The Portland Thorns have signed 17-year-old Australian defender Ellie Carpenter, a source confirmed to the Oregonian/OregonLive Thursday.

Carpenter is expected to join the Thorns during the summer.

Despite her age, Carpenter has already proven herself at the international level and is viewed as an up-and-coming defender with the Australian Women's National Team. She has scored one goal in 13 caps since making her international debut in 2016. She was also the youngest member of Australia's 2016 Olympic squad.

Carpenter turned pro with W-League side Western Sydney Wanderers in 2015 and competed for the club until 2017 when she joined Canberra United.

She has played in multiple positions on defense and in the midfield, but her best position is considered to be right back.

There had been speculation that the Thorns were on the verge of signing Carpenter because Thorns owner Merritt Paulson went out of his way to tweet about her twice in the last week.

-- Jamie Goldberg | jgoldberg@oregonian.com

503-853-3761 | @jamiebgoldberg