Round 1 Review – NPL Women’s NSW
What a start to the new campaign! A host of goals, comebacks, and individual moments of brilliance characterised what was an action-packed Sunday evening of clashes in Round 1 of the National Premier Leagues NSW Women’s competition.
Read on for our full breakdown of the weekend that was.
Match of the Round – APIA Leichhardt 2-0 Macarthur Rams at Lambert Park
APIA Leichhardt got their 2025 National Premier Leagues Women’s NSW season off to the best possible start with a 2-0 victory over the Macarthur Rams at Lambert Park on Sunday night.
In a 2024 Grand Final rematch, two first half goals to the prolific Ash Crofts secured the points for the home side.
Click here to view the full match report!
Western Sydney Wanderers 1-5 Manly United at Wanderers Football Park
Manly United swooped into the heartland of the Western Sydney Wanderers and brought the three points back to the Northern Suburbs after a massive 5-1 win at Wanderers Football Park.
Expectations were high heading into Round 1 for a Wanderers youth side experiencing their debut year in the NPL Women’s competition. Coming up against league stalwarts Manly was a fantastic opportunity for the newcomers to experience the realities of top flight football, whilst Tom Hopley’s United side would have been gunning to spoil the party for the debutants.
An unfortunate early injury to Australian international futsal representative Nikkita Fazzari was quickly followed with more misfortune for the Wanderers, as Manly star Emily Minett capitalised on a deflected ball and hit a speculative finish from distance that bounced past goalkeeper Aimee Hall and into the back of the net. 1-0 to Manly in the 24th minute.
The visitors showed no signs of slowing down from here as they doubled their lead in the 28th minute after Anita Zordan dinked a perfect ball in behind the Wanderers defence for Tegan Biasi, who bypassed an outrushing Hall before smashing the ball home for 2-0.
The Wanderers were left stunned after goal No. 3 arrived for Manly soon after, which was an excellently guided header from defender Phoebe Gilbane off of a corner. 3-0 in the 35th minute.
There would be early signs of a comeback from the home side in 43rd minute when Anika Stajcic strolled in behind the Manly defence to calmly slot the ball past goalkeeper Nicole Simonsen. 3-1 before halftime.
Gilbane was again involved for her side in the second half, showcasing her incredible engine to drive down the right wing and launch a spectacular cross onto the head of a grateful Minett, who knocked the resultant headed goal in with ease. 4-1 in the 64th minute.
A wonderful ball from Biasi unlocked a golden chance for Nicole Stuart in the 71st minute which the No. 5 duly took on and finished for 5-1 despite seeing her initial strike saved by Hall.
Newcastle Jets 1-2 Northern Tigers at Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility
The Northern Tigers held on for a late 2-1 win over the Newcastle Jets in a tense clash at Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility.
Formerly known as the Emerging Jets, Newcastle will have entered Round 1 with a sense of momentum having laid solid foundations over the course a much-improved 2024 season. Facing a Tigers side brimming with anticipation following their 2024 Sapphire Cup win and strong 2024 campaign will have been seen as a substantial challenge first-up for the Jets however.
The match came to life at the end of the first half when the Jets took the lead through India Breier. A Championship winner with the Macarthur Rams last season, Breier showed real composure to the open the scoring with a calm penalty. 1-0 in the 40th minute.
Within two minutes the Tigers would spoil the party for the home side through Haley Johnson, who scored a miraculous chip from close range after Bo Burton weaved through the Jets defence and squared the ball to the No. 9. 1-1 in the 43rd minute.
Following a closely-fought 80 minutes, the Tigers would go 2-1 up against their opponents in the 81st minute. The visitors leapt on an opportunity to launch an attack via a ball lofted in from their own half which caused chaos for the Jets defence, with Burton taking her chance from a clearance and being denied by Tiahna Robertson before a well-placed Johnson buried her strike with ease. 2-1 the final score.
Illawarra Stingrays 2-1 Sydney University at Macedonia Park
The Illawarra Stingrays proved to be too strong for Sydney University on Sunday evening, overcoming the visitors 2-1 at Macedonia Park.
After securing a finals football spot in 2024, the Stingrays will have wanted to start the new year with a win at home. Coming up against a Sydney Uni side that came into their own as the 2024 season progressed would have had fans primed for a close encounter.
It was the Stingrays who opened the scoring through a brilliant passage of play that was executed after the ball was intercepted close to Sydney Uni’s 18-yard box, with Layla Etherington unleashing a superb strike into the top left corner that capped off a fantastic interchange of passes by her side. 1-0 to Illawarra in the 14th minute.
The Stingrays had a tough contest on their hands and would have to wait until luck looked their way in the 64th minute when a brilliant free-kick into the box by Alexia Karrys-Stahl was plucked from the hands of Sydney Uni goalkeeper Sofia Fante and eventually tucked home through a crowd of defenders by Poppie Hooks to make it 2-0.
