PUEBLA, MEXICO - California women's soccer sophomore Alex Morgan earned an assist playing in her first-ever international match, representing the U.S. in the CONCACAF Under-20 World Cup Qualifying Tournament at Estadio Cuauhtemoc in Puebla, Mexico. Morgan received a pass at midfield, turned and played a through-ball to Michelle Enyeart, who put the ball past Trinidad & Tobago net-minder Kimika Forbes in the ninth minute of the match. Enyeart would go on to score two more goals on the day for a hat track. The U.S. controlled the match from start to finish, but needed a little luck to escape an early scare when two Trinidad & Tobago players got behind U.S. defenders. Goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher came off the line and covered the ball before any damage could be done. A few minutes later, Morgan set off scoring for the U.S. with her assist to Enyeart.
The U.S. went up 2-0 in the 30th minute when Enyeart took a pass from team-captain Keelin Winters. The pass set Enyeart up alone facing Forbes, who surrendered her second goal of the day. Two minutes later, Kelly O'Hara put the U.S. up 3-0. In the second half, Enyeart completed her hat trick on an unassisted goal to put the match out of reach for Trinidad & Tobago.
With the win, the U.S. ties Mexico for points in Group A after the first day of matches. The U.S. is in second place however, due to a lower goal differential (+4 to +7). The top two teams from each group will play in the semifinals, and the top three teams in the tournament will advance to the 2008 FIFA Under-20 Women's World Cup in Chile. Eleven nations have already qualified for the U-20 World Cup: host Chile; Japan, China and North Korea from Asia; France, Germany, Norway and England from Europe; New Zealand from Oceania; and Brazil and Argentina from South America. Morgan had a phenomenal freshman year for the Golden Bears, starting in 15 of the 17 games she appeared in. The 5-7 forward helped Cal to a 15-5-1 record and a second-round appearance in the NCAA Tournament as she scored a team-high eight goals. She also put up two assists and led the team in total points with 18 in her first year on campus. Morgan was a Pac-10 Conference All-Freshman Team selection and earned honorable mention for all-conference honors.
