University of Maryland Athletics

As a freshman (2013): Missed the first eight matches of the season recovering from offseason surgery … made her collegiate debut, playing 37 minutes in 1-0 shutout of No. 3 Wake Forest (9/22) … 58 minutes in 5-0 loss at No. 5 Notre Dame (9/26) … 13 minutes in 1-0 loss at No. 1 Virginia (9/29) … 19 minutes in 3-0 shutout of NC State (10/3) … 14 minutes in 3-1 loss at No. 6 North Carolina (10/6) … came off the bench to play forward and had two shots in 27 minutes in 3-1 win over Pittsburgh (10/31) … 32 minutes in 6-1 loss at No. 1 Virginia (11/3) in ACC tournament quarterfinals.

Before Maryland:

• Member of Norway's U-20 National Team at the U-20 FIFA World Cup in Japan
• Member of Norway's U-19 National Team at the 2011 and 2012 UEFA U-19 Championships
• Started all 15 matches during the two U-19 Championships
• Team Captain of the Norway U-17 National Team
• Holding center midfielder for Sandviken IL, which ranks among the best teams in Toppserien, which is Norway's highest level of soccer
• Made 21 appearances with 19 starts in 2012
• Scored five goals in 2012
• Started and appeared in seven matches in 2011
• Scored one goal in 2011
• Enrolled at Maryland for the spring semester

Personal: Daughter of Gunnar Johan and Brit Else Sjaaholm Knudsen ... younger sister of Eirik and Magnus ... intends to major in engineering.

I chose Maryland because: "I wanted a school where I would be able to excell academically and as a soccer player. I heard so many nice things about Maryland as a school and as a team. I'm very excited to be here."

Coach Morgan on Knudsen: "Maren comes to us via Norway. Her club and international experience is going to be a welcomed addition to our program. She has pace, size, technique, and most importantly a professional mentality in everything she does. Maren is a natural centerback, but recently for her club she has been playing in the midfield. I expect Maren to have an impact sooner rather than later for our group. We are fortunate she applied early and arrived to school this semester. We'll have a better understanding at the end of April where she'll best fit in for the team."