Portland Thorns forward Morgan Weaver has become a formidable threat to opponents after her breakout 2022 season. What stands out in a league filled with great forwards is a striking dichotomy: she is ferocious on the pitch, but plays with a palpable joy.
As one fan aptly put it, she’s got that dawg in her — a slang phrase for tough players who show up in big moments.
“I always want to win… I think just me being the best is going to bring the best out of the team as well,” Weaver told The Equalizer last week. “I’m never not going to work hard. It’s always been a thing since I was a little kid and my dad put it in my head, ‘you need to work hard always.’ And I’ve never stopped believing in that.”
She may have been forcibly signed up for soccer as a kid, but Weaver seemed to have been fated to play the sport.
“I was literally born into soccer,” Weaver said of her start. “My dad’s side of the family is all soccer. My aunt played soccer, my grandma played soccer. I was in a little baby carrier with my dad when he was coaching my cousin’s team. So it’s always been around. And then the first year I loved it.“
This year, Weaver has continued her high level of play, notching three goals and two assists for the Thorns as well as earning starts in all 11 of their regular-season matches thus far. When the only teammates ahead of her in the stats column for the combination of goals and assists are national team players Sophia Smith and Crystal Dunn, Weaver is among great company.
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