Curtis grad, WSU soccer star Morgan Weaver taken No. 2 in NWSL Draft by Portland Thorns
It didn’t take long for Morgan Weaver to feel the love after being selected No. 2 overall by the Portland Thorns soccer club last Thursday at the National Women’s Soccer League draft in Baltimore, Maryland.
Walking back to her hotel room, she was approached by Thorns fans who gifted her a club scarf.
“They just care so much,” Weaver said. “The fans are amazing.”
Weaver only hopes she can return the favor to the fans with her performance on the pitch. Weaver, a three-time Tacoma News Tribune All-Area player of the year and Curtis High School graduate went on to a prolific career at Washington State University, scoring 43 goals and tallying 12 assists in 85 games in four seasons with the Cougars.
She led the Cougars to their first College Cup in 2019 as a senior after posting a career-best 15 goals, the third most in single season history and the most for a WSU striker in the past 26 seasons.
“Just being a Coug, the amount of support I’ve gotten from WSU fans saying they’re going to get season tickets — people telling me they’re going to wear their Coug gear to the games — it’s been incredible.”
Weaver said her experience at WSU is one she’ll never forget, and one that afforded her lifelong friendships.
“The friendships I built with my teammates and coaching staff,” Weaver said. “I loved being a part of that. The games were awesome, but still being friends with some of those girls and the coaching staff — being able to have these connections throughout life is the biggest thing for me.”
Weaver said she grew more clinical as a striker in front of net in college, as opposed to high school, when she could more or less score at will with the Vikings.
“The way I looked at the goal (changed),” Weaver said. “I would just shoot just to shoot in high school. You have to make sure you don’t just shoot it. I’d slot it into the corner, find where I need to place it. I also became a better leader and a better captain and understood different people.”
Weaver, who harbors ambitions of not only being a star in the NWSL but also for the U.S. Women’s National Team on the international stage, said she’s looking forward to playing alongside USWNT mainstays Tobin Heath and Lindsey Horan with the Thorns.
“To play with them is an amazing opportunity,” Weaver said. “They’re two of the best players on the women’s national team. … And being able to go out there and get completely different coaching — I’m excited to be pushed in different ways. I’m excited to see what I can learn from other people.”
From what Weaver has seen of Portland, she feels like she’ll be a natural fit in the lineup.
“I feel they like to go forward, they like to win,” she said. “For me, just being able to be myself. Being able to play at a top level will be one of the best things for me. … I’m a very competitive person. For me, winning is not the biggest thing in life but it’s so exciting to win big games.
“My goal is to win a championship someway, somehow. I’ve never been able to say that we won the championship. I want to know that feeling, that’s my goal, to get that feeling.”
Weaver, who made sure to acknowledge all the club coaches who made an impact in her youth career at Washington Premier, is eager to get started.
“I think a big goal of mine is just to learn what type of player I am for this team,” she said. “Being able to produce what I know how to do. I can do anything I put my mind to, give my 100 percent every day.”
