On a floodlit football pitch on a chilly autumn night in Orange, a slice of history was made.
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Charles Sturt University Cockatoos' two sides - Yellow and Pink - met in round one of the open female Orange District Football Association (ODFA) season.
Being the first ever 'CSU derby', it was a sign of the club's growth in the space of just two years.
Founded in 2022 by female students from the university's Orange campus, the club has expanded to include women from all parts of the community.
Club secretary and foundation player Himanya Sajnani said the idea to start up the team was the result of a casual conversation amongst students.
"It was just something that we were discussing and a few of us at uni thought that it would be nice to have a club for women's sport because at uni there's only social sport and a netball team," she said.
"So it was something that we were interested in and we had a chat around and there were quite a few girls who were interested."
Matildas fever still taking hold
ODFA is celebrating Female Football Week from May 3-12 and Sajnani said she believed the surge in interest in the Cockatoos was in no small part to the success of the Matildas during the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup.
"I think that has definitely played a big part in it," she said.
"The Tillies did fantastic and it created an opportunity for a conversation around women's sport and really promoting it.
"I think that definitely was a massive factor and I think that the club last year being new, perhaps also, generated some interest.
"I guess the word being spread around and obviously the promotion of the sport in the media and everything has I think definitely promoted the popularity of signups in general."
Leaving a legacy
Pink earned first bragging rights with a 3-0 victory.
Sajnani said the community had grown to include daughters of players as well as women from all walks of life, especially school students thinking of going to uni.
She hopes it becomes a legacy of her and her fellow committee members' time at CSU.
"It was very enjoyable," she said.
"Everyone was really looking forward to having the opportunity to play. We had our new uniforms as well that the Orange Credit Union and the OSRC sponsored for us.
"This year we really marketed the club and there's people who aren't university students.
"I think it's very exciting to think that this is something that people are interested in and once we go forward and graduate we hope that the club keeps running and that people keep staying interested in it."
