Annabeth Westmoreland

is a former professional soccer player who holds the record for most appearances for the Baker Park National Team with 121 caps. She was also the first ever player from Baker Park to be named to Galactico Short List team recognizing the most outstanding players in the multiverse.

Early Life

Born in Jamestown, Baker Park to David and Julie (Foster) Westmoreland, "Annie" (as she's said she was known in her family) didn't obsess about the game growing up; her father had to ask if she was interested in pursuing the sport more seriously, based on the fact that she was tall for her age and had a natural, instinctual ability that stood out. It didn't matter that much to her, although she and her parents were confronted with brushing aside advances from professional club academies looking to sign her to a part-time youth contract.

Early Career

Joined the girls team at Montrose High School in Jamestown as a 14 year old freshman and immediately caught the attention of her coaches & teammates; she became the first 9th grader to start in a varsity match at the school, which brought her passing ability, vision and pace to the forefront, sparking a team that had only won seven of 21 matches (plus three draws) the previous year to an 18-1-1 regular season, plus three more post-season wins that put the school on the brink of the semi-finals of the State of Baker Park's Secondary Schools Interscholastic Activities Association tournament. Westmoreland scored the only goal in a 3-1 loss, but the future looked bright for the school. Named to the Second Xi of the SSIAA statewide All-Star Team--the first and still only 9th grade girl to be awarded that honor--her parents again were besieged with professional offers leading into her sophomore year.

In the fourth match of her second high school campaign, she suffered a fracture of the fourth & fifth metatarsal on her right foot after being stepped on, causing her to miss 13 games; although the team had struggled in her absence, her return meant that there was time to get organized before the playoffs began. The second of the three final games was an away trip to Greenwell H.S. in suburban Belle Haven on a Tuesday night. On a corner kick 63 minutes into the match, Westmoreland looked to send an outswinging ball into the box with her left foot; as she followed the flight of the kick and moved infield to the edge of the penalty area, she suddenly found herself on her back on the pitch. In her telling of the story, the Greenwell player that was closest to the corner flag reached out and threw Westmoreland to the ground with a clothesline hook around her neck; momentarily stunned, her reaction became the story--she jumped up and pushed the offending player to the ground, then attempted to inflict more punishment before being restrained by teammates. Eyewitness accounts were inconclusive and there was no visual evidence from any video to corroborate the sequence of events. Westmoreland was shown a red card, which came with an automatic three game suspension, and she was portrayed in the press as the protagonist and offender, although she has always maintained her innocence and her story has come to be widely accepted as the truth.

Aftermath and reconsideration

The Montrose team lost their opening round state tournament game, meaning that Westmoreland would've still had one game remaining to serve on her ban had she returned for her junior season; she turned her back on the sport following the end of that season, choosing to redirect her energies towards her schoolwork, and joining the track team in the spring, competing in the 400 meters and the long jump. She eventually chose to join the academy at Ridge Raiders in Harrisville prior to her junior year, having carefully weighed all of the offers from top professional clubs. As for that night in Belle Haven, she's always avoided naming the culprit in spite of the identity not being in doubt; she has only spoken in the most general terms about an exchange of communication between herself and the Greenwell player that occurred some 12 years after the fact, only saying that the matter was closed in her mind, resolved amicably. Much of Westmoreland's subsequent professional career involved a conscious effort to dispel any of the negative stigma she'd acquired as a result of the incident.

Domestic Club Career

At Raiders as an academy player, Westmoreland developed a reputation as a hard working, humble trainee with a serious academic focus and a degree of physical prowess that was clearly beyond the level of an average first year youth team signing; she was named in the squad for a late season match for the Raiders Ladies, and made her first WNL appearance at 17. The following season she moved into the First Team at mid-season, although she continued to pursue her studies, which resulted in a perfect score on all sections of the HSE; she signed a full-time, four year pro contract a month afterwards.

She earned a call-up to the Women's National Team training camp ahead of her first full season, and was in the starting lineup--the first of her record 121 NT appearances--for the second match played for that squad.

Named to the Women's National League 2nd Division All-Star First Team in her rookie season and the following year, when Raiders won promotion as champions of the division, Middletown City Women paid CBP$445,000—a Commonwealth record transfer fee for a player under age 21—to bring Westmoreland as the final piece of the puzzle that helped MiddCity capture the 1st Division title the following year. The club slumped to consecutive finishes of 9th and 12th place following the championship, but her rising stature as a national team regular led to Vanorian Premiership club Hondo FC to make Westmoreland the most expensive overseas transfer in Baker Park history, a CBP$9.5 million deal that stood for 11 seasons.

