It’s been a season full of opportunity for APIA Leichhardt young gun Claudia Cicco and she has taken it with open arms.
Having turned 18 only last week, she has been an ever-present figure in the APIA defensive line up, missing only a couple games all season.
With serious injuries to Tori Tumeth (season long) and Elizabeth Ralston early on, the heat was turned up on the youngster to step up.
“For me, the season has been exciting and scary but full of opportunity. Losing Tori and Lizzie early in the season was really tough as it put a lot of pressure on me especially being the youngest in the team,” Cicco said.
“Mini (Rhianna Pollicina) supported me so much throughout the season. I’m grateful to her and all the girls in the squad. When you look at the stats and see that we conceded equal second least amount of goals is pretty amazing and a credit to all the players throughout the season. It has been an absolute privilege for me to play with this group of girls, under the guidance of Spencer Prior.”
After a COVID-ravaged first few seasons in the NPL NSW Women’s competition, APIA have had an excellent first full campaign. They finished second on the first grade ladder and runner up in the Club Championship.
“We did really well! In saying that, it was quite an up and down season for first grade. Missing key players due to injury and national team duty meant that we rarely had time together as a full squad and still managed to secure excellent results,” Cicco said.
The culture at APIA is that of a family one and if you’ve been to a first grade match at Lambert Park or listened in to a live stream, you would have heard that Cicco has a song sung for her.
“Where would we be without our amazing support network, our GSAP and youth cheering us on and singing songs to help keep us motivated. It’s an amazing feeling hearing them sing for us,” the young defender said.
Cicco and her team mates are confident they can go all the way having secured their place in the finals.
“Yes, definitely. We have a great bunch of girls that are all so talented in their own right and it feels like from the results in the last 2 weeks, I’d like to think that we are peaking at the right time.”
On Saturday night APIA face off against the Macarthur Rams for the second straight week at Lambert Park, having beat them less than seven days ago against an albeit weakened Rams squad.
“Macarthur are a fantastic side who are in great form so I know this week’s game is going to be really tight and tough. With the talent and experience they have in their squad, and their coaching staff, we know that we need to play our best,” Cicco said.
-By NPL NSW Women’s Chief Writer and Commentator Nikola Pozder