Meet Morgan
Morgan Brian, 19, was raised in Brunswick, Georgia, a port town in the southeastern part of the state situated between the beach communities of Jekyll and St. Simon’s islands. She started playing soccer, in addition to dancing and riding horses, when she was 4. Her older sister, Jennifer, also became a college soccer player.
According to her mother, Vickie, Brian’s talent was visible early.
“We wished we could take credit, but she had a God-given gift,” Vickie said. “Her brain works differently from other athletes and she has the natural instinct to know what to do.”
Brian displayed a singular kind of focus on the pee wee fields.
“When everyone else was either picking flowers, daydreaming, or following the crowd, Morgan had the ball and was going to goal,” Vickie said.
And she didn’t like losing.
“When she was 7 years old, she was playing on a U9 soccer team and if they did not win, she would get so mad she would throw a tantrum and cry,” Vickie said. “The coach told us if she didn’t get her temper under control, no one would want to coach or play with her.”
When her friends were at movies or hanging out, Morgan could be found practicing with the ball against the wall or with a goal. She was the best player every time she set foot on the field. But her parents weren’t soccer players. They really had no way of knowing how good she could be.
“Steve and I knew she was good for our area but we kept thinking she would eventually run into someone who was better or she wouldn’t be one of the best,” Vickie said.
Turns out, that hasn’t happened yet. Brian joined the Ponte Vedra Storm, a north Florida club powerhouse, when she was 11. After failing to make a U12 Olympic development team—a disappointment she still cites as a motivator—Brian made the full national team in the U14 age group and she’s been a fixture in the system, in the center of midfield, for the past five years.
Brian, like many girls of her age, idolized Mia Hamm growing up, but these days, she only has eyes for Leo Messi, Barcelona’s Argentine genius. I asked her what makes her so good. When she receives a pass, she already knows what she’s going to do next.
“I think a lot of it has to do with your first touch. Some players will take a bad first touch and they’ll have to get into a physical battles,” she said. “A lot of times I’ll take my first touch away from pressure and don’t have to get into those situations, but when I do, it’s not usually a problem.”
Interviewing Brian is not like talking to a sophomore in college. She’s matter-of-fact, confident, and expects questions to be direct. Her coach describes her as a player with a full tool set. She can calm a team down in possession, play in tight spaces, shoot with both feet, and take people off the dribble. But what sets her apart, she says, is her ability to tune into the game and its players.
“What makes Morgan special is that she has all those skills and she’s able to bring whatever she needs to the table on a certain day, but the best part of her game is her brain,” Swanson said. “She’s able to make the players around her better and that’s unique. You don’t see that very often.”
As a high school junior, Brian and her U17 U.S. team failed to qualify for the World Cup. A few days later, she learned that the women’s coach at the University of Georgia, where she intended to go to school, was leaving. She had to reconsider her college decision at a time when she was not feeling good about the game, and she chose UVA and Swanson, mainly because of the team’s style of play.
“There’s like three or four schools in the country that are known to play good soccer and you know that growing up and especially when you start getting recruited,” Brian said.
She came into her freshman year with sky-high expectations and produced, scoring 11 goals and notching eight assists, leading UVA to an NCAA quarterfinal.
Swanson compared Brian to Iowa Hawkeye basketball standout Michelle Edwards.
“You’re just like, yeah, I’d pay to see that,” he said.
To give you some perspective on the comparison, Edwards’ teammate Jolette Law in a 2008 interview with Big Ten sports media:
“She was Ice,” Law said. “She had ice water in her veins. She was calm under pressure and just money. As a point guard, I knew that every game we played we had a chance with Michelle. I knew if I got the ball to her in the right place, we’d be money. She was our go-to player.”
“Morgan’s one of the most skilled midfielders this country’s ever produced and it would be sad if you didn’t play through her. I think for our game she’s just really special and you want to see that,” Swanson said. “There’s a style that you emphasize as a team and then there are certain players that just stand out within that. I think that’s what’s great about Morgan. She can fit into any team but then the team gravitates to her.”
The coach is still learning about the player, who, remember, is only 19.
“She can forget about mistakes,” Swanson said. “Sometimes I’ll actually hear her laugh on the field. I think it’s a great quality to have. I think you need it. You have to have a short-term memory. She’s not scared to make mistakes. But when she makes them she doesn’t dwell on them. I think too many athletes at this level, they make a mistake and it hurts them for the next play and the next play. I think with Morgan, she just flushes it.”
He also knows Brian hasn’t reached her ceiling. Physically, she is still getting stronger and faster. Technically, she is constantly improving. Tactically, she is learning when to let the game come to her and when to take it over.
“The more people get to know Morgan on the national stage, the more they’ll see what I’m talking about,” Swanson said.
“Hearing that’s nice but at some point it goes in one ear and out the other,” Brian said. “I just play every day and try to get better.”
Her parents are amazed by her, like they don’t understand where she came from exactly. But they are still her parents.
“She is very humble and understands God blessed her with athletic ability and it is her responsibility to make the most of it and to be thankful,” Vickie said. “She also understands that one day athletics will not be the center of her life.”
Brian is not so sure, especially after the World Cup final. She liked the feeling of 30,000 fans watching her. She liked the feeling of feeding off of them to reach another level.
“I think any player wants to play in front of that many people and especially on that big of a stage. It’s nothing I’d ever experienced but I loved it.”
I asked her about her goals: NCAA championship, full national team. And then?
“I do not want a job,” she said.