Twila Kilgore

Playing career Kilgore was born in Downey, California to Patricia Kaufman. In her youth, she played for the club side Las Virgenes Blazers, before later joining the Southern California Blues, with whom she won two state titles. In high school, she played soccer at Harvard-Westlake School, where she earned first team All-CIF honors during her senior year. In college, Kilgore played four years with the Arizona Wildcats from 1998 to 2001. She made 74 appearances during her career, scoring seven goals and recording three assists. After college, Kilgore joined the Arizona Heatwave and played in the USL W-League before becoming a coach.

Coaching career In 2004, Kilgore joined the Pepperdine University coaching staff as an assistant coach and associate coach. During her time at Pepperdine, Kilgore earned her USSF National "A" license. After spending 10 years with Pepperdine University, Kilgore took over as the head coach for the University of California, Davis women's team. During her time with the Houston Dash, Kilgore also served as a member of U.S. Soccer coaching staff, taking the United States U-19 Women's National Team (USWNT U-19) to the La Manga Tournament in 2020.

While serving as a member of the Houston Dash technical staff, Kilgore became the first American-born woman to earn the U.S. Soccer's top-level Pro License. Kilgore was named as an assistant coach for the senior USWNT in February 2022.

On August 17, 2023, Kilgore was named the interim head coach for the senior USWNT following the resignation of Vlatko Andonovski, under whom Kilgore served as the assistant coach. Kilgore has served as assistant coach since the arrival of permanent head coach Emma Hayes in May 2024. Kilgore coached the team to victories during both the 2024 CONCACAF W Gold Cup and the 2024 SheBelieves Cup. Upon the arrival of Hayes, Kilgore resumed her role as an assistant coach to help the USWNT win Gold at the 2024 Summer Olympics. On September 24, 2024, U.S. Soccer announced the departure of Kilgore from the national coaching team, stating she would pursue other coaching opportunities.

Personal life Kilgore graduated from the University of Arizona in 2003 with a Bachelor of Arts in secondary education.