It was a dream come true for one of Western Sydney’s rising young female football stars Courtney Nevin who took in all the sights and sounds of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics with the Matildas in her stride.

The 19-year-old wore the Green and Gold kit with pride as she played thirty plus minutes in the Bronze medal match that unfortunately went the United States of America’s way.

“It was definitely an experience I will never forget, running out onto that pitch taking on the U.S.A. and lining up against an idol of mine, Alex Morgan is something that will live with me forever.”

Asked if the young gun was stunned to see Canada lift the Gold Medal, Nevin was a little shocked.

“I was definitely shocked to see Canada win Gold but good on them as they worked extremely hard to get it and they did have a quality squad.”

It was one of the many significant moments for the young former Blacktown Spartans star who took in each and every magical moment.

“There were so many quality moments, just being part of such an amazing squad at the Olympic Village was also something I will never forget.

“The Village itself was one of my favourite places to stay during the two months I was away from home.

“I know we only got to stay there for a week, but it was something else, being around top athletes from around the world and just spotting them all walking around was pretty cool.”

As expected, COVID restrictions and protocols were top of the list as the Matildas along with every other athlete and team followed to a tee.

“It was definitely high on everyone’s list, we’d have to do a COVID test each and every morning before breakfast, we wore makes each time we left our hotel rooms, wore gloves while serving ourselves food as well as social distancing with the 1.5 metre ruling.”

Currently in quarantine following her Matildas journey, the Olympian stated that she’s eagerly anticipating the up-and-coming W-League season with the Wanderers but has set her sights on hopefully playing abroad.

“I am firmly focused on the upcoming W-League season, and I do have dreams of playing overseas also following my commitments here.”

The former Football NSW Institute graduate did state that she’d look at playing in the National Premier Leagues NSW Women’s competition once more should a deal overseas not eventuate.

Nevin finished up with seven appearances with the Blacktown Spartans as she linked up with yet another fellow Olympian Kyra Cooney-Cross in the 2021 NPL NSW Women’s competition.

What a magical few months it’s been for Matilda and proud Australian Olympian Kyra Cooney-Cross.

After finishing her W-League season with the Melbourne Victory, the ace midfielder joined the Blacktown Spartans and played five matches in the National Premier Leagues NSW Women’s top tier competition before being summoned on international duty representing the Green and Gold at the recent Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

Currently back in Sydney where the 19-year-old is undertaking the mandatory quarantine following her unforgettable trip to Japan, Cooney-Cross was overawed by the amazing experiences she shared whilst representing her country.

“I had an amazing experience, just being part of the Olympic Games on a whole is something I will never forget.

“I would have to say that my most memorable moments in Tokyo were seeing the Girls beat Great Britain to get into the Semi-Finals and make history.

“Along with that, getting onto that pitch against the U.S.A and getting to see and play against Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe in person was unbelievable.

“I also cannot go past my official Olympics debut against New Zealand in match one as well as the experience of living in the Olympic Village with so many other high-quality athletes.”

Speaking of which, the former Spartans star had the pleasure of seeing a handful of world superstars during her stay at the Olympic Village.

“I really enjoyed being at the Village – it definitely was a really cool experience being around other athletes every day and experiencing what the Olympic Village life was like.

“I saw a handful of stars such as Ash Barty, Sam Stosur, Nyjah Huston, Patty Mills, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Naomi Osaka to name a few.”

As expected, tight restrictions, social distancing, and a whole lot of COVID safe protocols were put in place for each athlete to adhere to in keeping the virus at bay.

“It was definitely at a high level.

“When we were staying at hotels prior to the Village it was pretty strict, we were only allowed outside if we were either going to train or play our warm-up matches so most of the time we were stuck inside.

“We had COVID tests conducted daily, we ate the same foods for weeks, we wore masks everywhere and had to be 1.5m apart.

“We still had strict rules when we entered the Village but we made the most of being outside in the sun while we had some fantastic food options in the dining hall.”

Coming on and playing as a substitute in each of the Matildas’ six matches was a great achievement by the Queenslander who has now earmarked the new W-League season as the next big priority in her football journey before hopefully heading overseas in search of a professional contract.

“I am doing one more W-League season with the Melbourne Victory as I am still under contract and once that’s done, I am certainly thinking of heading overseas.”