Alex Morgan is in the business of scoring goals. And business is booming.

In her last 18 games playing for the U.S. Women’s National Team, Morgan has scored 17 times. They’ve come in a multitude of ways – from the penalty spot, headers, blistering drives and breakaways. She’s scored game-winners and braces, and against Japan on July 26 at the 2018 Tournament of Nations, she bagged a hat trick. It was the fourth of her career. 

She’s been scoring for the USA since 2010, and since scoring goals is perhaps the most difficult part of the game, there have been periods of great form and a few dry spells. But the past year has been impressive even by the high standards we’ve come to expect from the 29-year-old.

It’s always been clear that when Morgan is in the zone, opposing defenses are in for a long night.

This 18-game run – in which the USA has not lost -- began in the latter half of 2017 after she returned from her six-month stint at Olympique Lyonnais, lasted through the final seven games of 2017, then continued into the first 11 games of 2018.

The current streak began in the final game of the 2017 Tournament of Nations and now almost a year later, she’s still on a roll. She closed 2017 with seven goals in seven games (which made her the team’s top scorer for the year) and has a team-leading 10 goals in 11 games in 2018.

In a span of a few months, Morgan has put herself within striking distance of 100 goals. Currently at 90, she would become the seventh woman in U.S. history to reach the century mark and join a highly exclusive club which features Abby Wambach, Mia Hamm, Kristine Lilly, Michelle Akers, Tiffeny Milbrett and Carli Lloyd. Even more impressively, she is on pace to achieve this feat in less caps (currently at 143 after the Japan game on July 26) than four of those six legends (Wambach and Akers scored goal No. 100 in their 129th cap; Hamm scored in her 155th cap) and could become the third youngest player in WNT history to reach 100. Wambach scored her 100th goal just after her 29th birthday and Hamm reached 100 when she was 26-and-a-half-years old.

Morgan’s first WNT goal came on Oct. 2, 2010 against China PR. She played in eight games that year and scored four goals. She followed that up with six goals in 2011 and had a breakthrough performance at the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Germany.

In 2012, Morgan had one of the best scoring years in U.S. history, tallying a remarkable 28 goals with 21 assists to lead the team in both categories. Her goal total was the third-best in U.S. history behind only Michelle Akers (39 in 1991) and Wambach (31 in 2004) and her assist total was tied for second-best in U.S. history behind only Hamm (22 in 2004) and tied with Carin Gabarra (21 in 1991). She also helped the USA to the gold medal at the London Olympics, scoring the epic 123rdminute game-winner in the semifinal final that is still the latest goal in FIFA history, and earned personal recognition when she finished third for the FIFA Player of the Year award and was named the U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year for the first time.

The next two years for Morgan were unfortunately plagued by injuries. In 2013, she missed a few games but still played 811 minutes in 12 games and scored six goals with four assists. She spent much of 2014 finishing her recovery but returned to play in seven matches, starting four, while scoring five goals with four assists before she suffered an ankle injury in the second match of the 2014 CONCACAF Women’s Championship that kept her out for the rest of the year.

She rounded into shape just in time to participate in her second World Cup at the senior level and she was a key member of the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup champions. She came off the bench in the first two games as she regained her fitness, but then got the start in the final group game against Nigeria and started all four knock-out round games. She played in 22 of the USA’s 26 games that year and scored seven goals. She got back to her old self in 2016 when she found the net 17 times, including what was probably the best goal of the year on March 9 against Germany in the SheBelieves Cup.

Her 2017-18 has been even more impressive, and not just because of her scoring rate, but because the goals are coming against elite talent at a time when the level of play worldwide is increasingly competitive.

There’s still a lot of 2018 left to play, including the 2018 Concacaf Women’s Championship in October where the USA will look to book its trip to the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup in France. And while the U.S. Women know that nothing is given and everything is earned, with Morgan in her current form, fans are surely looking forward to an entertaining few months ahead.

