Three teams will be battling it out for local bragging rights in the Bendigo Amateur Soccer League’s division one women’s competition this season, with Shepparton United, Tatura and Shepparton South set to go head-to-head.
United will be hoping to hold the new kids on the block at bay, while South and Tat will be keen to make their mark in Central Victorian League 1.
South will return to the competition after sitting out last year, while Tatura earned promotion to the top flight after finishing on top of League 2 and winning the grand final in 2022.
Jean-Claude Giuca is the new coach at United for 2023 and he said having the Ibises and South back in League 1 was definitely a positive.
“It is good for the league. The more teams in the league the more competition we have,” Giuca said.
“It starts from the bottom, but it rises to the top. Teams get better and better and the league progresses. Tatura and South should be strong this year.”
Giuca is a familiar face at United, having coached the club’s senior men, under-15s and under-17s a decade ago.
He later coached at Avondale and Melbourne University, also serving as the female technical director at Heidelburg United.
Having now returned to United, Giuca will be hoping to lead the team to another strong finish.
United finished second on the table in 2022, two points behind champion Strathfieldsaye Colts United.
But the team’s strong form in the home and away season didn’t carry on into the finals, with United losing to Strathfieldsaye and Spring Gully United, exiting the post-season in straight sets.
United will have some fresh faces on the pitch in 2023, with some of last season’s key players departing to Melbourne for university.
“It is a new team, we will see what happens,” Giuca said.
Meanwhile, Tatura is sticking to its winning formula with the core of its promotion-winning side returning to the field this year.
The Ibises lost one game during the regular season in 2022 as they finished four points clear in top spot.
Tatura suffered a surprise 3-0 loss to Kyneton in the opening round of the finals, but the team exacted its revenge a fortnight later, defeating Rangers 2-1 in the grand final.
Last year’s skipper Madison Forte and vice-captain Jessica Posteraro have recommitted to the club, as too has last season’s club best-and-fairest and league golden boot winner Colette Suter.
Midfielders Nicola Minicozzi and Schenell D’Costa, defender Asya Ciftci and goalkeeper Amelia Rando will also don the red-and-white again this campaign.
Shepparton South is expected to field a young side this season as the club looks to build its women’s program for the future.
South finished fourth and qualified for the finals in its last full season in the women’s competition in 2019, also finishing fifth in the shortened 2021 campaign.