by Ella McShane and Max Parris (17/8/25).
Above: Perth SC’s Epril Nossent leads the newly crowned NPLW WA champions out on Saturday as the club’s men’s team and Olympic Kingsway men provide a guard of honour. Photo: Rob Lizzi.
Midweek Catch-up
Perth SC clinched their first-ever NPLW WA championship on Wednesday night with a 3-1 win at Balcatta Etna. Conditions were appalling at Home Group Stadium with torrential rain and extremely gusty winds throughout. The Azzurri took the lead after 20 minutes thanks to Daisy McAllister’s long-range effort. Further strikes from Jess Flannery and Maja Archibald confirmed the win before Izzy Foletta hit a stunner from over 30 yards deep into second-half stoppage time for Balcatta.
On the same night, in equally dreadful weather, the Football West Academy defeated Perth RedStar in another all-top-four battle at the Sam Kerr Football Centre. The teenage hosts built a 3-0 lead thanks to goals from Emily Garnett, Zoe Dumont, and Cate McAuliffe in a 20-minute spell before the half-hour mark. Jayna Ridley reduced the deficit just before the interval from the penalty spot, but Klaudia Houlis restored the home side’s three-goal cushion on 74 minutes.
Football West Academy 1-2 Subiaco
by Ella McShane
Subiaco came back from behind with two Savannah Olsthoorn goals, earning a superb win at the Football West Academy (FWA), which puts the teenage side at risk of missing out on the double chance in the Top Four Cup.
A hotly contested beginning at the Sam Kerr Football Centre that saw the FWA hold a comfortable majority of possession, but took a moment to find rhythm in the final third.
Distinctive from their opposition, Subiaco were quick to respond to even the smallest chances they had to counter. Their efforts on the counter were swiftly rewarded with an attempted volley from outside the box that was ultimately slightly off target.
FWA found their favourable end of the pitch when a screaming long ball down the left flank found the feet of the ever-threatening Klaudia Houllis, who gave the home side an early lead 15 minutes in.
Subiaco were quick to counter the home side’s early goal when a long ball from overhead beat the home defence and Olsthoorn netted.
With the score now level, the intensity and pace returned to the centre of the pitch. Following a period of play, a free kick was awarded to Subi following a physical contest committed by FWA. However, Emily Garnett obstructed the free kick, resulting in a yellow card for the home side and a retake.
The ultimate 1-2 score line was sealed when the visitors’ passing sequence on the right-hand side of the midfield allowed a seamless cross through to Olsthoorn on the charge down the centre of the pitch, and she went on to tuck the ball away neatly.
The second half commenced, and play remained tightly contested. It was the FWA on the front foot, holding the ball in the Subi half of the pitch. The home side’s hard work nearly paid off when they took a shot at goal, but it was expertly blocked by visiting goalkeeper Monique Todd.
FWA maintained a steady attacking momentum, creating multiple chances. Despite their sustained pressure and several near opportunities, they were unable to convert any into goals.
Subiaco were disciplined in their defensive marking of the FWA, effectively neutralising the threat. Despite the Academy’s persistent efforts to break through, the score line remained unchanged, and the away side ultimately secured all three points.
Perth SC secured the league title on Wednesday evening, but the race for second place has now become even more intense.
Teams: FOOTBALL WEST ACADEMY: McGreadie Cole, Johnson, Barlow, A. Dumont, Z. Dumont, Santos, Kuzamba, Brady, Dalton, Houlis, Garnett. Substitutes: Williams-Jones, McAuliffe, Wainwright, Borg, Collinson, Heys.
Scorer: Houlis 15′.
SUBIACO: Todd, Campos, Burdett, Wallwork, Hope, Olsthoorn, Papalia, Hughes, McCulloch, Zampogna, Tabain. Substitutes: Suckling, Rudd, Edwards, Caceres, Tyne, Harvey.
Scorers: Olsthoorn 18′, 31′.
Perth RedStar 6-0 Murdoch University Melville
by Max Parris
Perth Redstar bounced back after last week’s loss to Perth SC with a comfortable win over Murdoch University Melville (MUM FC) this afternoon.
The outcome of the game saw the home side move up to second place, giving them a good opportunity to secure the double chance in the Top Four Cup. However, defeat for Murdoch University Melville ensures that the side will finish bottom of the NPLW WA at the end of the season.
RedStar opened strongly. In the sixth minute, a dangerous cross by Caitlin Doeglas found Renee Leota, but her shot hit the crossbar before bouncing down off the woodwork and fell for Jayna Ridley to head home the rebound.
Three minutes later, Alkira Mogridge’s shot from the edge of the area hit the right-hand side of the post and bounced out to Ridley, who passed to Jay Coleman to fire a shot into the bottom right corner. MUM FC keeper Jemma Skinner got a touch, but the ball hit the back of the net.
With only 11 minutes played, it was 3-0 as Abbey Woolley played a ball over the top for Jayna Ridley, who lobbed it over Jemma Skinner’s reach, taking a touch off a defender.
The home side continued to press, and Alkira Mogridge laid the ball off to Coleman, who was denied by Jemma Skinner. Ridley found the loose ball and hit it, but it rolled out for a goal kick.
Just before the 30-minute mark, Caitlin Doeglas’ cross got headed towards the far post, where Ridley kept it in. She crossed it for Mogridge, who took a touch before hitting it over the Jemma Skinner for 4-0.
Just over half an hour into the match, Australian international Ella Mastrantonio had some space to shoot, but Jess Skinner made a great save.
Five minutes left before half time, Ridley tapped the ball back to Doeglas, who played it back in, and Renee Leota got on the end of it, but her shot was saved.
