There must be something in the water down at Valley Fields. First, former Marquette goalie Matt Pyzdrowski signed a contract with the Portland Timber, and now, sophomore keeper Natalie Kulla is becoming a staple on the women’s Under-23 United States National Team.
The 6-foot Golden Eagles’ goalkeeper is working her way through the pecking order and sits only one step below the highest position any soccer player, male or female, could hope for — a U.S. National Team call-up.
Kulla finished her third camp with the Under-23s on April 25, a weeklong camp that gathers the top 24 players in the country under the age of 23 for one week to evaluate them and see if they would make good candidates for call-ups for the team’s international games. Being called in to one camp is a high honor, but being called into three separate camps is something special.
“She had a good camp last week,” coach Bill Irwin of the U-23 team said. “She’s already been into several camps and done very well. I think that speaks for itself that we keep bringing her back.”
Marquette coach Markus Roeders sees the significance of the repeated call-ups and labels her as one of the best goalies in the country.
“She’s just one level below the National Team,” Roeders said. “In the 21-23 age range, she’s one of the top three or four goalkeepers in the country, and one of the top 30 to 40 players in the country.”
Kulla said she was more comfortable and confident during this last camp than the first time she was called up during Christmas break, as this was her third time going to camp.
“Surprisingly, people are really welcoming,” Kulla said. “The coaches are a really relaxed group of coaches, but when it’s down to business, they definitely have expectations. But it’s really fun. Everyone really pushes each other to do better.”
Kulla started against Oregon State in the U-23s first match and posted a shutout in the half that she played. In the second match against Portland, Kulla once again got the starting nod and conceded just one goal.
“She’s come in and she’s worked very hard,” Irwin said. “She’s a good shot-stopper, and she’s very, very coachable. She wants to learn, and she wants to get better. So far, she continues to improve, and that’s why we continue to keep bringing her back in.”
If all goes well, Kulla will get called up to the U-23 team this summer when it takes on England, Norway and Sweden and will sit one step away from the full team.
“I think at this point I need a lot more experience,” Kulla said. “Just playing a couple minutes in an international game in January, I could tell that the speed of play is different, and the competitiveness is a little bit different.
“I need a lot of work with just getting stronger, but it would be an honor to play for the full team.”
Don’t be surprised if it happens. As Roeders said of Kulla, the sky is the limit with her.
