FRISCO, TEXAS -- Former U.S. national team goalkeeper Hope Solo is among the first-time eligible players on the ballot for the U.S. National Soccer Hall of Fame.
Solo, dismissed from the team following the 2016 Olympics, joins fellow U.S. national team members Brad Davis, Whitney Engen, Herculez Gomez and Clarence Goodson among 14 players first-time eligible players on the 42-person ballot.
Arguably one of the most successful goalkeepers on the international stage, Solo made 202 appearances with the national team with 153 wins and an international-record 102 shutouts. During the 2015 World Cup championship run, she allowed three goals in seven games with five shutouts.
But her career was marked at times by controversy, and her contract with the national team was not renewed after the Brazil Games, when she called the Swedish team "cowards" for taking a defensive posture against the defending gold medallists .
Former MLS players Mike Magee, Carlos Ruiz, Nat Borchers, Conor Casey, Justin Mapp, Jamison Olave and Robbie Rogers also are on the ballot for the first time, as are Women's Professional Soccer league players Jen Buczkowski and Kelly Smith.
A player must appear on two-third of the ballots to gain election
Among the holdovers are U.S. captain Carlos Bocanegra (64.5, LA Galaxy star David Beckham and U.S. midfielder Shannon Boxx (both 42.1 and U.S. defender Frankie Hejduk (41%).
Markgraf is among six players in the final year of eligibility along with LA Galaxy President Chris Klein, who played for the Americans and in Major League Soccer, and American forward Clint Mathis.
