Twila Kilgore named U.S. women’s national soccer team interim coach
Assistant coach Twila Kilgore will serve as the interim coach for the United States women’s national soccer team in the wake of Vlatko Andonovski’s resignation.
One day after news broke of Andonovski reportedly stepping down, he announced his resignation Thursday, the U.S. Soccer Federation confirmed.
Kilgore has been on the coaching staff for nearly two years after serving as an assistant for the Houston Dash in the NWSL.
She was the women’s soccer coach at UC Davis from 2014-2019 and before that was an assistant coach and associate head coach over 10 years at Pepperdine.
New Sporting Director Matt Crocker will lead the search for the new coach. His recent search for the US men’s national team led him back to Gregg Berhalter.
The next step is important for U.S. Soccer with the London Olympics approaching next year.
The U.S. struggled at the World Cup, finishing second in its group and falling to Sweden in the Round of 16 in the team’s earliest exit in the World Cup. The U.S. was in a difficult position to start the tournament with so many familiar faces like Catarina Macario, Mallory Swanson and Becky Sauerbrunn injured and unavailable. That led to a roster that featured 14 players making their World Cup debut.
The U.S. opened the tournament with a 3-0 win over Vietnam, but followed with consecutive draws against Netherlands (1-1) and Portugal (0-0) to escape out of group play. Against Sweden, the U.S. was eliminated in penalties after a scoreless draw.
During his time as coach Andonovski, who replaced Jill Ellis in 2019, had a 51-5-9 record.
“It’s been the honor of my life to coach the talented, hard-working players of the USWNT for the past four years,” Andonovski said in a statement. “I’m very optimistic for the future of this program, especially considering all the young players that got opportunities over the past few years who will no doubt be leaders and impact players moving forward.
“While we are all disappointed by the outcome at this year’s World Cup, I am immensely proud of the progress this team has made, the support they’ve shown for each other, and the inspiration they’ve provided for players around the world. I will be forever thankful to the U.S. Soccer Federation for giving me the chance to coach this remarkable team.”
The World Cup exit came after a disappointing bronze-medal finish two years ago at the Tokyo Olympics.
The U.S. will be back in action Sept. 21 and Sept. 24 in a pair of friendlies against South Africa.