Six years, six finals series, three premierships, two grand final wins and one grand final loss, that is the success Rachael Soutar has enjoyed with Sydney University.
In her sixth season with the Students, Soutar will look to claim her third grand final victory on Sunday afternoon.
Covered in silverware over the years, last year’s grand final defeat still hurts the versatile football and her team mates.
What was an emotional rollercoaster to say the least, Uni lead until late in the match having been down two-goals at half time, only to concede in the dying stages and go on to lose in extra time.
“It was definitely upsetting losing the grand final last year, especially after winning the premiership.
“So we are really hoping we can get the double this season!”
The double hasn’t been done by anyone since the 2016 season when Uni did it themselves.
Soutar has a knack of scoring spectacular goals from set pieces, as she did two weeks ago against the same opponents.
When asked if she will turn it on again, Soutar laughed it off and said “let’s hope so.”
Another team with fine camaraderie in this league is Uni and Soutar points to that as major part of Uni’s success over the years.
“We have all worked really hard this season and every training session is intense and really enjoyable, which has helped us have a very successful season.
“We also all get along really well off the pitch, which obviously helps us play well together.”
The last two seasons under Alex Epakis has seen Uni continue on and improve on the great work Heather Garriock had accomplished at the club.
The 25-year-old has only words of praise for the man behind the wheels at Uni.
“Working with Alex has been great this season and he has done very well coaching both the firsts and reserves and leading us to two premierships.
“Personally, he has also been very accommodating with helping me balance full time work with training. “
Being one of the most experienced in this young team along with Kendall Fletcher and Julie-Ann Russel, and taking part in her fourth grand final, the excitement is as great as any for Soutar.
“We are all buzzing for Sunday and are hoping to play the best football we can, so we can get the double!”
By – Nikola Pozder, NPL NSW Women’s Writer
