Women’s soccer assistant to report to national training camp

Kate Markgraf, assistant coach for the Harvard women’s soccer team, will travel to Carson, Calif. from January 11-15 to take part in training camp for the U.S Women’s National team.

This weekend’s training camp will give head coach Greg Ryan a chance to evaluate the 28 players he has invited to Carson before whittling his roster down to 20 players. Those 20 will then travel to Gungzhou, China, to play in the Four Nations Tournament.

The United States, ranked second internationally, will kick off tournament play on January 26 against top-ranked Germany. It will also play 12th-ranked England and ninth-ranked host China over the next four days.

With 153 “caps,” Markgraf reports to camp as the most experienced member of this year’s national team. In her eight-year career representing the U.S., Markgraf has appeared in 146 games, starting 137. What’s more, she has played for the U.S. in two Women’s World Cup tournaments and two Olympic Games.

Last year, Markgraf took some well-deserved time off from the national team to start a family. But after giving birth to her son, Keegan, in July, the 30-year-old Markgraf returned to represent the U.S. in friendlies against Taipei and Iceland—games her team won by scores of 10-0 and 2-1, respectively.

Between raising a family and playing at the highest level, Markgraf still found time to work with a young Harvard squad. After the departure of stellar goalkeeper Katie Shields ’06 and her record-setting eleven shutouts in 2005, freshmen defenders had to learn quickly this past season to retain the team’s standard for strong defensive play. Working with Markgraf helped speed up this transition.

“She has really helped us lay out our defensive strategy,” freshman defender Lizzy Nichols said in October. “She was really key in that beginning stage of organization.”

“We respect her so much because we know she has played at the top level of soccer for so long,” co-captain Laura Odorczyk added in October. “She uses her experiences, both positive and negative, to help us learn to become better players.”

Markgraf’s experience should be essential not only in Cambridge, but on the international stage as well. Of the 28 players invited to camp, only seven remain from the 2004 Olympic championship roster and only 11 have earned a cap.

­­—THE CRIMSON STAFF