The United States last won the World Cup in 1999, on July 10 to be exact, in a penalty shootout with China. Civana Kuhlmann, a member of the US U-17 Women’s National Team, was a few days shy of 3 months then, so it’s hard to blame her for not being able to easily name the US roster that year.
As “new 99er” Frankie Tagliaferri says of the original 99ers: “They’re the ones who paved the way for us and they’re the reason we’re here today.”
That team, along with all current and former players, has set a very high benchmark for current youth players. Kuhlmann from Littleton, Colorado is definitely one of those players. First kicking a ball when he was only 3 or 4 years old, he states that there is nothing else he would like to do than play soccer. When she began to realize that playing soccer was his calling, she was willing to put in hours of practice to be the best. She would soon bring her talents to play for her hometown club, Colorado Rush Soccer Club, and the United States Junior National Team program. Her first appearance in a game was with the U17 WNT, where as a 14-year-old she scored as a second-half substitute in a game against Trinidad and Tobago in October 2013.
Since performing for both club and country since she was 14 years old, Kuhlmann has placed herself in the upper echelon of emerging young Americans who could replace Abby Wambach or Alex Morgan in the future. As for her next step in her development, in October 2014, Kuhlmann signed her letter of intent to play for Stanford University. This decision to play at Stanford comes with a bit of a surprise considering the fact that at the age of 16 she knew exactly what she wanted in college, as well as what she needed to do to maintain her long-term goal of continue. play for the United States.
Kuhlmann says there were three factors that helped her decide that Stanford was the right place for her once she graduated in 2017. Those three factors were: academics, football and school culture. “While she was at Stanford, the girls were great, the culture was even better as she walked around campus and the soccer program speaks for itself,” Ella Kuhlmann said.
However, when you consider the pedigree of Stanford University, it may not be that impressive.
Stanford has fueled and nurtured the young lives of several female soccer stars, from Christen Press and Kelley O’Hara of the current US Women’s National Team to that legendary 1999 World Cup-winning team. So when it came At the time of Civana Kuhlmann’s decision, she knew that Stanford was the place for her to be continually challenged in hopes of one day reaching the goal of becoming a member of the United States Women’s National Team.
Most recently, Kuhlmann was part of the U.S. U-17 Women’s National Team’s most recent training camp held in May under head coach BJ Snow at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista. , Calif. Snow called up 28 players for the event, six born in 2000 and the rest in 1999, as the team continued its long-term preparation for qualification for the 2016 U-17 Women’s World Cup in Jordan. The top three teams from the 2016 CONCACAF U-17 Women’s Championship that will take place next March will qualify.
Although she is already playing for the US Junior National Team program and is committed to Stanford, Kuhlmann still knows she has a lot of room for improvement.
“I’ve recognized what I’ve already achieved, but I’ll never be satisfied. That’s the way I’ve always been,” she said.
He also points out that for younger players you should enjoy and spend time working on your game and playing style while you are young, but never forget to have fun.
It’s safe to say that Kuhlmann has never had a hard time enjoying himself when it comes to football. With an impressive resume at this point in his football career, we could well be on our way to seeing the evolution of another Stanford Cardinal in the mix for future USWNT play, much like Press, O’Hara, Foudy and others before him. she. .