SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — The UC Santa Barbara Men's Soccer team is proud to celebrate alumnus Michael Boxall, who was named to the New Zealand team for the 2024 Olympic Games on Tuesday. It is a third Olympic call-up for the former Gaucho center back, who was also selected for the 2008 and 2020 Games.  

"Michael had a great 4 year career at UCSB and has continued his success into the professional ranks," UC Santa Barbara Head Coach Tim Vom Steeg said. "We are excited to see a Gaucho player representing his country at the Olympics."
 
Boxall played for Santa Barbara from 2007 to 2010, making his Olympic debut in Beijing in 2008. He will be one of three "overage" players on New Zealand's 2024 squad; men's teams at the Games must feature 15 players aged 23 or younger. Boxall was also selected as an overage player for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics but missed the tournament due to an injury.
 
In his four years as a Gaucho, Boxall played nearly 7,000 minutes, setting the program record with 2,185 minutes on the field in 2009. He scored a singular goal in that 2009 season, adding four assists for his career, though it was his defensive abilities that set him apart. Boxall was drafted first overall in the 2011 Major League Soccer Supplemental Draft, and made his full international debut for New Zealand later that year. He currently plays for Minnesota United in MLS.
 
New Zealand have been drawn in Group A, alongside the United States, hosts France, and Guinea, against whom they will open their Games on Wednesday, July 24 in Nice. The "OlyWhites," as New Zealand's Olympic men's soccer team is called, will face the U.S. on July 27, then take on France on July 30, both in Marseille.