The start of Morris Duggan’s soccer career was inauspicious.
Growing up as a teenager near Munich, Duggan didn’t play in any youth academy system. He’s a fan of German super-club Bayern, but he only took the field for his village club, Kirchheimer SC, which is six tiers below the top-level Bundesliga.
“I was just playing for fun,” Duggan told the Pioneer Press this week. “Because in Germany, it’s kind of like, if you don’t grow up playing academy, there’s no real future. That’s the stereotype.”
Duggan weaved around those European conventions via a series of backdoors in the U.S. and the 24-year-old made his first MLS start in Minnesota United’s season opener against Los Angeles FC last Saturday.
While Jefferson Diaz’s red-card suspension led to his first start, the second-year center back is in line to keep his place for the Loons’ home opener against CF Montreal at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Allianz Field.
“I thought he had a really good 90 minutes,” head coach Eric Ramsay said of Duggan’s performance in the 1-0 loss. “I would say overall very composed, very strong in his one-v-one duels. He stepped in with the ball well. He made things happen.”
Loons captain center back Michael Boxall saw Duggan earn a spot during preseason friendlies and training sessions. “He’s got the athleticism, obviously the size (6-foot-4),” Boxall said. “Then on a big stage (in LA), big moments, you saw him with composure. He didn’t look out of place the full 90 minutes. So, I think he’s only going to continue to grow.”
Morris Duggan #23 of Minnesota United heads the ball against Aaron Long #33 of Los Angeles FC during the MLS match between Los Angeles Football Club and Minnesota United FC at BMO Stadium on Feb. 22, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
Overcoming dead ends
Mark Duggan saw his teenage son have success at Kirchheimer, playing all over the field, including as an attacking midfielder, and encouraged Morris to see where he could go in the sport.
“I’m so thankful for him … seeing that in me, because I didn’t see that in myself at that point,” Duggan said.
A spell with an Under-19 team didn’t go far, and he was back at Kirchheimer through high school in 2020. Then an agency reached out via Instagram to see if he was interested in studying and playing in the U.S.
“I wasn’t really doing anything at that point in my life,” Duggan said. “It just sounded exciting. So, it literally gave me this goal, this drive where it really changed my life around.”
His first stop was Florence, S.C. and Division II program Francis Marion, but he was deemed ineligible to play almost as soon as he arrived.
The next stop was Iowa Lakes Community College in Spencer. Lakers coach Ben MacRae said they didn’t have a center back show up a week before the season started, so they took a flier on Duggan with only had a short highlight video for reference.
Duggan had a strong first season, playing in 23 games, including a surge in the NJCAA national tournament. It led to a scholarship offer from Marshall University in West Virginia, one of the premier Division I men’s soccer programs in the country.
For the Thundering Herd, Duggan totaled 2,927 minutes across 37 matches on back-to-back NCAA tournament teams in 2022-23.
“My first year at Marshall, (I thought) I can actually go professional,” Duggan said. “When I was in junior college, I didn’t think I was gonna make it. But then I just got better and better.”
The Loons selected Duggan with the 67th pick in the third round in 2024 draft, but his rookie season included more detours.
A roundabout
Visa issues kept Duggan from arriving at the start of the 2024 preseason, which isn’t a good sign for a third-round pick needing to scrounge up everything in order to make the squad. But he showed MNUFC enough for the club to sign him to a one-year contract.
Duggan primarily played for MNUFC2, the club’s development team, including in the U.S. Open Cup. When the Loons were down a ton of players in June, he played 49 MLS minutes across two matches, then got some minutes for the first team during Leagues Cup in July.
Duggan then went on loan at Rhode Island FC in August; he didn’t see it as a step back. His history in the game gave him patience to see it out in the U.S. second division, and he helped the first-year team reach the USL Championship final.
The on-ramp
The Loons made two preseason trips to California, and in between Duggan drove 3½ hours to Spencer, a small town in Iowa’s northwest corner. Duggan’s wife, Halley, heard stories about Iowa Lakes and he wanted to show her around.
“She was really surprised to the environment that was there,” he said. “I showed her the stadium (which has a small set of bleachers) and everything. It’s in the middle of nowhere.”
MacRae, who is in his 12th year as coach, tries to stays in touch with former Lakers players. He has had a handful of alums reach the USL levels, but Duggan is the first to climb to MLS. The majority of the Lakers’ roster is internationals, making Duggan a great role model.
“He’s a very humble young man, and was very gracious to come down and speak to our boys,” MacRae said. “He did an unbelievable job. It helps our players understand that there is a pathway to the pros, and it might not be at the top end, but it might be a second, third, fourth league. It does help them understand when they’ve got someone that (they) can look up to.”
MacRae wasn’t surprised to see Duggan reach the pros.
“Relentless,” MacRae said. “He was in the gym every day. He’s working at our indoor center, trying to make sure he’s getting better, improving himself every single day. So, those are the players that you know are going to be successful.”
Duggan didn’t have prepared remarks for the Lakers and mostly answered their questions.
“Wherever you go, you can’t be intimidated by the players who are there,” Duggan told them. “Coming from where I come, every step I took there was (good) players. At Marshall, there was academy players from Germany — like, big academies. … You just have to believe in yourself. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter where you came from; it just matters how you do now.”
When Duggan made his first MLS start, he faced MLS Best XI striker Denis Bouanga. The match and Duggan’s performance created a buzz in Spencer. Current Lakers players brought it up in their locker room, and MacRae is encouraged about where Duggan can keep going.
“I feel like I’m finally where I want to be,” Duggan said.
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