ASA: Several new players have been included in the 18-member Australian Women’s Soccer Team (the Matildas) to contest the upcoming Australia Cup in Brisbane, and the Oceania Olympic Qualifiers. The team announcement, the first Matildas selections in this Olympic year, was made today by National Women’s Coach Adrian Santrac.
Two players – 20-year-old midfielder Kate McShea and defender Amy Taylor, age 24 – make their Matildas comeback, both having been away from the international arena since 2002. Both are experienced players, McShea having competed at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, whilst Taylor was a member of the 1999 Women’s World Cup team.
Also making selection are five debutantes. Sarah Walsh, a 21-year-old forward, finally celebrates her chance to represent her country after withdrawing from the 1999 U21 national team due to injury and many years of serious knee problems. Lana Harch (age 19, midfielder) and Katie Gill (19, forward), now make the transition to senior ranks after competing for the Young Matildas at the 2002 FIFA U19 Women’s World Championship. Lisa De Vanna (19, forward), an U19 international during 2002, and winner of several WNSL awards, also makes the step up, whilst Leah Blayney (17, midfielder) celebrates her first ever Australian team selection at any age level.
They join eleven of the 20-member Matildas Team which contested the FIFA Women’s World Cup in September last year.
Each member of this newly-named team is also awarded an Australian Institute of Sport scholarship.
Five players from the 2003 Women’s World Cup side were not considered for selection for these two tournaments due to injury – Matildas captain Cheryl Salisbury (knee), vice-captain Sacha Wainwright (knee reconstruction), Heather Garriock (back), Thea Slatyer (who withdrew from the World Cup team due to knee reconstruction), and Amy Beattie (achilles tendon).
Santrac is pleased with the new-look side, with success at the Olympics at the forefront of this year’s ambitions. “We went through a lengthy selection process at the AIS camp in January, and ended up selecting the eighteen I believe performed very strongly and earned their selection into the squad,” said Santrac. “On those performances, they’ve put themselves well into the Olympic selection picture, assuming we qualify. The new players all have qualities which enhance the quality of the squad as a whole.”
Santrac added, “We expect to perform strongly with this group. In the Australia Cup, we have two extremely difficult opponents, and the experience will put this group in a very good position. With the number of inexperienced players, it will be how quickly we can adapt, but I’m confident these players will stand up very quickly. It’s important, whilst maintaining our focus on performance, we need to build up again an understanding – educate the new players very quickly in the way we play. Build an understanding and cohesion in this tournament, as we will leading up to Athens.”
The Matildas arrive in Brisbane on Wednesday 11 February for a week-long camp leading in to the Australia Cup.
At this 6th Australia Cup, the Matildas, ranked 16th in the FIFA Women’s World Rankings, will face all-time superpowers China (ranking 5), current Asian champions North Korea (7), and traditional rivals New Zealand (21). Double-header match dates of 18, 21, and 24 February will all be staged at Brisbane’s QEII Stadium. The Oceania Olympic Qualifiers will be held in early March.
AUSTRALIAN TEAM – 6TH AUSTRALIA CUP and 2004 OCEANIA OLYMPIC QUALIFIERS :
Players (18) :
Team / State
Hometown
Pos
DOB
Caps
Dianne ALAGICH
Adelaide Sensation / SA
Adelaide
D
12/05/79
43
Melissa BARBIERI
Victoria Vision / VIC
Melbourne
GK
20/01/80
12
Leah BLAYNEY
NSW Sapphires / NSW
Blue Mountains
M
04/07/86
–
Rhian DAVIES
Canberra Eclipse / ACT
Sydney
D
05/01/81
26
Lisa DE VANNA
Adelaide Sensation / WA
Perth
F
14/11/84
–
Bryony DUUS
Queensland Sting / QLD
Brisbane
M
07/10/77
46
Gill FOSTER
Canberra Eclipse / ACT
Sydney
M
28/08/76
25
Katie GILL
Northern NSW Pride / NNSW
Newcastle
F
10/12/84
–
Pam GRANT
Queensland Sting / QLD
Rockhampton
D
15/11/82
10
Lana HARCH
Queensland Sting / QLD
Toowoomba
M
23/11/84
–
Tal KARP
Canberra Eclipse / ACT
Perth
M
30/12/81
20
Cassandra KELL
NSW Sapphires / NSW
Central Coast
GK
08/08/80
13
April MANN
Queensland Sting / QLD
Brisbane
F
21/04/78
25
Kate McSHEA
Queensland Sting / QLD
Brisbane
M
13/04/83
17
Joanne PETERS
(New York Power) / NSW
Leeton
M
11/03/79
56
Karla REUTER
Queensland Sting / QLD
Toowoomba
D
14/06/84
6
Amy TAYLOR
Canberra Eclipse / ACT
Canberra
D
11/06/79
20
Sarah WALSH
Queensland Sting / QLD
Sydney
F