Why Morgan Brian Needs to Return to the USWNT
As the USWNT is bringing up younger faces, several veterans are contributing and could return to the National team level, such as Morgan Brian. However, the competition within the pool of players that Vlatko Andonovski has brought into camps leaves no room for mistakes as new players are always eager to be called up.
One player that has struggled to find herself back on the roster is Morgan Gautrat (formerly Brian). Morgan was one of the top players in the nation and found herself a consistent call-up to the USWNT.
Early USWNT Years
She played her first match with the USWNT in 2013 against the Korea Republic and was then the youngest player on the team in the 2015 Women’s World Cup at the age of 22. In both 2015 and 2019, she helped the team bring home the World Cup champion title.
Morgan has 87 USWNT appearances, eight goals, eleven assists, and two World Cup gold medals, but after struggling with injuries, she has not played in a U.S. match since 2019.
Injuries
Things look bright for Morgan Brian as she competed with the national team, her college–University of Virginia, and then was drafted by the Houston Dash. However, in the 2017 SheBelieves Cup, she suffered a minor injury to her knee that would put her out of various friendly matches for the remainder of the year.
Unfortunately, when she did return, she was usually a late-game substitution. She continued to go through minor injury after injury, which raised questions about her spot on the team. From late 2017 to 2019, she was off and on with the team; sometimes, she made the roster while other times she didn’t. Sometimes she would play full 90-minute games, and other times she wouldn’t dress.
Time with the Chicago Red Stars
Despite her injuries, she has come back and made her mark in the NWSL with the Chicago Red Stars. Tallying 2,107 minutes played, 24 games played with 24 starts, two assists, and two goals in the regular and post-season, Morgan has dominated the middle of the field both offensively and defensively.
She helped the team to a record-breaking season this year through her dominance in the midfield and long-standing leadership on the team. She’s been playing for the Red Stars since 2017. Back then, she only made a couple of appearances for the team, but she has become a staple on the starting eleven over the years. This shows her resilience, commitment, and overall determination to rebound from her injuries and perform well for her team.
The Red Stars have made it to the NWSL playoffs for six consecutive years, and in recent years, Morgan Brian has been a big part of that. Although she might not be the flashiest player with a ton of goals and assists, she holds it down in the midfield, creates plays, and works hard for her team.
This was her fourth season with the Red Stars and her sixth year playing professionally. At just 28 years old, Gautrat has played with the Houston Dash, Olympique Lyon, and Chicago Red Stars and has helped her teams win games and appear in post-season matches.
Although the USWNT midfield is the most in-depth spot on the USWNT–with Rose Lavelle and Lindsey Horan organizing the middle of the field and helping the U.S. dominate games–the third midfielder spot is still up for grabs and has seen several different players file into the mix.
It is possible that Morgan can find her way back into the U.S. roster just as midfielder Kristie Mewis has with her recent return. Mewis performed extremely well in the NWSL and caught the attention of Andonovski, bringing her back into camps and International play rosters.
If Morgan Brian continues to score goals, dominate in the midfield, and play as she did this past season with the Chicago Red Stars, there should be no reason she can not find her way back with the U.S. squad.
Featured image via Getty Images
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