Jordan Morris

Jordan Perry Morris (born October 26, 1994) is an American soccer player who plays as a forward for Seattle Sounders FC in Major League Soccer, and the United States national team.

Club career

Youth, college and amateur
Morris, from Mercer Island, Washington, began his youth career with Eastside FC, where he played from 2004 to 2012, from U11 to U17, with the Eastside FC B94 Red team, coached by Dan Strom, and helped the team to six of its seven Washington State titles as well as two third-place finishes at the US Youth Soccer National Championships in 2011 and 2012: he was named to the Best XI in 2011, and was the Golden Ball winner in 2012. Morris was also named NSCAA Washington State Player of the Year and NSCAA High School All-American in 2012.

He joined the Sounders FC youth academy and played in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy for one season. On February 6, 2012, Morris signed a letter of intent to play college soccer at Stanford University.

In his freshman year with the Cardinal, Morris appeared in all 21 matches and led all Pac-12 freshman with seven assists and 19 points and tied for the lead with six goals and helped lead his team to their first NCAA Tournament since 2009 where they would eventually fall 1–0 to #2 seed Washington in the Round of 16. He went on to be named first team All-Pac-12 that year. Morris also spent time with Seattle Sounders FC U-23 in the Premier Development League.

In his sophomore year, Morris helped lead Stanford to its first Pac-12 championship since 2001.

In his junior year, Morris scored 13 goals and had 3 assists. He led the Cardinal to both the Pac-12 and the NCAA Championships. In the NCAA tournament, Morris scored 5 of Stanford's total of 12 goals. In the championship game against Clemson, Morris scored his first of two goals in the game only 87 seconds into the contest.

On January 8, 2016, Morris was awarded the Hermann Trophy as the best player in NCAA Division I soccer.

Seattle Sounders
After winning the NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship, there was speculation that Morris would begin to play professionally. Coach Jürgen Klinsmann stated that Morris "obviously has to" turn pro. On January 5, 2016, Morris announced he decided to forgo his senior season at Stanford to turn pro. It was widely speculated that Morris would sign with the Sounders, the club for which his father works, and also holds his amateur rights. On January 21, 2016, Morris signed with Seattle Sounders FC, being given MLS's highest-ever Homegrown Player contract worth roughly $250,000 a year. He joined the Sounders' preseason training camp in Arizona, debuting in a friendly against Celaya F.C. on February 9, 2016. On February 23, 2016, Morris made his professional debut against Club América in the CONCACAF Champions League, starting the match. The following week, he debuted in the Sounders' first Major League Soccer game of the season against Sporting Kansas City.

Morris scored his first Major League Soccer goal for the Sounders on April 16, 2016, against the Philadelphia Union. He then went on to score in his next three consecutive games, matching the Seattle rookie scoring record, his next goal then surpassed the rookie goalscoring record which had been set by Steve Zakuani in 2009. He has since helped his team to win the MLS Cup after a run from ninth place into fourth, along with the help of Nicolas Lodeiro, a new midseason acquisition made by Seattle.

On February 22, 2018 while playing in El Salvador against Santa Tecla in the Sounders' first match of the 2018 CONCACAF Champions League, Morris collapsed untouched in the 85th minute with a torn ACL. He was reported to likely miss 6–9 months. After missing the entirety of the 2018 MLS season, Morris was signed to a five-year contract extension with the Sounders in December 2018.

Werder Bremen trial
On January 5, 2016, it was reported that Morris was set to train with Werder Bremen at their winter camp, which Bremen chief executive Thomas Eichin claimed was "an opportunity for us to get to know the player better. Nothing more and nothing less". On January 13, 2016, it was reported that Bremen extended the trial of Morris who then played in a friendly match against Inter Baku PIK and recorded an assist. On January 18, 2016, it was reported that Bremen had offered a contract to Morris, and Eichin claimed he was confident that they would sign him. However, it was later reported by Werder Bremen that Morris had turned down their offer in favor of playing in the United States.

International career

In May 2013, Morris was one of 22 players named to the U.S. under-20 squad for the Toulon Tournament where he made three appearances. He also made appearances for the U.S. under-23 national team on August 6, 2014 and scored in a 5–1 win over Barbados.

On August 28, 2014, Morris received his first senior call up to the U.S. men's national team for a friendly against the Czech Republic, making him the first college player to be called into squad since Chris Albright was called up in 1999 while he was still playing at the University of Virginia. While he was left on the bench, he would make his international debut in a 4–1 defeat to Ireland in November.

On April 15, 2015, he scored his first U.S. men's national team goal against Mexico in an international friendly. In the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup Final, Morris scored the winning goal for the United States, assuring a victory over Jamaica and becoming joint top scorer of the tournament with three goals.

International goals
As of matches played November 19, 2019. Scores and results list the United States's goal tally first.

Personal life
Morris was born in Seattle, Washington, to Michael and Leslie Morris. His father, Dr. Michael Morris, is the chief medical director of Seattle Sounders FC. He has three siblings named Christopher, Julian and Talia. He attended Mercer Island High School, where he played high school soccer prior to joining the Sounders Academy.

Morris was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at the age of nine and is one of the few professional athletes with the condition to play. He said that having diabetes has helped shape him. His tattoo "T1D" on his inner arm is a tribute to the armband people with diabetes have to wear.

Career statistics

International

Honors
Stanford Cardinal
 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship: 2015
 Pac-12 Conference: 2015

Seattle Sounders
 MLS Cup: 2016, 2019
 Western Conference: 2016, 2017, 2019

United States
 CONCACAF Gold Cup: 2017

Individual
 NSCAA High School All-American: 2012
 First team All-Pac-12: 2013, 2014, 2015
 Pac-12 Player of the Year: 2015
 Hermann Trophy: 2015
 MLS Rookie of the Year: 2016
 CONCACAF Gold Cup Best XI: 2017
 MLS Comeback Player of the Year: 2019

References

External links
 
 Stanford University bio

Category:1994 births
Category:Living people
Category:American soccer players
Category:Stanford Cardinal men's soccer players
Category:Seattle Sounders FC U-23 players
Category:Seattle Sounders FC players
Category:Association football forwards
Category:Soccer players from Washington (state)
Category:USL League Two players
Category:Major League Soccer players
Category:People with type 1 diabetes
Category:Hermann Trophy men's winners
Category:NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament Most Outstanding Player winners
Category:United States men's under-20 international soccer players
Category:United States men's under-23 international soccer players
Category:United States men's international soccer players
Category:2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup players
Category:Sportspeople from Seattle
Category:People from Mercer Island, Washington
Category:CONCACAF Gold Cup-winning players
Category:All-American men's college soccer players
Category:2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup players