Maierhofer named to Austrian National Team for 2017 Euros

VIENNA – Kansas soccer sophomore-to-be Sophie Maierhofer was selected to the Austrian National Team that will compete in the UEFA Women’s European Championship later this month in The Netherlands. The Graz, Austria native made the final roster of 23 players which will open the tournament in group play on July 18 against Switzerland.
  
Maierhofer and her French teammates will kick off their Euros run in Group C which includes the teams from Switzerland, France and Iceland. The first match will pit the Austrians against the Swiss on July 18 at 11 a.m. (CT) in Deventer, Netherlands. Following the three matches of group play, the top two teams from each of the four groups will advance to the elimination round in the quarterfinals to begin on July 29.
 
A defender, Maierhofer has already tallied substantial time with both of Austria’s youth and senior national teams in previous years. She was a starter for the Austrian Nationals in five of their Euro qualifying matches over the last 18 months and posted nine additional caps in international friendlies in 2016 and 2017.
 
In her first season at KU last fall, Maierhofer appeared in 12 of the team’s 21 matches, which included nine starts, and logged more than 714 minutes of field time to average over 59 minutes per outing.
 
Maierhofer will plan to rejoin the Jayhawks immediately following Austria’s run in the Euros. KU is set to begin preseason practice on Aug. 2 and hold its first exhibition on Aug. 12 against Iowa. Kansas will open the regular season at Rock Chalk Park on Aug. 18 against Nebraska.

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