The United States U-18 women's national soccer team is a youth soccer team operated under the auspices of U.S. Soccer. Its primary role is the development of players in preparation for the senior women's national team, as well as bridging the development between the two major youth competition levels of the U-17 and the U-20.

History

Between 1998 and 2001, the United States U-18 was active as the primary youth-level team. It was led by Shannon Higgins-Cirovski, the first coach in the team's history, through the middle of 1999 before she left for the

Maryland Terrapins The Maryland Terrapins, commonly referred to as the Terps, consist of 19 men's and women's varsity intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Maryland, College Park in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Divis ...

soccer team. Jay Hoffman, who served as Higgins-Cirovski's assistant, took charge of the team and led them to a gold medal for the

1999 Pan American Games The 1999 Pan American Games, officially the XIII Pan American Games or the 13th Pan American Games, was a major international multi-sport event that was held from July 23 to August 8, 1999, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada and surrounding towns and ...

, the first time the tournament was open to women's teams. Among the U-18 women playing at the 1999 Pan American Games were future senior national team members Cat Whitehill and

Hope Solo Hope Amelia Stevens (; born July 30, 1981) is an American former soccer goalkeeper. She was a goalkeeper for the United States women's national soccer team from 2000 to 2016, and is a World Cup champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist. Afte ...

.U.S. Under-18 Women Defeat Mexico 1–0, Take Home Inaugural Pan Am Championship
US Soccer, August 5, 1999. In 2001, the

United States Soccer Federation The United States Soccer Federation (USSF), commonly referred to as U.S. Soccer, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the official governing body of the sport of soccer in the United States. Headquartered in Chicago, the federation is ...

decided to change the age limit from the U-18 team to U-19. The move was in preparation for FIFA's introduction of the first ever

FIFA U-19 Women's World Championship The FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup is an international association football tournament, organized by FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association), for national teams of women under the age of 20. The tournament is held in even-numbere ...

(which has since changed). The team therefore became dormant with only periodic competitions until 2019, when the Federation (under general manager

Kate Markgraf Kathryn Michele Markgraf (; born August 23, 1976) is the General Manager of the United States women's national soccer team and a retired American professional soccer defender. She previously played for the Chicago Red Stars in the WPS, the B ...

) reinstated all youth-level teams in their own right.

Competitive record

Pan American Games

The under-18 team participated and won the inaugural soccer tournament in the

competing against full national teams. These opportunities are a consequence of holding the FIFA Women's World Cup in the same year as the Pan American Games.

Coaches

* Shannon Higgins-Cirovski (1998–1999) * Jay Hoffman (1999) * Steve Swanson (2000) *

Tracey Leone Tracey Marie Leone (; born May 5, 1967) is a retired American soccer midfielder who was a member of the United States women's national soccer team. She was the first American to win a world championship as both a player and as a head coach. In ...

(2001) * Tracey Kevins (2019) * Mark Carr (2019) *

Chris Petrucelli Christopher Joseph Petrucelli (born May 9, 1962) is an American soccer manager who is currently the head coach of the Chicago Red Stars in the National Women's Soccer League. Playing career Raised in Edison, New Jersey, Petrucelli attended J. P. ...

(2020)

References

{{USSoccer Youth soccer in the United States Women's national under-18 association football teams North American national under-18 association football teams Soc U18 U18