in for Lauren Cheney.^[9] She scored her first goal within three minutes of coming on as a sub against Mexico on September 3, 2013.

International goals

References

External links

• Morgan Brian – FIFA competition record
• US Soccer player profile
• University of Virginia player profile
• TopDrawerSoccer player profile
• Morgan Brian on Twitter