Three clubs revealed additions to their squads for the 2023/24 season today. Impetus has all the news (19/9/23).
Above: Melbourne City’s new signing Taylor Otto. Photo: University of North Carolina Athletics.
Melbourne City today announced the signing of American defender, Taylor Otto, on a one-year deal.
The 25-year-old joins City from Gotham FC, having joined the NWSL side as a National Team Replacement Player during the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
A versatile defender, Otto spent the 2022/23 season playing an integral role for Celtic in the Scottish Women’s Premier League. During her time in Scotland, the Scottish Women’s Cup winner made 27 league appearances and netted two goals.
Pick 11 in the draft, the American began her professional footballing career with Racing Louisville. Otto made 11 league appearances in the NWSL between 2021 and 2022, before joining Scottish heavyweights, Celtic.
An athletic defender with the ability to move up the pitch as well as find the back of the net, Otto is set to boost Head Coach Dario Vidosic’s defensive stocks ahead of the 2023/24 season.
Speaking about her move to Melbourne, Otto said: “I’ve heard lots of really good things about the league and level here in Australia. Everyone at the club has been awesome so far and it’s been a really easy transition for me moving to Melbourne. I just can’t wait to get started and playing some games soon.
”I’m a player who likes to get on the ball, distribute and dictate the tempo of the game. I can’t wait to play alongside the great players here at City and compete for silverware this season.”
Reflecting on the qualities that his new signing brings to the club, City head coach Dario Vidosic said: “She’s coming off a really strong season with Celtic in Scotland and we expect her to be a strong physical presence in our team.
“Taylor also has the capability of playing in multiple roles for us, which will give us the added boost of more flexibility in the line-ups we put out on the pitch.”
Perth Glory
Perth Glory have confirmed that Junior Matildas goalkeeper Lilly Bailey has been signed for the A-League Women 2023/24 season.
The 18-year-old Perth local arrives at the club off the back of a stellar 2023 season in which she was a key member of the Hyundai NTC side that claimed the WA State Cup and secured a fourth-place finish in the NPLW WA.
She is now relishing the prospect of taking the next step in her football journey with her hometown club. “I’m so excited to be able to come into the squad this season,” she said.
“I’ve been lucky to have been training in the background for a couple of years and have seen first-hand the amount of work that [Head Coach] Alex [Epakis], the staff and the team do. I’m keen to show what I can do, while also being there to support the team and help them achieve their goals.”
Glory Head Coach Alex Epakis believes that Bailey is a player with huge potential.
“Lilly is one of the most talented up-and-coming goalkeepers in the country,” he said, “and is another proud local player who is keen to play for her hometown club. She has been involved in various training blocks with our team over a number of years and I am very proud to be able to give her this opportunity to be part of the team and club moving into the new season.
“Lilly is a mature young person with a fearless mind-set which is very important for her position. Moreover, she is a player that will be able to grow and develop with great support and coaching. She has a bright future ahead and I am excited to see her progress and compete over the coming months.”
Wellington Phoenix
Wellington Phoenix have given Rylee Foster the chance to return to professional football, nearly two years on from a horrific car accident that halted her promising career.
The Phoenix have signed the Canadian goalkeeper for the upcoming A-League Women season, after she said an emotional goodbye to Liverpool FC in June. Foster, 25, was told she would never play again after she was thrown from a car in Finland in October 2021.
She suffered a range of serious injuries, the most significant of which were seven fractures in her neck, and was placed into an immobilising ‘halo’ upon her return to Liverpool to prevent sudden movement that could have resulted in catastrophic damage.
“The fact that I’m alive is phenomenal,” Foster said. “The injury that I sustained is known to kill you instantly, if not become a tetraplegic, which is what Christopher Reeve was.”
Joining the Phoenix is very symbolic. It’s a new becoming. It’s an arising from something that was literally in ashes.
“I’ve been through a lot in the last two years, more than most people go through in their whole lives. There have been a lot of sacrifices and blood, sweat, and tears to get to this point, and a lot of hurdles in regard to physical and mental health.
I’m so happy that you’ll not only get to see me as a footballer here but the new and improved side of myself with all the lessons that I’ve learned over the last two years and the adversity I’ve faced. This new version of myself could potentially be the best of the best and that’s what I’m excited about.”
The former Canada age-group international has also thanked the Wellington Phoenix for showing faith in her.
“It was a massive risk, and it was a risk for all parties, not just the coaching staff, but the physios, the medical team, the stakeholders and the owners. The fact that they want to commit to my future, take care of me as a person and my overall wellbeing, but also be along for the journey and very invested in it is important.”
Foster believes the club’s training base at the New Zealand Campus of Innovation and Sport (NZCIS) is the perfect place for her to re-launch her career.
“With the way my body is now, I need to do a lot more TLC. I’ve already been a very committed athlete and doing the typical rest and recovery protocols, but I have to take it up an extra notch.
“To have access to all the state-of-the-art facilities at NZCIS like hydrotherapy, the saunas, the red light room, the physios whenever I need and the mental health support is incredible.
For Nix head coach Paul Temple, the announcement concludes his four-month search for a second goalkeeper to compete with incumbent Brianna Edwards.
“We’ve been pushing to have two high-quality players in every position so the squad is really competitive. Brianna was our number one goalkeeper in the league last year and we wanted to bring someone else in that could also be a number one goalkeeper.
“Those two can fight it out and there will be a really good competition for that place. I think that will bring the best out of both of them like it has everywhere else on the pitch.
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