Photo: Vanderbilt signee Ella Shamburger (No. 5, second from left in top row) makes her USWNT debut on March 4, 2018 vs. The Netherlands in La Manga, Spain (Photo courtesy of U.S. Soccer).
May 7, 2018
Vanderbilt soccer signee Ella Shamburger is one of 24 players attending the Under-18 United States Women’s National Team training camp this week in Chula Vista, Calif.
An incoming Vanderbilt defender in the 2018 class, Shamburger’s invitation to the U-18 camp marks her second appearance with the national team program this spring. The Atlanta native signed her National Letter of Intent to play collegiately at Vanderbilt in February.
“It’s tremendous recognition for her,” Vanderbilt head coach Darren Ambrose said. “As we get closer to preseason, this kind of exposure and level of play will help prepare her for her freshman year. We are excited to see her in a Vanderbilt uniform in a few months.”
Shamburger traveled to Spain with the U-18 USWNT in March for the Nations Tournament, facing England, the Netherlands and Norway. She earned her first international cap and start against the Netherlands on March 4 in La Manga.
“Ella will bring much-needed depth to our backline,” Ambrose said on signing day. “She reads the game at a very high level and her distribution coming out of the back is a big, big strength that will help us play out of pressure.”
Shamburger is one of eight members of Vanderbilt’s 2018 signing class. The 18-year-old won three state championships and two region championships at The Westminster Schools in Atlanta, and she is a captain of Georgia’s prestigious Tophat Soccer Club.
Vanderbilt soccer’s 2018 season begins in August. The team departs for an 11-day trip to Japan in late May.
