Aug. 16, 2016
By Joanne Norell
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – University of Notre Dame freshman forward Jennifer Westendorf has been named to the TopDrawerSoccer.com Preseason Best XI Freshman Team, one of four Atlantic Coast Conference rookies to earn the recognition.
Westendorf, a January enrollee with the Irish, trained with the program throughout the spring and has already shown flashes of offensive force. She led the Irish with four goals on the spring and added a pair of scores during the team’s two international friendlies while on its foreign tour in France this summer. Over the last four years, she has averaged 32 goals per season with her club team, GSA ’97.
The Grayson, Georgia, product rejoined the Irish this week after attending training camp with the Brazil U-20 Women’s National Team as it prepares for the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup. Westendorf started at forward for Brazil as it won the 2015 South American U-20 Women’s Championship.
The Irish kick off the regular season at 7 p.m. Friday when they welcome Wright State for the home opener at Alumni Stadium. The game will be streamed live on ACC Network Extra.
To purchase women’s soccer tickets, visit UND.com/BuyTickets.
TopDrawerSoccer.com Preseason Best XI Freshman Team
Forwards: Jennifer Westendorf (ND), Anika Rodriguez (UCLA), Heidi Kollanen (Florida State)
Midfielders: Jessie Fleming (UCLA), Tierna Davidson (Stanford), Ella Stevens (Duke), Grace Bahr (Wisconsin)
Defenders: Chloe Froment (Long Beach State), Julia Ekholm (UCF), Zoe Morse (Virginia)
Goalkeeper: Evangeline Soucie (Kentucky)
— ND —
Joanne Norell, athletics communications assistant director at the University of Notre Dame, has been part of the Fighting Irish athletics communications team since 2014 and coordinates communications efforts for the Notre Dame women’s soccer, men’s tennis, women’s tennis and fencing programs. Norell is a 2011 graduate of Purdue University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in mass communication, and earned her master’s degree in sports industry management from Georgetown University in 2013.