In a nail-biting preliminary final at Caloundra Football Club last weekend, the two Noosa U13 girls’ teams went head to head in a terrific show of skill and sportsmanship.
The two girls’ teams had ended up numbers three and four on the ladder – a great outcome for Noosa Lions Football Club with two such strong teams in one age group.
Over the year we’ve seen the girls develop their skills, not only through the guidance of their respective coaches and managers, but also the club’s commitment to female soccer through the Girls Academy sessions led by the club’s Technical Director, Kevin A’Herne-Evans.
The weekly development sessions provide structure and strategy in a professional environment, and Kevin’s enthusiastic approach has helped the girls progress to the next level of achievement.
Kevin said the girls program is going from strength to strength at Noosa Lions.
“The girls are quick to learn, competitive and particularly enjoy the social aspect that soccer brings them. Female football is a huge growth area at present and we are proud at Noosa Lions to be supporting the sport at grass roots level.”
Saturday’s game had the parents on the edge as the two teams’ excellent defence and outstanding goalies led to a 0-0 draw at finishing time. Extra time achieved the same result, and it was only at the penalty shoot outs that the Noosa Blue team finally made it across the line with a 3-2 win.
Noosa Blues came in as the underdogs with the Yellows giving them a decent beating of 5-0 the previous week. Perhaps the strong win gave the Yellow team a false sense of security in their final show-off, as the Blues came back with a vengeance.
Noosa Blues coach, Gell Pettit, said it had been a pleasure coaching the girls this season.
“While several of the girls have been playing together for a few years, we welcomed a number of new girls this season, as the girls comp moved to the 11-a-side game. The whole team has worked hard on their individual skills and team play to produce a solid performance on the day. With two U13 girls’ teams of such talent, we are very excited for the future of female football at Noosa Lions FC.”
The U13 Blues unfortunately lost out to a very strong and confident Buderim team in another nail biting and exciting game this morning. Buderim scored in the last minute of the game giving them a 1-0 win.
It’s the end of the season, but most of the girls will continue their love of football through 6-aside and futsal games. The best things for mental health in teenage years are lots of exercise and good friendships, so let’s keep our girls out there enjoying the game. It’s been a great season!