Sydney Uni then found a way back into the game in the 86th minute when a cross eluded the Stingrays defence and was jumped on by a determined Ruby Egan-Brown, who headed the ball beyond an outstretched Kiara Rochaix. However, despite Uni’s best efforts, the match would end 2-1 in favour of the home side.
UNSW 5-2 NWS Spirit at The Village Green
An incredible 8-goal thriller played out on Sunday evening at The Village Green, with UNSW triumphing 5-2 over NWS Spirit in the end.
Having been newcomers in 2024, UNSW will have been buoyed by the year of experience behind them and will have wanted to kick-off Round 1 at The Village Green in style. Comparatively, NWS Spirit finished 2024 hitting the levels expected of them, and will have wanted to begin well in the opening weekend after losing a few key players in pre-season.
A tight opening 40 minutes to the match saw UNSW create the better of the chances, with the first goal of the day eventually being scored by the home side after Chloe Smith fought for the ball on the edge of the box and proceeded to unleash a quality strike from range that curled into the bottom right corner. 1-0 to UNSW in the 41st minute.
Though the two sides went into the halftime break with a solitary goal scored between them, the second half was an entirely different story as 7 goals were shared between the two of them across the remaining 45 minutes.
Spirit were quick to respond in the second half through Victoria Martin, who was picked out in the box with a pinpoint cross that the No. 5 promptly fired into the bottom left corner. 1-1 in the 48th minute.
The home side displayed plenty of tenacity to get back into the match, with Smith popping up again to push her side into the lead after the referee declared that her half-volley finish crossed the line despite the best efforts of goalkeeper Katie Offer. 2-1 to UNSW in the 63rd minute.
Unfortunately for UNSW, Spirit were similarly determined to stay in the match and would find an equaliser in the 71st minute after some lapse defending by the home side allowed Skye Halmarick time and space in the box to bury her low finish for 2-2.
A penalty for UNSW gave them a chance to retake the lead, with Angelique Hristodoulou stepping up and seeing her spot kick well-saved by Offer before Smith was first to the rebound and placed the ball beyond the keeper to complete her hattrick. 3-2 in the 76th minute.
Demi Koulizakis’ quality cross would lead to UNSW scoring their fourth of the evening, as the ball from the left wing found Sonali Singh for a strong header home. 4-2 in the 89th minute.
UNSW did not hold back though and would find time for one more goal to cap off a fantastic start to the season, with Trudy Camilleri stealing in behind an unsuspecting Spirit defender to get her head to a Georgia Plessas cross. 5-2 in the 93rd minute.
Mt Druitt Town Rangers 1-0 Bulls FC Academy at Popondetta Park
Mt Druitt Town Rangers earned a historic, first-ever three points in the NPL Women’s competition with a 1-0 victory over Bulls FC Academy at Popondetta Park.
Mt Druitt arrived as debutants to the NPL Women’s competition this year, having won Football NSW League One Women’s Club Championship in 2024. With plenty of quality in their side, the Rangers’ sights entering Round 1 will have been set on making an instant impact. For Bulls FC, they will have wanted to improve on a mixed 2024 season after the highs of making finals in their debut 2023 season.
The Bulls would make it hard for themselves early on however as Petria Phillips saw her initial yellow elevated to a red card in the 22nd minute for coming down hard on Kaiya Buchanan with a studs up challenge made as part of her attempt to win the ball.
A few minutes later and the day would go from bad to worse for the Bulls after Alyssa Rose collided with and brought down Rangers captain Leena Khamis. The resulting spot kick was then successfully buried with aplomb by Rosaria Galea in the 26th minute, with the home side able to hold onto the lead and notch a 1-0 win.
Gladesville Ravens 1-1 Sydney Olympic at Christie Park
1-1 was the final score at Christie Park as Sydney Olympic scored a late equaliser to draw with the Gladesville Ravens.
The Ravens have proven themselves to be skilled competitors since being promoted to the NPL Women’s a few years ago, and Round 1 will have been seen as an opportunity to begin taking that next step toward finals football. Olympic will pose plenty of attacking threat in 2025, and will have aimed to put the Ravens on the back foot from the get go.
It was the Ravens who got the match off to an exciting start as an unstoppable Sarah Passafaro took the reigns of her side’s counterattack before spotting Olympic goalkeeper Brianna Clarke off her line and firing an incredible strike from an unlikely position that floated over a diving Clarke and in for 1-0. The Ravens could have doubled their advantage in the 29th minute after being awarded a penalty, but Clarke saved Kim Davey’s initial effort and Claudia Cholakian’s follow-up to keep the margin to one at half time.
With the Ravens holding on tightly to sustain their lead Olympic knew they needed to take their chances to stand a chance of taking anything away from the match. And the away side would do exactly that in the 74th minute following a corner kick which caused commotion in the box, leading to Olivia Lysiak placing her ball above the parade of Ravens defenders with enough power to prevent it being cleared off the line. The match would ultimately conclude 1-1.
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Words by Matthew Badrov
