August was a fantastic month for the Orlando Pride as they went on a 4-0-1 run that now sees them sitting in fourth and poised for their first playoff appearance in their history should they win their remaining games. At the heart of the streak was the performance of star player Alex Morgan, who was also named the NWSL Player of the Month for August.
Morgan's blistering form propels the Pride up the standings
With her first ever Player of the Month honors, Morgan has been given the recognition her play has deserved in August. Alongside Marta, Morgan has been at the heart of a resurgence by the Pride which has seen them climb into fourth place going into the last few matches of the National Women's Soccer League regular season.
During that period, the US international scored seven goals and nabbed two assists in five games. Her 13 total shots led to a 54% shooting accuracy and she helped out her teammates by creating 11 goal scoring chances during that time frame as well. Morgan's return to full fitness and her renewed commitment to Orlando after skance speculation of a return to Olympique Lyonnais will please the Pride fans immensely, and they will hope that she will lead them to their first ever playoff run in a few weeks time.
Game-winning goals by Morgan were a big part of her August
In three of the five matches that Orlando played, Morgan scored the game-winning goal in those games, which is a new record in the NWSL. Her first goal of the month was an equalizer against fellow playoff contenders, the Chicago Red Stars on August 5th. The striker then followed that up with a brace against Sky Blue FC a week later, and another against the Boston Breakers on August 19th. Morgan then got the game-winning goal against FC Kansas City late in the match to give Orlando a dramatic win.
Morgan's form has allowed the Pride to go undefeated in a calendar month for the first time in their history and put them into a three-point lead over Seattle Reign FC in the standings. The two teams face each other tomorrow and Morgan will be hoping to put in another strong performance and secure her team's playoff spot. This award is the first time an Orlando Pride player has picked up Player of the Month honors and previously, Morgan had only been awarded Player of the Week honors in 2014 as a Portland Thorns FC player.
The NWSL Player of the Month is selected each month of the regular season by the NWSL Media Association, a collection of writers that cover the league on a consistent basis.