It comes down to two on Sunday afternoon at Valentine Sports Park (5:45pm) as Sydney University and the Northern Tigers do battle in the NPL NSW Women’s final.

What a season for both teams, making it all the way to the big dance after months of preparation, hard work and battle.

Sydney University 

The premiers will come into this one as favourites with Alex Eapkis having no problem with his team having that tag.

Uni deservedly took out first place being the most consistent team in the competition throughout the whole season.

They’ve beaten the Tigers twice already this campaign, drawing the other so the Students will be confident they can get the job done.

Last year’s heartbreaking extra time loss to the Rams will be in the back of their minds heading into Sunday but they’ll look to set the record straight and complete the double.

Who to watch 

Cortnee Vine is definitely one of the most talented strikers in the country, possessing everything a ‘number nine’ needs to be the best at their role.

Rachel Soutar is another. The dead ball specialist will be dangerous with anything around the box, or even a little further, something the Tigers know all too well.

And of course that centre half pairing of Tori Tumeth and Taren King. They’ve been the rock in front of Coutney Newbon this campaign and will undoubtedly be up for one final fight this season.

Northern Tigers 

If Uni has had a fine season, then what Jason Eagar and his Tigers have done in 2019 is near remarkable.

They finished in ninth place last season, more than 20 points away from finals football, to be within a couple rounds of taking out the premiership this campaign.

The turnaround has been great to watch unfold and the underdogs go into Sunday’s game with absolutely nothing to lose against Uni.

With the second best defence in the competition (second to Uni), they’ll know that they must focus for the full 90 minutes plus to have any chance of lifting silverware.

Who to watch 

We’ll start from the back and the trio of Eliza Campbell, Servet Uzunlar and Ellie Brush. Thy are the heart and soul of this Tigers team and their leadership will be key on Sunday.

Malia Steinmetz has been one of the players of the season and an unsung hero for the team from North Turramurra. Her hard work and engines in midfield are important to how the Tigers machine rolls on.

Not many can look beyond the most potent striker in the league, Daisy Arrowsmith. Playing her first major grand final, the youngster will look to find the back of the net like she has already 19 times this season.

TALE OF THE TAPE –

Round 8 @North Turramurra Rec Area – Northern Tigers 0-0 Sydney University

Round 19 @Sydney Uni Football Ground – Sydney University 2-0 Northern Tigers

Semi Final @Arlington Oval – Sydney University 2-0 Northern Tigers

By – Nikola Pozder, NPL NSW Women’s Writer

One team has booked their grand final place while the other spot is up for grabs this weekend.

Sydney Olympic (2nd) v Northern Tigers (3rd)

These two will clash again for the second time in three weeks on Sunday afternoon at Jensen Park.

When they met at Arlington Oval, neither side reached their best but a late Daisy Arrowsmith goal gave the Tigers the victory.

It gave the Tigers the chance to book their place in the grand final but Sydney University were too good for them on Sunday.

Jason Eagar won’t be too worried about that result and will be preparing his team for this week’s do or die clash.

A potential worry for Eagar could be Ellie Brush with the defender going down late in the game but still managed to hold out until the end.

Olympic showed nerves of steal to come through their knockout clash against the Illawarra Stingrays.

Teresa Polias was at the top of her game and if she puts on a similar performance, Olympic will be close to a grand final place.

All three clashes between the two this season have been very tight affairs and something similar is expected on Sunday.

Round 10 – Sydney Olympic 0-2 Northern Tigers

Round 21 – Northern Tigers 0-1 Sydney Olympic

Finals –   Sydney Olympic 0-1 Northern Tigers

By – Nikola Pozder, NPL NSW Women’s Writer

The Blacktown Spartans are gone, four remain in the NPL NSW Women’s finals series as Sydney Olympic face the Illawarra Stingrays while Premiers Sydney University tackle the Northern Tigers.

Semi Final – Saturday, 17^th August

Sydney Olympic v Illawarra Stingrays

Valentine Sports Park will host the first semi final on Saturday with kick off set for 3:45pm as Sydney Olympic face off with the Illawarra Stingrays.

