Aug. 12 (UPI) -- The United States Women's National Team hired former soccer star Kate Markgraf Monday as the team's first general manager.
Sources told ESPN and Yahoo Sports of the hire. Markgraf, 42, won a World Cup in 1999 and two Olympic gold medals during his 12-year tenure as a defender for the women's team. She made 201 appearances for the United States.
Markgraf also won a national championship while at the University of Notre Dame. She served as an assistant coach at Marquette and coached club soccer following her playing career. Markgraf also worked as a TV commentator for NBC and ESPN.
She will be tasked with helping to find a successor for U.S. coach Jill Ellis, who announced in July she will step down as manager. Ellis has a 102-7-18 record as the women's coach, including a 13-0-1 mark in World Cup games. She is to leave after the team completes its victory tour in October.
Markgraf said on a July ESPN broadcast that the likely candidates to be the next coach are Laura Harvey, Paul Riley, Vlatko Andonovski and Mark Krikorian.
The U.S. women's team battles Portugal in a friendly matchup at 7 p.m. EDT Aug. 29 at Lincoln Financial field in Philadelphia.