In the second half, Leota drove forward, then placed a lovely through ball to Ridley, who fired into the bottom right corner to complete her hat-trick and made it 5-0.
With just under 15 minutes to go, Doeglas put the ball into the box, but MUM FC defender Elise Cleminson got it away. However, Mogridge took a touch at the back post and chipped Jemma Skinner from just inside the box to complete the scoring.
With just five minutes to go, Doeglas is fouled at the edge of the box. Her free kick takes a deflection and went out for a corner.
As the 90th minute approached, Coleman played a through ball to Kaitlyn Bellanca, who drove into the box, but her shot hit the side netting.
Teams: PERTH REDSTAR: Jess Skinner, Woolley, Monteiro, Dunn, Devitt, Coleman, Bellanca, Ridley, Leota, Doeglas, Mogridge. Substitutes: Teixeira, Dal Busco, Doan, Finnegan, James, Bibby, Gray.
Scorers: Ridley 6′, 11′, 51′. Coleman 9′, Mogridge 30′, 76′.
MURDOCH UNIVERSITY MELVILLE: Jemma Skinner, Jorquera, Denona, Symons, Cleminson, Dunn, Baldin, Sabean, Mastrantonio, Ascenzo-Cabello, Glanfield. Substitutes: Cook, Mello, Hotchin, Siah, Unknown.
Around the grounds
by Ella McShane
UWA-Nedlands 0-7 Fremantle City
Fremantle City increased the pressure on Balcatta Etna in the race for the top four with this win at UWA-Nedlands on Saturday.
Freo were quick to exploit the space left open by the home side. Just a minute and a half into the match, Leyna Wood made a powerful run down the left flank, towards an unguarded goal.
She delivered a cross into the box, but with no immediate takers, the ball was played back to Mia Yeo. Positioned at the far-right corner of the area, Yeo’s precise strike put the visitors ahead early. Yeo repeated her trademark clean strike at the 40-minute mark, taking Fremantle up two to nil.
The visitors closed off a dominant half, with Abbey Green’s presence in the final third made known. Green’s shot was initially halted by UWA-Nedlands goalkeeper Anna Watkins, but catching on the rebound, Green was able to take the port side up to a comfortable 0-3 lead before half time.
Following a deliberate handball in the box, UWA-Nedlands’ Amy Hartley was issued with a red card. A subsequent penalty was awarded to the away side, and Wood’s textbook strike raised the score line further. A mere two minutes later, Wood capitalised on yet another chance, heavying the impending victory for the visitors.
Green’s presence on the pitch once again made the hosts uncomfortable when a long ball from the backline fell at her feet with an unguarded goal in front of her. Now with a brace under her belt, Green rounded the afternoon off neatly with a hat-trick in a trademark fashion.
Teams: UWA-NEDLANDS: Watkins, Kinkaid, C. Gaspar, Cain, Dadswell, E. Gaspar, Rodrigo, Dinsdale, Franklin, Preiato, Reid. Substitutes: Visic, Hartley, Riches, Muller, Gibson, Short, Klomp.
FREMANTLE CITY: Phillips, Poad, Leek, Osborne, Spencer, Kiama, Meaden, Reynolds, Green, Wood, Yeo. Substitutes: Harries, Adams, Trueman, Khiati.
Scorers: Yeo 2′, 40′. Green 43′, 59′, 60′. Wood (pen) 28′, 50′.
Perth SC 1-1 Balcatta Etna
Just three days after these two met in a catch-up game from Round Six, they faced off again, this time at Dorrien Gardens.
Familiarity meant that there were 64 minutes of transitional back-and-forth with neither respective side able to crack the other’s defensive deadlock.
Following a physical challenge by Balcatta, Jess Flannery was pulled down, and a free kick was awarded to the Azzurri’s Kim McCartney in a prime position just outside the right side of the box. With precision, McCartney’s clean curling shot found the back of the net and impressively opened up the score line.
Quick to respond, the visitors’ press in the final third mere minutes later, was capitalised on by an anticipatory Abbey Meakins. Seamlessly tapping Jaime Duncanson’s dangerously high cross into the goal, Meakins secured the visitors one of the ultimately shared points.
With Perth comfortably securing the league title on Wednesday, Balcatta had it all to play for. One point separates Etna from Fremantle City in the race for fourth on the table, and with three postponed games in hand for Pete Rakic’s side, it’s all to play for.
Teams: PERTH SC: Schroeder, Nossent, McCartney, Boehm, Longmore, McAllister, Collins, Archibald, Mathers, Flannery, Tana. Substitutes: Ottobrino, Cavill, Insch, Lincoln, McKenna.
Scorer: McCartney 64′.
BALCATTA ETNA: Bennett, van Heurck, Davis, Murray, Foletta, Meakins, Marwick, Jarvis, Duncanson, Gale, Cook. Substitutes: Comito, Britton, Hargreaves, M. D’Opera, Spadano.
Scorer: Meakins 69′.
Ladder
Perth SC P 20 Pts 51 GD +48
Perth RedStar P 20 Pts 40 GD +41
Football West Academy P 20 Pts 40 GD +27
Fremantle City P 20 Pts 33 GD +30
Balcatta Etna P 17 Pts 32 GD +23
Subiaco P 19 Pts 19 GD -19
UWA-Nedlands P 19 Pts 8 GD -69
Murdoch University Melville P 19 Pts 1 GD -80
Fixtures
WEDNESDAY: Balcatta Etna v Murdoch University Melville (7:45pm). SUNDAY: Balcatta Etna v Perth RedStar (3pm), Perth SC v Football West Academy (3pm), Subiaco v Fremantle City (3:45pm) UWA-Nedlands v Murdoch University Melville (3pm).
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