BERKELEY - Eight years ago, Alex Morgan made her presence known on the world soccer stage. The youngest player on the United States roster, the Cal graduate tallied a goal and an assist in the 2011 Women's World Cup final in Frankfurt, Germany, though the U.S. fell short to Japan on penalty kicks.

Four years ago in Canada, Morgan and the United States exacted revenge, defeating Japan, 5-2, in the World Cup final. It was the United States' third Women's World Cup title, but first since 1999.

On Sunday, Morgan and the U.S. once again be take stage, squaring off against the Netherlands in Lyon, France, in the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup final (kickoff at 8 a.m. PT on FOX/Telemundo). The United States, ranked No. 1 in the world, looks to become just the second nation ever to repeat as Women's World Cup champion, while the Netherlands, which won the European Championship in 2017, is making its first appearance in the Women's World Cup final.

Morgan will be playing in familiar territory in Lyon, also the site of the semifinals in this year's tournament, having spent a six-month spell on loan with powerhouse Olympique Lyonnais in 2017. Morgan enters Sunday's final with plenty of momentum, scoring the game-winning goal in Tuesday's 2-1 semifinal win over England and leading the tournament in scoring with six goals and three assists. Going from a super-sub in 2011 to a team captain in 2019, Morgan has embraced her evolving role with the national team.

"Each tournament for me has given me something different, and I have looked at it through it in a different lens," Morgan told Yahoo Sports earlier in the week. "I think we've put so much into this journey together and now we have one more game to close it out."

While Morgan will be the only Cal graduate taking part in Sunday's final, three other Golden Bears competed this summer in France. Betsy Hassett and Daisy Cleverley played for New Zealand, while Miranda Nild represented Thailand. While both nations failed to advance out of their respective groups, the experience was a memorable one.

Nild, who spent most of the past spring flying back and forth between Bangkok and Berkeley as she simultaneously trained for the World Cup and completed her degree in American studies, played every minute of every match for Thailand and relished the opportunity to make her World Cup debut against the United States.

"The World Cup was an amazing experience," said Nild, who hopes to pursue a professional soccer career. "I loved every minute of being in it. The fans and the atmosphere of this tournament was astounding and only added to my love for this beautiful game."

Although 2019 marked the third World Cup for Hassett and second for Cleverley, the experience this summer provided numerous opportunities for growth, both on and off the pitch.

"This World Cup was definitely a step up from the last and surpassed many of my expectations," said Cleverley, who returns to the Golden Bear midfield this fall. "France was a great place to host the World Cup, and we were lucky enough to be able to explore the cities we stayed in and really experience much of the French culture. Despite the losses and not progressing to the next round, the experiences were invaluable. Learning from some of the best players in the world day in and day out is something I will never take for granted. I felt our team deserved so much more than what our results showed, but we have much more to give, and our time will eventually come."

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