U.S. Soccer hosted its 7^th Girls Fantasy Camp last month in Kansas City. Hosted at the National Development Center around the opening matches of the 2018 Tournament of Nations, the 28-player camp ran from July 24-27 and brought together girls of all skill levels from across the United States. The special four-day event and fundraiser was led by former U.S. Women’s National Team legends Lindsay Tarpley and Lori Lindsey.

The Girls Fantasy Camp players had daily training sessions at the National Development Center, leadership meetings, an official team hotel with all meals together in their team meeting room, customized U.S. Soccer apparel and training gear, VIP access to a U.S. WNT training and behind-the-scenes access on game day with VIP seats for the Tournament of Nations doubleheader at Children’s Mercy Park.

The U.S. Soccer Fantasy Camp program is a special fundraiser supporting the U.S. Soccer Development Fund. Proceeds from the camp primarily benefit need-based scholarships for talented young players in the Girls’ Development Academy to reduce the pay-to-play model at the highest level. Since the program began in 2015, Fantasy Camps have provided more than $300,000 for the Development Fund to help develop world-class players, coaches and National Teams.

This camp was open to girls of all skill levels born in 2004, 2005 and 2006 and filled on a first-come, first-serve basis. For more information about Fantasy Camps, visit ussoccer.com/fantasycamp or contact fantasycamp@ussoccer.org.

The 2018 Tournament of Nations brought six games of elite international women’s soccer to the United States as Australia, Brazil, Japan and the USA battled for the title in the second edition of the competition.

Spectacular crowds that averaged 19,448 fans across three U.S. venues were present to watch the highly entertaining and well-played matches, and it was the USA who lifted the trophy after an exhilarating come-from-behind 4-1 victory against Brazil in the tournament finale on Aug. 2 in Bridgeview. Ill. Needing to win by two goals to finish atop the podium after Australia defeated Japan, 2-0, in the first game of the doubleheader, the USA gave up an own goal in the first half before roaring back to equalize through Rose Lavelle and then bag three spectacular scores in the second half to finish triumphant. 

 Here is #ToN2018 By the Numbers:

1 Number of U.S. players to play all 270 minutes (Alyssa Naeher)

2 Number of own goals scored in the tournament (Tierna Davidson for the USA and Poliana for Brazil)

4 Goals scored by Alex Morgan in the tournament, the most of any player

Alex Morgan finished the tournament with four goals and an assist

6 Number of different USA goal scorers in the tournament (Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe, Tobin Heath, Lindsey Horan, Rose Lavelle and Julie Ertz)

6 Number of shots on goal the USA allowed during the tournament

7 Number of USA players that started all three games during the tournament (Crystal Dunn, Ertz, Horan, Morgan, Naeher, Rapinoe and Emily Sonnett)

9 Number of goals scored by the USA in the tournament, most of any team

14 Number of players on the #ToN2018 roster that were on the #ToN2017 roster

15 Total number of goals scored throughout #ToN2018

16 Total number of goal scorers at #ToN2018 (The six U.S. players and AUS: Tameka Butt, Sam Kerr (2), Chloe Logarzo and Alana Kennedy; BRA: Debinha, Marta, Zaneratto; JPN: Mina Tanaka, Moeno Sakaguchi and Rika Masuya)

18 The USA’s unbeaten streak after the Tournament of Nations

19 Age of the youngest member on the U.S. WNT #ToN2018 roster: Tierna Davidson

20 Number of international goals by Tobin Heath after scoring against Brazil on Aug. 2

23 Number of international multi-goal games for Alex Morgan after scoring a hat-trick vs. Japan on July 26

Megan Rapinoe scored one goal and had three assists, one in each game at the Tournament of Nations 

53 Number of career assists recorded by Megan Rapinoe after earning assists in all three #ToN2018 matches

101 Number of games at the helm of the U.S. WNT for head coach Jill Ellis after coaching her 100thagainst Australia on July 29 at Pratt & Whitney Stadium in East Hartford, Conn. on the second match day of #ToN2018