It was a milestone week for Bayside United, who picked up their first ever win in the NPLW Victoria. They then promptly followed that up with a second, defeating Senior NTC midweek as well. As such, Round 3 of the NPLW Team of the Week is heavily dominated by the South-East based club, although eight of the nine clubs are represented this week.
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GK: Melissa Maizels (Alamein FC)
May have conceded twice in the game, but there were numerous other occasions where, if not for Maizels’ involvement in the contest, it could have been much worse for Alamein. One-on-one saves to deny Coppock and Boudreau on separate occasions spring to mind, and highlight why she is W-League quality.
LB: Emily Morris-Krause (Bayside United)
Two wins in a week for Bayside United marked a fruitful period for the club, and young left-back Emily Morris-Krause played a large part in the results. Shone especially in the second game against the Senior NTC, rarely beaten on her flank and blocked a goal-bound shot at 2-1 that helped secure the win.
CB: Rita Mankowska (Heidelberg United)
Was everywhere in defence, ensuring any threat posed by the considerably potent Box Hill forward line was dealt with and averted. It’s like she never left Olympic Village for interstate, such has been her involvement in the Heidelberg squad.
CB: Emily Dolzan (Bulleen Lions)
Faced up against the potent attacking force of Alamein FC, Dolzan was a required figure as her calmness in possession and ability to push ahead of the line to stop danger before it happened was of the utmost importance. If a ball slipped through the midfield, she was the one that picked off the danger.
CB: Marianna Anthony (Bayside United)
Was the defensive fulcrum that helped her side keep opposition attack at bay for the majority of the time she was on the pitch against Southern, showing a maturity beyond her years in a youthful squad. In particular, did especially well to keep the ever-dangerous Tiff Eliadis subdued. She then did her role in keeping the NTC quiet in the second fixture.
RB: Stacey Papadopoulos (Calder United)
It was a pre-season shortage at the back that saw Mark Torcaso give Stacey Papadopoulos a run at fullback, and she has excelled ever since. Deployed on both sides at various times of the game, she did her job defensively when called upon, and added her usual spark going forward.
CM: MelindaJ Barbieri (Senior NTC)
A mature performance from the Senior NTC captain. She played a more reserved role but showed good movement to collect the ball deep and take the game on going forward. Scored a nice goal and helped control the tempo of the contest.
CM: Emma Robers (Bayside United)
With the NTC controlling the majority of the ball in their midweek fixture, Robers was forced to adapt to a different role in midfield, tracking back and winning a lot of challenges. She was great on transition and helped drive Bayside’s foray’s forward on the counter attack, and helped create a number of good opportunities for her side, also hitting the post. She was good against Southern as well, her header from midfield releasing Kendra Jones to open the scoring.
AM: Enza Barilla (Calder United)
An absolutely fantastic effort to not just score the hat-trick, but do it while pulling Calder out of a deficit against Galaxy approaching half-time. Her side was certainly knocking on the door, and it was a clinical finish that got the ball rolling in the comeback win. Excelling alongside Alonso in the front third.
ST: Joey Cartwright (Heidelberg United)
The NTC graduate was full of that youthful spark and enthusiasm in the forward line that kept the opposition defenders on their toes during the game. Whether playing centrally on the left wing, her contribution in the front third was duly noted by coach Bill Mihaloudis.
ST: Kendra Jones (Bayside United)
Was one of the key players for Bayside over a fruitful week, and we’ll particularly take a look at her performance against Southern which helped her side earn their first win of the season. The American scored the first goal and then set up Aimee Benton and Bronte James – who also had a good week – for their goals, highlighting her constant danger in the front third.
Substitutes:
Freya Crocker (Southern United)
Despite ending up on the wrong side of a 3-1 result, Crocker was immense on her first start of the NPLW Victoria season. She stood firm to deny Bronte James and Kendra Jones on multiple occasions and produced a brilliant save to deny Niki Cook in the second half.
Steph Parton (Bayside United)
The youngster was rarely beaten one-on-one across the two games, but was exceptional against the Senior NTC. Composed under pressure, Parton showed a calmness of mind to play out well from the back while keeping things water-tight. Emily Heijden was also impressive.
Dani Gudelj (Bulleen Lions)
Busy throughout her time on the pitch, with Gudelj’s trickery on the wing seeing her contribute to a number of moments where an opportunity on goal opened up. Her set piece delivery was dangerous, most pertinently that pinpoint corner to find an onrushing Coppock for the goal.
Rachel Alonso (Calder United)
Continued her blistering start to the season, and it wasn’t just the goal that is worthy of a mention, but rather her link up play and intelligence on the pitch to get in good positions and play a clever pass, helping create goalscoring opportunities for Calder.
Melanie Camilleri (Box Hill United)
Camilleri makes the team on the back of three solid performances for Box Hill United, which has seen her grab a goal in each game so far this season. The one this week was an absolute stunner as well, belting one past Christine Fonua with a belting long-range strike. Has provided a spearhead figure in the middle of the park for her teammates to angle long balls into.