about 1 year ago· edited about 1 year ago· History
Fraser back at Utah for NWSL pre season. Sounds like her ankle issues are over and she's fit and healthy, plus excited/buzzing to be back in Salt Lake City.
Utah have a new coach, and this is of course Fraser's first proper NWSL pre season.
She's also keen to play for the Ferns. So all sounds good news for a player who is going to be very crucial for the FFs moving forward.
Stitch-up of a yellow card for Kate Taylor here… but she’s having a very solid first year in France, starting 10/14 games so far for a Dijon FCO side currently sitting fourth in the Premiere Ligue #FlyingKiwispic.twitter.com/d6m1dC6ifK
about 1 year ago· edited about 1 year ago· History
Thought she might have been a contender for the new ALW team, if Foley really opened his wallet. Though it does seem her life is very much in North America.
This is obviously a development moved aimed at getting Clegg the minutes that she wouldn’t have gotten at Racing Lou. Last season saw Racing Lou lean heavily on their veteran forwards, including trading for a couple mid-season, and they presumably just don’t think Clegg is quite ready.
Nor would she be well served by spending another year sitting on the bench. Again, the NWSL is notoriously tough for youngsters to find opportunities, especially the international ones (in a league with visa restrictions). There were only 26 players born in 2004 or later who took the pitch last season and only eight of them were foreigners. Clegg, born in November 2005, was the youngest of those foreigners. And this is after they loosened up the rules about players going pro before finishing university.
about 1 year ago· edited about 1 year ago· History
I'll stick this here, as I'm guessing Wilkinson is still living in Melbourne. It has a pretty vibrant street artist mural scene. They love a nice mural in those laneways.
Anyway nice little yarn about her doing the artwork for kid's football comic book in Fiji.
Aimed at four to six-year-olds, Tabu Soro Futupolo follows the journeys of a young Roy Krishna and Adi, a little girl who dreams of becoming a Kula. The pair rescue a trapped shark and kula bird, and are rewarded with the power to shapeshift into the animals – with the shark, named Qio, and the kula representing the boys and girls of Fiji respectively.
Adi then meets former New Zealand international Hannah Wilkinson, who encourages Adi to dream big as she gets ready for Duavata Tournament, a major local competition.
To create the comic’s artwork, Jankowski and Simmons enlisted the help of former Football Fern Hannah Wilkinson, whose goal against Norway in the opening game of FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 secured Oceania’s first-ever senior FIFA World Cup win in 2023 and is building an impressive artistic resumé.
Fiji FA will target one early childhood education centre every week in the Western, Northern and Southern divisions to reach as many aspiring Kulas and Bula Boys as possible and inspire their next generation of footballers. They hope to host Wilkinson and Krishna at some point later in the year to launch Tabu Soro Futupolo in other communities in Fiji.
Canberra United central defender Elizabeth Anton has departed Canberra to accept a position with Kolbotn in the Norwegian Toppserien with the New Zealand international leaving the club with immediate effect.
Great news, Olivia Chance post baby is back. Signing in Norway with Anton. From memory Chance's Aussie hubby is a football trainer, so that's handy!
And Betsy Hassett also returning to football in Iceland post parturition
From Niche Cache.
Olivia Chance & Liz Anton – Kolbotn (Norwegian Toppserien)
We haven’t glimpsed Liv Chance on a footy pitch since the 2023 World Cup, when it turns out she was already pregnant. She and husband Robert welcomed baby Tyler into the world in April 2024 and now, after a maternity break, she’s ready to resume her athletic career. OC’s not taking it easy with her comeback either, signing in Norway with top division club Kolbotn where she’ll wear the number 6 jersey and try to raise them up from an eighth place finish in 2024 (out of 10 teams) despite some pretty hefty player turnover between seasons. Straight back into the fire of professional football.
OC: “I’m excited for the challenge in Norway with Kolbotn and grateful for the opportunity they have given me to return to professional football after becoming a mother. I look forward to adaptation to Kolbotn's style of play and adding another dimension to the team set up.”
Vetle Vangstuen, KIF sporting director: “Olivia's experience speaks for itself! When you get the opportunity to get such a resource in every way into the club, then there is a no-brainer. Olivia is very motivated to be back on the football field and we are very happy that we can give her this opportunity. It's a match made in heaven.”
