CHICAGO (AP) — Alex Morgan, winner of two Women’s World Cup titles and an Olympic gold medal, is leaving professional soccer as one of the U.S. national team’s most prolific scorers and a pioneer in the fight for equal pay.

Morgan, 35, who said she is pregnant with her second child, made the announcement on social media on Thursday. Morgan was moved to tears at times in her heartfelt message.

“This decision was not easy, but at the beginning of 2024 I felt in my heart and soul that this would be my last season playing football,” he said. “Football has been a part of me for 30 years and was one of the first things I loved. I gave my all to this sport and what I got in return was more than I could have ever imagined.”

Morgan will play her final game with her club team, the San Diego Wave of the National Women’s Soccer League, on Sunday at Snapdragon Stadium.

Morgan made a difference both on and off the field during her 15-year career with Team USA, fighting for equal pay and speaking out on social justice issues.

In addition to winning World Cup titles in 2015 and 2019, Morgan won a gold medal with the United States at the 2012 London Olympics and a bronze medal at the 2021 Tokyo Games. She first joined the national team in 2009.

Morgan played in 224 games for the national team, finishing ninth with 123 goals (fifth all-time) and 53 assists (ninth all-time). She was named U.S. Soccer Player of the Year in 2012 and 2018.

His last match with the United States was against South Korea on June 4, 2024. He was not on the roster of players who won gold medals at the Paris Olympics.

Morgan was one of five players who filed a pay discrimination complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 2016. The players sued US Soccer in 2019, citing unequal pay and treatment compared to the men’s national team. The case was settled and in 2022 the parties agreed to collective bargaining agreements that pay both teams equal pay.

“Success to me is defined by never giving up and giving your best, and that’s exactly what I did,” Morgan said. “I give my best every day on the field, and I’ve done that by making a relentless effort to invest in women’s sports because we deserve it.”

Morgan has played for the Wave since 2022. She also had stints with the Portland Thorns and Orlando Pride during her NWSL career. In 2022, she won the league’s Golden Boot award for top goalscorer. She has also played internationally for Lyon and Tottenham.

Morgan and her husband, Servando Carrasco, have a daughter named Charlie, who was born in 2020.

“Charlie came to me the other day and said he wants to be a football player when he grows up,” Morgan said. “It made me so proud, not because I want him to be a football player when he grows up, but because it’s a path that even a 4-year-old can see now. We’re changing lives and the impact we have on the next generation is irreversible and I’m so proud of the part I played in making that happen, moving the game forward and leaving it in a place that I’m so happy and proud of.”

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