Foreign Club Career

Arriving in Valanora, she joined a club that had won the Globe Cup the previous season and were looking for the final push to a Champions Cup title. A second place league finish, cup runner-up and reaching the CC semi-final made Westmoreland's first campaign one of the most successful of her career and in the club's history.

Her play in midfield alongside Aaron Aiza, the Equestrian veteran who was one of the few humans in the Ponies national team, brought her talents to a larger stage, culminating in her selection as the first player in Baker Park history to be named to the Galacticos Long List; she was selected as one of the final 23 on the Galactico Short List, part of the Second XI to give Hondo a pair of Galacticos as Aiza was included in the First XI.

In eight seasons the club never finished lower than sixth, earning UICA/IFCF berths each time. This was a factor in her absence from BPNT squads for long periods between World Cups to keep her from burnout or injury.

She moved from Hondo to Twin Saints in Brenecia after her second four year contract expired, playing just a single season before announcing her retirement, a little less than 8 months following her final international appearance.

National Team

Selected for the Under-21 squad that participated in the DiBradini Cup 43, Westmoreland was the first woman ever to earn a youth cap after having played in a full senior international match. She scored her maiden NT goal as a substitute against South Calebian in the final match of qualifying for World Cup 81, then repeated the feat against Mriin in the Group Stage of the same tournament.

The quarterfinal match against Vilita & Turori at Rogers Stadium in Endborough during AOCAF 58 was the turning point in Westmoreland's BPNT career, as she capped a tenacious 90 minutes of defensive effort with the most iconic goal in Baker Park's 100 match mixed gender history, a 25 yard toe poke over the head of the keeper that clinched a famous 4-2 victory that propelled the co-hosts into their first semi-final berth of a major tournament; it was her seventh international tally in her 33rd appearance and sparked a run where she scored 33 times over the final 88 matches of her NT career.

Westmoreland was part of the squad that won a bronze medal at AOCAF 60 in Farfadillis, the second time in three regionals Baker Park had made the semi-final as well as taking the consolation match; she scored three times in her six appearances including the quarterfinal and the Third Place match. She had a goal in the BPNT's 200th mixed gender match against Valladares in World Cup Qualifying 85 and added two more in the Finals where she played in six of the seven fixtures--against Starblaydia in the Round of 16 she sidestepped the keeper to score the final goal in a 3-1 extra time win, putting Baker Park into the quarterfinals for the first time where they faced Valanora, the nation where Westmoreland played for Hondo FC; she scored the opening goal in a 3-2 come from behind victory that sent the Bees to the semi-final.

Her first international hat trick came in the following World Cup Qualifying tournament, in a 7-0 win over Cheergirls, and she led the team with 6 tallies in 7 WCQ appearances, adding another pair in Drawkland for the Finals of World Cup 86.

On the final matchday of World Cup 87 Qualifying, the national team were in serious danger of having their streak of seven consecutive successful qualifications for the Finals broken as they traveled to the XannAir Stadium in Dominica City to face Xanneria needing a win to secure one of the top two spots in the group; BP trailed 3-2 with 19 minutes remaining when Westmoreland set out on one of the greatest individual performances in World Cup history, scoring twice in an eight minute span and finishing off in stoppage time to complete the hat trick to give the visitors a 5-3 victory.

World Cup 88 would be her final tournament, where she equaled Jamari Bozeman's record of 118 caps during qualifying; in Chromatika her record setting start was a disappointment in 1-0 defeat to the Squornshelan Remnant States, although she helped lead the Bees to a win over the hosts on the final day of group play, scoring in 4-2 win. Baker Park would advance to the quarterfinals once again where they faced Banija, the Commonwealth's most played regional rival. Her final international goal was not enough as BP were eliminated 2-1, bringing her national team career to an end. It was the 362nd match in the mixed gender era, and Westmoreland had played in one third of those fixtures.

Post Soccer Life

Westmoreland enrolled in online courses at the University of Osheana after her first season at Hondo; she also did additional course work at the University of Hondo which was accepted as equivalent credit at the Dalton campus. Upon her retirement she completed the course hours to receive a Commended Bachelors Degree in International Studies, receiving a standing ovation from the commencement audience; she specifically requested her given middle name--'Rae'--be on the diploma as it was also the middle name of her maternal grandmother, Carolyn Rae (Dietz) Foster who had been a High Court judge in Jamestown.

She is involved in work across Atlantian Oceania through the foundation she established shortly after her international retirement, the AB13 Team which is focused on empowering young females through sport, academic advancement and personal growth.