Twila Kilgore will serve as interim coach of the U.S. women’s national soccer team following the resignation of coach Vlatko Andonovski, the U.S. Soccer Federation announced Thursday.
Kilgore, the first American-born woman to earn U.S. Soccer’s top-level pro license, was an assistant under Andonovski for 1 1/2 years and will lead the team while a search for a permanent coach is conducted.
Andonovski’s resignation came less than two weeks after the United States was knocked out of the Women’s World Cup earlier than ever before.
“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,” Andonovski said in a statement released Thursday.
Kilgore was previously an assistant coach with the Houston Dash in the National Women’s Soccer League and worked with numerous U.S. youth women’s national teams. She has spent 15 years in the college ranks, as a head coach at the University of California-Davis and as an assistant at Pepperdine before landing the top job there.