Alex Morgan, Christine Sinclair will play for Portland Thorns

PORTLAND, Ore. – U.S. Women’s National Team star and Alex Morgan will play for the Portland Thorns when a new women’s professional soccer league starts up in the spring.

Morgan, who was named U.S. Soccer’s Female Athlete of the Year in 2012, rose to prominence as a substitute during the 2011 World Cup and was a star of the 2012 gold medal Olympic team.

The 23-year-old forward is the only other player besides Mia Hamm to record 20 goals and 20 assists in a calendar year for the national team.

The Thorns will also feature former University of Portland forward Christine Sinclair, who also plays for the Canadian national team.

Sinclair won two national championships while at UP and is third on the all-time international goal-scoring list with 143 goals in 190 appearances for Canada.

During the player allocation process on Friday, Portland also landed five other players, including two from the U.S. national team.

Rachel Buehler – Defender

Buehler, 27, has 98 caps for the U.S. national team and was a captain for three years at Stanford

Tobin Heath – Midfielder

Heath, 24, has 60 caps with the U.S. national team and appeared in all six matches during the London Olympics.

Karina LeBlanc – Goalkeeper

LeBlanc, 32, started one game for the Canadians during the Olympics and recorded a shutout versus South Africa.

Marlene Sandoval – Defender

Sandoval, 28, was backup defender for the Mexican national team during the 2011 World Cup. She is a native of Placentia, Calif.

Luz Saucedo – Defender

Saucedo, 27, was a starter for the Mexican national team during the 2011 World Cup.

Read more: Portland Thorns website