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Twila Kilgore will function interim coach of the U.S. ladies’s nationwide soccer staff following the resignation of coach Vlatko Andonovski, the U.S. Soccer Federation introduced on Thursday.
Kilgore, the primary American-born lady to earn U.S. Soccer’s top-level Professional License, was an assistant beneath Andonovski for 1 1/2 years and can lead the staff whereas a seek for a everlasting coach is carried out.
Andonovski’s resignation comes lower than two weeks after the US was knocked out of the Ladies’s World Cup sooner than ever earlier than.
“Whereas we’re all dissatisfied by the end result at this yr’s World Cup, I’m immensely happy with the progress this staff has made, the help they’ve proven for one another, and the inspiration they’ve supplied for gamers around the globe. I shall be perpetually grateful to the U.S. Soccer Federation for giving me the possibility to educate this outstanding staff,” Andonovski mentioned in a press release.
Beforehand, Kilgore was an assistant coach with the Houston Sprint within the Nationwide Ladies’s Soccer League and labored with quite a few U.S. youth ladies’s nationwide groups. She’s spent 15 years within the school sport, as a head coach at UC-Davis and an assistant at Pepperdine earlier than touchdown the highest job there.
Kilgore will lead the U.S. staff in a pair of exhibition matches in opposition to South Africa on Sept. 21 in Cincinnati and on Sept. 24 in Chicago.
The four-time match champions struggled all through the World Cup. A victory over Vietnam to kick off the group stage was adopted by a pair of attracts in opposition to the Netherlands and Portugal — barely sufficient to get the staff into the knockout stage.
The Individuals performed effectively within the Spherical of 16 in opposition to Sweden, however in the end fell on penalties after a scoreless tie. The U.S. scored simply 4 objectives over the course of the match. America had by no means completed worse than third on the World Cup.
U.S. Soccer Sporting Director Matt Crocker, appointed to the job in April, will lead the seek for a brand new coach. Crocker has launched an in-depth evaluation of the ladies’s program aimed toward guaranteeing the staff stays aggressive.
“It’s crucial that we proceed to evolve and innovate, and we’re excited in regards to the path that lies forward,” Crocker mentioned in a press release. “We perceive the challenges and have engaged with stakeholders from numerous corners of our sport — gamers, coaches, and different people inside the soccer panorama. The insights and views gathered throughout these discussions have been instrumental in shaping our forward-looking plan.”
The 46-year-old Andonovski was named coach of the US in October 2019, taking up for Jill Ellis, who led the US to back-to-back World Cup titles. He completed 51-5-9 throughout his time with the staff and was 3-2-5 in main tournaments.
“We need to prolong our deepest gratitude to Vlatko for his dedication to the Ladies’s Nationwide Workforce,” U.S. Soccer president Cindy Parlow Cone mentioned in a press launch. “We all know he’ll proceed to contribute to the expansion of the ladies’s sport in the US and need him effectively in his future endeavors.”
America additionally completed with a disappointing bronze medal on the Tokyo Olympics. Afterward, Andonovski turned his consideration on creating younger gamers forward of the World Cup. A few of the gamers who emerged had been Sophia Smith, final yr’s U.S. Soccer Participant of the 12 months, and Trinity Rodman.
Fourteen gamers on the U.S. roster had been showing of their first World Cup, and 12 had by no means performed in a serious match.
America was additionally bitten by accidents within the run-up to the match, shedding a pair of key gamers. Mallory Swanson injured her knee throughout a pleasant in April, and captain Becky Sauerbrunn couldn’t get better from a foot damage in time.
Promising younger ahead Catarina Macario tore her ACL enjoying for her membership staff Lyon final yr and likewise wasn’t able to play within the World Cup.
Andonovski’s predecessor on the U.S. staff, Ellis, was named coach of the staff in 2014 and led the U.S. to eight total match titles, together with victories on the World Cup in 2015 and 2019. Over the course of her tenure, the US misplaced simply seven matches.
Ellis was requested in regards to the job Thursday whereas on the World Cup in Sydney. She heads the FIFA Technical Research Group.
“What I’d hope on this (hiring) course of (is) that it’s strong, it’s various. It needs to be,” Ellis mentioned. “This can be a important rent. And I believe it needs to be the appropriate individual.”
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AP Sports activities Author John Pye contributed to this report.
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AP World Cup protection: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-womens-world-cup
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