Former national team star Shannon (Higgins) Cirovski has been named head coach of the newly formed U.S. U-18 girls national team. Cirovski was a Final Four MVP and Herrman Trophy winners during her career at North Carolina and a member of the 1991 U.S. team that captured the inaugural Women’s World Cup. She has been the head coach at George Washington University for the past seven years, but will leave the school to assume full-time duties with U.S. Soccer. “I’m excited about the position for what it means to girls’ and women’s soccer,” she said. “I look forward to helping bridge the gap between the U-18 and U-20 national teams, and of course, help prepare players for the full national team. As the 1999 Women’s World Cup approaches, we will see how the playing field has leveled around the world, and the U-18 program is a vital part of our continued development.”