Arild Sundgot, KIF head coach: “Getting Olivia in place is important, and very gratifying. We have had good conversations with Olivia, and it was not long before all parties got a good stomach feeling about this. Olivia will contribute very well both on and off the pitch, and we are proud to be able to give her an opportunity to play professional football again after giving birth!”
Chance didn’t play in week one of the new season... which was just as well since Kolbotn were beaten 6-0 by defending champs Valerenga. The reason for her absence was a common matter of the paperwork not having cleared yet. Might as well use this moment to point out that Betsy Hassett has also recently made her comeback after becoming a mother. She’s rejoined Stjarnan in Iceland, where she has spent most of the last several years outside of that one season with the Wellington Phoenix, getting on the pitch during their League Cup group games. The proper stuff in Finland begins late-April.
But wait there’s more. Lucky for you that the All Whites business pushed Flying Kiwis back to a Wednesday publish because, sneaking under the buzzer, was the news that Liz Anton will also be joining Kolbotn, leaving Canberra United immediately after playing every minute of their 19 A-League games so far this season. Two NZ signings in the space of two weeks. Now that’s a smart football club.
Vetle Vangstuen: “We are extremely happy to have Liz in place with us. She is a regular national team defender for New Zealand and comes with very good experience from a very strong league. This is a solid reinforcement both as a footballer and as a human being in the group, and we are looking forward to this!”
From Niche Cache. Good stuff for the women's game in the UK.
Elsewhere, Durham had the bye so no Mickey Foster or Hannah Blake... but there was a full game for Katie Kitching as Sunderland made the short trip across town to face Newcastle United. Incredible occasion to be part of. They played it at St James Park and a division (English 2nd tier) record crowd of 38,502 turned up to witness the derby. Sadly, Newcastle won 1-0 via a Shania Hayles strike after 77 minutes. Sunderland have lost four of their last five to tumble out of the championship race and down into the bottom half.
Niche Cache. Understandable that like Surman see is bypassing the Ferns next window to concentrate on her US club career.
Last week’s starting role spot didn’t last for Macey Fraser. The Utah Royals were on the road for week two where they faced San Diego Wave, where Aisha Solorzano got the right wing start instead of her. Oh well. Fraser was playing out of position as a wide attacker anyway, plus this is the NWSL where nothing’s supposed to come easy. Here’s the thing though: after the Royals made a defensive change at half-time, Macey Fraser was the next sub summoned. She checked in to replace Solorzano after 59 minutes with the Royals trailing by two goals. They’d conceded after seven minutes (Maria Sanchez), they’d conceded after 37 minutes (Adriana Leon).
Two minutes after Fraser’s introduction, before she’d even touched the ball, Claudi Zornoza scored a wonderful left-footed direct free kick and then ten minutes later Mina Tanaka finished smoothly after Ally Sentnor had played an amazing through ball in behind the defence. Utah Royals back level. And don’t think Macey Fraser didn’t have anything to do with it – her one-two in the midfield was what sparked the move in the first place and then her ball to the feet of Sentnor was exactly where the American playmaker needed it to be able to turn infield and find Tanaka (it was voted Assist of the Week for the NWSL). Brilliant combination football. That’s how it’s done...
One pesky hiccup though... immediately after they’d fought back to level the game, Utah goalie Katie McGlynn passed a goal kick straight to Gio Corley at the top of the box and she whacked it home for the San Diego winner. An absolute giveaway from the Royals, who lost 3-2 as a result. But hey it was while Macey Fraser was on the pitch that they looked most dangerous. File that away under ‘Good Impressions’.
Also guess what? Macey’s got a podcast now. It’s called Sportea and the first episode came out a month ago, with number two arriving in the feeds this week. Chloe Lacasse was on the latest one, she’s a Utah teammate of Fraser’s. The first one was with her Football Ferns teammate Maya Hahn. Good stuff.
A 19-year-old rising star notches her first Ninja A-League goal 🙌@CanberraUnited's Ruby Nathan gets on the end of a pinpoint pass to extend her side's lead.
Deven Jackson must almost be the Kiwi who has scored the most goal this Womens A league season. She missed about a third of the season with that injury she got in the Nix match also.
