Success can be glamorous, but the work behind it rarely is.

So there was Josee Stiever, three days into the new year, volleying a soccer ball off a plywood wall in the back of a converted livestock show arena. She was on her holiday break from college, but Stiever had little time for rest after being invited to the U.S. Soccer Women’s National Team U-23 camp in Carson, CA Jan. 18-25.

Stiever, a Cedarburg native who starred for both North Shore United and Cedarburg High School, is part of a 26-player callup by coaches Janet Rayfield and Steve Swanson. She is the second NSU player to earn an invitation to a U.S. Soccer youth national team. Luka Prpa has been in the U-17 residency program in Bradenton FL on the boys side.

“This is a dream come true,” Stiever said. “I’ve never been invited to one of these. It’s exciting for me, and for our entire program at Minnesota.”

The U.S. squad will train through the week, and a match against the Republic of Ireland full team is slated for Jan. 25.

Since helping lead NSU to a pair of state championships and a Region II runner-up finish, Stiever has been a fixture in the midfield for the Minnesota Golden Gophers. In three seasons, she has played in 63 matches with 13 goals and 10 assists. She indicated that the U-23 invitation was largely unexpected; Minnesota coach Stefanie Golan had tipped her to watch for it, but Stiever was still surprised when the email from a camp coordinator arrived.

Perhaps she shouldn’t have been. Stiever was named second-team All-Big 10 in 2015, with four goals and four assists. She also scored a goal in 5-0 first-round NCAA tournament triumph over South Dakota State. That followed a summer with the Dayton Dutch Lions of the USL W-League, where she experience a high level of play that she felt improved her game.

“I gained a lot of confidence,” Stiever said. “I’m willing to take more risks in the attacking side of the field, which I didn’t always do before.”

Angelovski has worked with Stiever since she was on the U15 team at NSU. He said she has grown over the years from a player who loves to dribble into one who makes her teammates better. Their session in the barn in early January was much simpler, however – just something to reinvigorate her touch on the ball.

Classes at Minnesota are scheduled to resume Jan. 18, but Stiever headed back to Minneapolis a week early to meet with her strength and conditioning coach and prepare further for this first opportunity to represent her country on the pitch.