Team CSUSA

Andrea Zwinkels works as a Sports Consultant for CSUSA Team Sweden and joined the team in 2023. She graduated from Limestone University with a Bachelor in Pre-Professional Biology and a minor in Chemistry while playing NCAA D2 soccer. She will mainly be working with Swedish soccer players.

Andrea Zwinkels started her college soccer career at Newman University in Wichita Kansas in 2019. Newman plays in the Mid-Atlantic Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAA) in NCAA D2. In her freshman season she started all 19 games. Her second year she transferred to Limestone University in Gaffney South Carolina that plays in the South-Atlantic Conference (SAC) in NCAA D2. At Limestone she started 41 out of 42 games during her three years. During her first year as a Saint the season was shortened due to COVID-19, but she still managed to record 2 goals and 2 assists in her 8 games played and she was part of the All-Tournament team in the Conference Tournament. During her final season, she was a captain and led the team as she recorded 7 goals and 4 assists as the team point leader. During her final season the team won the SAC Tournament and went to the NCAA tournament and Andrea received several individual awards. She was a part of the SAC 2^nd team All-Conference, All-Tournament team, team MVP and received All-Region awards. She was also awarded the 2022 SAC Women’s Soccer Wealth Enhancement Group Elite 23 Award which is an award that honors the student-athlete with the top cumulative grade-point average in each of the conferences 23 championship sports.

Alongside of her athletic career she did thus have a lot of success in the classroom as well as a Pre-Professional Biology student with a minor in Chemistry. She graduated with a 3.92 GPA and Magna Cum Laude Honors as well as the award as the Excellence in Biology Award both her sophomore and senior year.

“Going to college has impacted my life majorly and has brought me knowledge and experiences that are irreplaceable. I have met people from all over the world and learnt so much about different cultures. As a student-athlete you get the unique experience of earning a degree while continuing your sport at a highly competitive and professional level which was the perfect combination for me. As an athlete in the US, you get a lot of privileges that you can’t find at the same level in Europe. During my four years in the States, I have also been able to travel around and see different parts of the country that all seem like different individual countries. Like I said, it’s a unique opportunity to earn a degree while continuing with your sport and experiencing new places and getting to know people from all over the world. It’s four years that have changed me as a person and brought me memories for life. I’m also very happy that my four years as a student athlete have prepared me to continue playing soccer at a high level when returning to Europe.”

Favorite place in the USA

Charleston, South Carolina

Favorite former college athlete

Alessia Russo (North Carolina Chapel Hill)

Favorite moment in college career

Winning the SAC Conference Tournament in 2022 after having scored the winning goal in the semi final against the conference rivals. It was a big comeback moment for the team since the Saints came into the tournament as the fifth seed in the highly competitive conference.

Favorite quote

“Hard work pays off.”