Jenna Wright '21 Recruiting Profile

"Committed to Dordt University"

At the age of 5, I wanted to be like my sister and started playing soccer. The game stole my heart in my first season of playing, and becoming a goalkeeper was a dream that shortly followed. Soccer has been my passion ever since, and I strive to keep going in my career as a goalie and be a competitive player for as long as I can.

In my freshman year of high school, I had the privilege of being the starting varsity goalkeeper and played every minute of all 17 games. After four overtimes and a penalty shoot-out, my team won the regional championship for the first time in school history. The coach asked me to be the fifth and final shooter of the penalty shoot-out, and I scored the final goal to help us win and advance to the state quarter final game. That was a pivotal and very exciting moment for me in my soccer career, and it further strengthened my desire to compete in even more competitive games at the college level. I continue to train as much as I can to get to the next level. To further my training over the summer, I started training with the former Sporting KC goalkeeper, Andy Gruenebaum. After a fall and winter season of club soccer with Olympic FC, I am now very excited about my sophomore season this spring.

Being a goalie isn’t an easy task. It requires toughness, focus, and aggressiveness. As a goalie, I’m not afraid to dive at a player’s feet to get a 50/50 ball. My coaches tell me I handle the immense amounts of pressure very well. Being a goalie requires these characteristics, and these help me in other areas of my life. Working hard in school is just as important as working hard in soccer. In order to achieve my goal of becoming a physical therapist, I continue to work hard in school to learn as much as I can and keep my grades high.

Being a goalie has taught me many things throughout my life. It has motivated me to keep working hard at everything I do. Even through the wins and losses, I’ve been taught to stay strong, even if a goal scores on me. Staying tough and strong through the thick and thin is an important virtue of being a goalie. I’m not afraid to take a risk to stop a goal, and I will never give up on any game. It is a privilege and blessing from God to play, and I hope to do so for many years to come.