Alex Morgan: Game-Winning Goal Adds to Scorer's Meteoric Rise

Alex Morgan's game-winning goal in the 122nd minute of Team USA's soccer match against Canada only adds to what we already knew. The American squad is intent on an Olympic gold medal, and Morgan is Team USA's next soccer icon.

We've seen Mia Hamm enjoy her incredibly productive career, and current player Abby Wambach has etched her name right next to Hamm's in Team USA's soccer history. Now, alongside of Wambach on the American offense, Morgan is creating her own legacy.

Monday's decisive goal against Canada is just the newest chapter.

She put herself on the map with her performance in the 2011 World Cup. She was the youngest player on USA's roster, but she still managed to pick up two goals throughout the tournament. Her World Cup performance was highlighted by her goal against Japan in the final and her assist to Wambach later in the game.

She could have missed a beat in London.

The World Cup is a major international event, but this is the Olympics. It doesn't get bigger than this, and at 23 years old, she could have faltered in her first appearance on this grand stage. 

Instead, Morgan has electrified opponents so far in London. With her score against Canada, Morgan now has three goals and three assists. That gives her 29 goals in 43 international appearances.

Morgan's rapid rise can't be emphasized enough.

It has taken her less than two years to establish herself as one of the world's best goal scorers, and she still has several years of world-class soccer in front of her. 

Hamm made her international debut as a 19-year-old phenom in the 1991 World Cup. She ended her career with 158 international goals in 275 career appearances. No one is expecting Morgan to equal that mark, but her popularity is entering the area Hamm enjoyed at her age.

Team USA's women's soccer team is always expected to contend for World Cup crowns and Olympic gold medals. In order to do that, star players are needed.

Wambach is in the twilight of her career, and Morgan has taken the proverbial torch and run with it. Her meteoric rise hasn't slowed down in London, and there doesn't appear to be any end in sight for this ultra-talented American scorer.

Morgan has everything you need in a star. She's marketable, she's talented and she's established herself in an unthinkable amount of time. Don't expect her budding reputation to diminish very soon.

If Team USA is playing, you will see her name in the box score for many years to come.