Producing inspirational performances in goal to spur a side to victory – Mark Schwarzer did it for the Socceroos back in 2006, Hope Solo did it for the USA in 2015 and just days ago Croatian ace Danijel Subasic did it for his side in a nail-biting World Cup shootout against Denmark.
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Now Orange’s Harriet Shuttleworth has the potential to do it too, she’ll be trying to inspire her NSW Country side to success at this month’s 2018 National Youth Girls’ Under-14 Championship, at Coffs Harbour.
The 12-year-old shot-stopper was named in NSW Country’s side after an intense, three-camp selection process, that followed her selection in the preliminary squad after last year’s state titles at Mudgee, where her Western side finished fifth.
“I thought I did pretty well (at the camps),” Shuttleworth said, having been notified of her selection a fortnight ago.
She admitted she was reasonably confident of making the final cut, especially considering she was put through the same system – where selectors cull the group after each camp – last year.
She did miss out on the final side last year though, but not through lack of ability, she was simply too young to earn final selection.
She met all the criteria for this year’s national championship bid though, where her side faces Capital Football (ACT), Football West (Western Australia), NSW Metro White, Northern Territory and Tasmania in the group stage.
“I’m looking forward to it. They’ll be hard teams,” she said, her role is far bigger than just saving goals too, there’s plenty more she’ll need to think about.
“I just want to try my hardest. (I’ll be focusing on) hitting the second line, communication and the quick release.”
Shuttleworth is one of five Western NSW Mariners FC’s under-14 stars to make the final cut, along with Bathurst’s Joely Anderson, Dubbo’s Aimee Longhurst, Mudgee’s Charlotte Roberts and Bathurst’s Menzi White, while Orange’s Ella Cubbin was also named as a shadow.
The under-15 national titles will played simultaneously, with five more Mariners guns named for NSW Country in Forbes’ Stephanie Behan, Lithgow’s Molly Compton, Mudgee’s Ella-Rose Hawes, Grenfell’s Anna Hunt and Cowra’s Lily Smith.
That side also takes on Football West, NSW Metro White and Tasmania in the group stage as well as South Australia, while Capital Football is in the other under-15 pool and Northern Territory won’t compete in that age group.
The national titles don’t kick-off until Monday, July 16 though so until then Shuttleworth will be looking to continue her excellent form for her Western Mariners’ under-14 side.
The Mariners sit ninth through 17 rounds of the 2018 National Premier League 2 season and still have a slim chance of making the finals, they’ll need to go on a serious run in the last five weeks of the regular season.
That run needs to start in Sunday’s trip to Nowra to face Southern Branch, the clash kicks off at 8.30am.
Matt Findlay
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
