With Vlatko Andonovski stepping down from his role as U.S. women’s national team head coach, his former assistant Twila Kilgore has stepped in as the team’s interim head coach.
Kilgore served as Andonovski’s assistant for a year and a half, having left her role as Houston Dash assistant early in 2022 to join the USWNT staff.
Prior to her time with the Dash, Kilgore (formerly Kaufman) was a coach in the college ranks for 15 years at Pepperdine University and UC Davis.
Kilgore also served as USWNT U-23 coach for a January camp in 2022, and USWNT U-20 head coach for the La Manga Tournament in Spain in 2019.
In 2021, Kilgore became the first American-born woman and only the third woman ever to earn U.S. Soccer’s Pro Coaching License, the top qualification in the American coaching system.
Interim head coach Twila Kilgore (formerly Kaufman) served as #USWNT assistant coach for the past year and a half, and in 2021 became the first American-born woman to earn U.S. Soccer’s Pro Coaching License. pic.twitter.com/VPSanYQYGF
— U.S. Women's National Soccer Team (@USWNT) August 17, 2023
While U.S. Soccer conducts a search for a permanent head coach, Kilgore is set to take charge of the USWNT’s first two post-World Cup games: a pair of friendlies against South Africa on September 21 in Cincinnati, and September 24 in Chicago.
How long Kilgore stays in charge after that will depend on the length of U.S. Soccer’s search. The Washington Post said that Kilgore’s tenure could last “deep into the fall” as the federation looks for the right candidate to lead the team into the 2024 Olympics and beyond.
Some of the top candidates figure to be England coach Sarina Wiegman, OL Reign coach Laura Harvey, and Australia coach (and longtime USWNT assistant) Tony Gustavsson.
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