On Thursday, U.S. Soccer named Nicole Lukic as its director of talent identification in the Women’s Youth division under Head of Talent ID Tony Lepore. This move is part of a larger restructuring of U.S. Soccer’s Talent ID department, which will now be more focused on creating a “pathway” from the Youth National Team (YNT) to the senior teams. Lukic will be responsible for identifying and monitoring players with YNT potential, as the federation attempts to “expand and improve the player pools” across age groups.
Lukic was most recently the head coach and sporting director of Minnesota Aurora FC in the USL W League, leading the club to back-to-back undefeated seasons. She also has nine years of experience with youth clubs in Minnesota and Wisconsin.
