Kate Sobrero Markgraf in 1999. (Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY)
Monday was a pretty, pretty good day for Kate Sobrero Markgraf.
Earlier in the day she discovered would receive the NCAA’s Silver Anniversary Award.
Later on, the former U.S. women’s national team standout and current general manager of the team, learned that she will be inducted as a member of its 2023 class at a ceremony May 6 at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas.
She joined DaMarcus Beasley, Landon Donovan, Jill Ellis, Lauren Cheney Holiday and Slavisa “Steve” Zungul in the Class of 2023.
Markgraf’s former teammate Julie Foudy, a 2007 Hall of Fame inductee, surprised her with the news of her election on the air during halftime of the NCAA Women’s College Cup final on ESPNU.
A precious moment shared with a lifelong friend and teammate!
Here's the moment that @JulieFoudy let @katemarkgraf know she's going into the Hall of Fame in 2023, live on the College Cup Halftime Show! @NCAASoccer | @USWNT | @ESPN pic.twitter.com/KpfqtLGnew
— National Soccer HOF (@soccerhof) December 6, 2022
A defender who was a regular in the U.S. team that won the 1999 Women’s World Cup, Markgraf was elected from the Veteran ballot. Markgraf played 201 games for the U.S. Women’s National Team between 1998 and 2010, including appearances in three World Cups and three Olympic Games. In addition to the 1999 World Cup, Markgraf played for the U.S. teams that won gold medals in the 2004 and 2008 Olympics.
Markgraf played three seasons in the WUSA, all of them for Boston, and one season in WPS, for Chicago. She also played one season in the Swedish first division.
2023 VETERAN BALLOT RESULTS
Election Results (Top 2 Elected to Hall of Fame)
Name Rank Ballots Percent
Slavisa “Steve” Zungul 1 19 79.2%
Kate Sobrero Markgraf 2 18 75%
Mary Harvey 3 14 58.3%
Chris Armas 4 10 41.7%
Frankie Hejduk 4 10 41.7%
Shep Messing 4 10 41.7%
Tony Sanneh 4 10 41.7%
Clink Mathis 8 6 25.0%
Tisha Venturini-Hoch 8 6 25.0%
Chico Borja 10 5 20.8%