University of Minnesota Athletics
Photo by: Mac Brown
11/3/2026 3:00:00 PM | Soccer
Westlund earned Second Team honors in her first season as a Gopher, Heimerl was recognized as Minnesota's Sportsmanship Award honoree
MINNEAPOLIS - Senior forward Ava Westlund was named to the All-Big Ten Second Team while senior defender Taylor Heimerl was selected as Minnesota's Big Ten Sportsmanship Award honoree.
Westlund, a native of Arden Hills, Minn., scored a team-leading nine goals and 20 points to cap off her first year donning the Maroon and Gold. This season, Westlund recorded three two-goal games in wins over North Dakota State, Maryland and Oregon. She played 1,254 minutes across 18 games and 17 starts while also adding two assists.
The Cal Baptist transfer ended the Big Ten regular season ranked No. 1 in the conference in shot accuracy, third in shots on goal per game (1.72), third in total goals (nine), third in goals per game (0.50) and ninth in total points (20).
Heimerl, who hails from Rosemount, Minn., started all 18 games for the Golden Gophers on the back line. The defender played a full 90 minutes in nearly every game this season, missing only nine minutes of action. This season, the team captain contributed on offense, assisting on three goals in Minnesota's wins over North Dakota, Indiana and Maryland.
Westlund, a native of Arden Hills, Minn., scored a team-leading nine goals and 20 points to cap off her first year donning the Maroon and Gold. This season, Westlund recorded three two-goal games in wins over North Dakota State, Maryland and Oregon. She played 1,254 minutes across 18 games and 17 starts while also adding two assists.
The Cal Baptist transfer ended the Big Ten regular season ranked No. 1 in the conference in shot accuracy, third in shots on goal per game (1.72), third in total goals (nine), third in goals per game (0.50) and ninth in total points (20).
Heimerl, who hails from Rosemount, Minn., started all 18 games for the Golden Gophers on the back line. The defender played a full 90 minutes in nearly every game this season, missing only nine minutes of action. This season, the team captain contributed on offense, assisting on three goals in Minnesota's wins over North Dakota, Indiana and Maryland.
Players Mentioned
Midfielder/Forward
/ Soccer
Forward
/ SoccerSunday, October 25
Thursday, October 22
Saturday, October 10
Thursday, October 08