Malherbe Headed to Rio
Jul 14, 2016 | Soccer
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Texas A&M junior Stephanie Malherbe was one of 22 players selected to represent South Africa at the Games of the XXXI Olympiad in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the national team head coach Vera Pauw announced on Thursday.
"All of Stephanie's coaches, teammates and friends are so incredibly excited for her," Texas A&M head coach G Guerrieri said. "This is such an amazing accomplishment. She is reaching a dream that so many of us have had."
Malherbe was one of the 18 players selected for the Olympic roster. Four other players will travel with the squad as alternates. Malherbe has been training in South Africa since January and she has appeared in seven international matches for Banyana Banyana as the squad is affectionately referred. Most recently, she started for South Africa in a match against the United States Women's National Team in Chicago last Saturday. Malherbe and her teammates impressed the world with their performance, hanging with the U.S. for the entire 90 minutes in a 1-0 defeat.
"2016 has been an incredibly fantastic year of adventure and accomplishment for her," Guerrieri said. "And she's only halfway through the year. I know all of her Aggie teammates are loving what they see her do and we all wish her and South Africa the very best in Rio."
The Women's Olympic Football Tournament includes 12 squads. South Africa is in Group E with Brazil, China and Sweden. Banyana Banyana opens the tournament on Wednesday, August 3 with a match against Sweden at Olympic Stadium in Rio. On Saturday, August 6, South Africa returns to Olympic Stadium for a fixture versus China. They wrap up the round robin portion on Tuesday, August 9 with a match against Brazil at Amazonia Arena in Manaus.
As a sophomore in 2015, Malherbe was one of just three players to start all 26 matches for the Aggies. She logged one goal and three assists as a stalwart in the midfield. As a freshman, Malherbe played in all 27 matches, including five starts, logging two assists.