With everything on the line, it will be elimination time for one of these two on Saturday.

The Stingrays already faced that daunting task last week and were staring down the barrel of elimination until a remarkable comeback saw them overcome the Blacktown Spartans.

Erica Halloway and captain Michelle Carney were major factors in the win and along with Caitlin Cooper will be key to the Rays’ success.

It wasn’t Olympics best performance of the season last week and subsequently lost late on to find themselves in this position.

Teresa Polias and Susan Phonsongkham will both need to lift their game to give Olympic any chance of progressing.

The Stingrays have the better of the battles between the two this season, drawing he first 1-1 before smashing Olympic 4-0 back in round 16.

Sydney University v Northern Tigers

Sydney University and the Northern Tigers will both look to book their grand finals place on Sunday afternoon at Arlington Oval.

Alex Epakis’ side have had a fine season, losing only once in 2019 all the way back in round four.

They will be keen to go one step further this campaign and claim the double by lifting the championship.

Stars all over the park, the centre back pairing of Tori Tumeth and Taren King has been fantastic, added to that goals from Cortnee Vine and the Tigers will have their hands full.

A well earned, tight victory last week will give Jason Eager’s team belief they can get the job done on Sunday.

Daisy Arrowsmith showed her poachers instinct and added to her season tally with another goal last weekend.

A draw and a win to Uni has the premiers coming into this one slightly with the upper hand.

One this that will definitely work in the Tigers favour is the fact that they played at the same venue only 7 days prior.

By – Nikola Pozder, NPL NSW Women’s Writer

The top five are locked in and finals football kicks off this weekend in the NPL NSW Women’s competition.

Sydney University gets the week off after finishing top of the league and Alex Epakis will use this to analyse his opponents in detail.

Blacktown Spartans (4^th) v Illawarra Stingrays (5^th)

At Valentine Sports Park on Saturday, the Blacktown Spartans face off against the Illawarra Stingrays is the elimination semi-final.

There’s no second chance for these two, the losers season comes to an end, the winners dream lives on.

The Spartans have been on a good run of form of late and with Ash Crofts finding her scoring boots at the right time, she’ll be key for David Saliba’s team.

Alix Roberts offers another attacking option from right back while the little spoken about centre back pairing of Keisha Allen and Hannah Bourke have been fantastic in front of Casey Dumont.

A stuttering run home meant the Stingrays missed out on a top three position but they’re without a doubt, one of the best teams in the competition.

Liana Danaskos is back to offer strength and depth in midfield in addition to the experienced heads of Caitlin Cooper, Erica Halloway and captain Michelle Carney

These two only met four weeks ago and it was the Stingrays that came out on top at JJ Kelly Park by the odd goal. Earlier in the season, the Spartans took the points by their own tight score line, recording a 2-1 victory.

This one can go either way and will go down to the wire.

Sydney Olympic (2^nd) v Northern Tigers (3^rd)

Sydney Olympic and the Northern Tigers will battle it out at Arlington Oval in the qualifying final on Sunday afternoon.

These two were in the top three for the majority of the season and the Tigers slugging it out with Uni for the Premiership.

Three games without a victory, including defeat against Uni dashed their hopes of taking the first available trophy of 2019.

Daisy Arrowsmith has been the Tigers best, scoring 17 goals this season and she is closely followed by Maddie Bart.

It’s been a season to remember for the team from North Turramurra, improving drastically on last season.

Olympic on the other hand, only promoted this season, have really shown they can battle with the best in the state.

Quality across the park, from Jada Whyman in goals to the maestro Teresa Polias in midfield, they are one fine team.

Susan Phonsongkham has been one of Olympics best in 2019 and when she is on, Olympic usually take the spoils so George Beltsos will be hoping it’s her day.

It’s a win apiece for these two after their clashes this season meaning we will more than likely be in for another tight affair.

By – Nikola Pozder, NPL NSW Women’s Writer