The National Premier Leagues VIC Women’s competition continues to heat up as we get set for some exciting clashes this week.
Alamein v Calder United
3:00 pm, Saturday, 10 June, Dorothy Laver West Reserve
Calder United was defeated by Box Hill at home in Round 12, while Alamein split the points with Preston last Friday night.
Alamein showed what they are capable of last week against the second-best defence in Preston, but they still haven't claimed a victory in seven weeks.
Sidney Allen was once again prolific through the midfield for Alamein alongside Ash Lefevre in left mid but will have their work cut out for them against Calder's Alexis Mitchell, Montanna Mathews, and Natasha Dakic.
Calder's Ava Groba has been at her damaging best of late, being directly involved in three goals across her past four starts, but was unable to fire last week against Box Hill.
Alamein's forward line will worry Calder, with Patricia Charalambous being the one to stand up in Round 12 with a brace. Rebecca Saber (3 goals) is dangerous up front, while Savanna Anastasopoulos (3 goals) and Elaina Vatcky (2 goals) are capable of scoring from the wings.
Calder United has made the most shots on goal this season than any other team and ranks third for shooting accuracy, putting a lot of pressure on Alamein defenders Catherine Renehan and Chinatsu Shidara.
Kiewa Hieda (4 goals) has been Calder's most dangerous forward this season, while Larissa Walsh and Fiorina Iaria have scored three goals.
Alamein defeated Calder 4-2 when they faced off earlier this season with Savanna Anastasopoulos and Rebecca Saber scoring braces.
Can the defending Champions begin to turn their season around or will Alamein prove they belong with the upper echelon of sides in 2023?
Bayside United v Boroondara Eagles
Boroondara unluckily lost to Bulleen in a thriller last Saturday night, while Bayside defeated Southern United in another close game.
The Eagles remain in the top spot, however, if they suffer back-to-back defeats they could be overtaken by South Melbourne.
Kurea Okino (Boroondara) found the back of the net once again, bringing her season tally to 16 goals from 11 matches. Winger Emily Sutcliffe (2 goals) will be dangerous, while midfielder Kristina Hall (2 goals) tends to give herself goal-scoring opportunities.
This match is set to be a shoot-out with Boroondara scoring 2+ goals in all but one of their past 11 matches, but they will need to get past Bayside keeper Coco Majstorovic who has made the most saving catches in the NPLW, making the Team of the Week on three separate occasions.
Bayside's Kayla Deaver has been in ripping form with six goals for the season and will come up against Boroondara's Arina Takunaga while Miwa Sasaki (4 goals) and Julia Budiongo (2 goals) are lethal when given the chance. Becky Lim (Boroondara) will need to be wary of her opponent's dangerous wingers while also trying to provide some offensive flare.
Star recruit Margot Robbine was absent from last week's match, but if she returns to the Eagles' midfield alongside Kristina Hall and Cassie Carmen, it will make life hard for Bayside mids Sienna Fogarty and Caitlin Storay.
The Eagles defeated Bayside 2-0 the last time they met with Rebecca Lim scoring the winning goal for Boroondara.
Will Boroondara remain in top-spot or can Bayside hand the Eagles back-to-back defeats?
5:00 pm, Saturday, 10 June, Kingston Heath Soccer Complex
Southern United v Box Hill United
5:45 pm, Saturday, 10 June, Selandra Recreation Reserve
Box Hill United claimed the three points against Calder United last week and Southern United fell just short of Bayside.
Southern United has been kept goalless in 11 of their last 13 NPLW matches at home, but last week they nearly pinched the game from Bayside, scoring two goals in the last 10 minutes to narrowly go down 3-2.
Southern United's Eley Gaganis was impressive in defeat last week and alongside the ever-reliable Yuka Sato they will look to give their side a chance, but it will be a hard task coming up against A-League stars Sofia Sakalis and Melinda Barbieri who have been on fire since arriving in the mid-season registration period, scoring four goals from three games.
Southern's Rachel Binning will be tasked with stopping Asuka Doi (two goals last week) who continued her goal-scoring form for Box Hill against Calder. Reliable defender Izzy Coppell will try to contain the influence of Kanna Moriya (Box Hill) who sparked her side with her creativity setting up Box Hill's first goal of the game.
Southern United captain Antonia Niteros and Zarli Vandenberg scored their first goals for the season in the spirited comeback against Bayside last week, but since they have only scored four times, someone will need to step up again if they are going to get a result.
Box Hill defeated Southern United 3-0 when the sides met in Round 2 at Wembley Park.
Can Southern build on last week's performance and win their first game of the season or will Box Hill continue in its winning ways?
South Melbourne v FV Emerging
1:30 pm, Sunday, 11 June, Lakeside Stadium
South Melbourne was defeated by Heidelberg in Round 12, ending a four-game unbeaten run, and FV Emerging returns to action this week after having the bye.
FV Emerging are winless in their last six NPLW matches; the last time they went longer without a win was a seven-game losing streak to begin the 2019 campaign, and coming up against the second-placed South, the trend looks likely to continue.
After a slow start to the season, South went on a roll last month largely due to the form of captain Danielle Wise who scored five goals including a dramatic last-minute winner against Boroondara Eagles in Round 11.
Playing behind the 2022 Golden Boot winner will be Tayla Christensen, Janna Lawson, and Dragana Kljajic who will provide and create plenty of scoring chances throughout the match, making this an incredibly hard match-up for Emerging defenders' Zoe Bennett and Isabella Accardo.
Emerging goalkeeper Sophie Dehne has a passing accuracy of 78% from her 148 passes in the NPLW, the highest of any goalkeeper to have attempted at least 100 passes this campaign, and expect her to be amongst the ball this week with the quality of the South forward line.
The experience and quality of Brianne Reed, Leia Varley, and Akeisha Sandhu (South Melbourne) should be enough to keep the Emerging forwards at bay, however, Kiera Meyers, Alana Cortellino and Emilie Keppens have plenty of talent and are capable of giving South a scare.
South Melbourne destroyed FV Emerging in Round 2, defeating the young side 6-1 with an impressive spread of goal scorers.
Can FV Emerging kick-start their season with a big win or will South win back-to-back games against the young side for the first time since May 2019?
Bulleen Lions v Heidelberg United
8:15 pm, Monday, 12 June, Veneto Club
Bulleen defeated Boroondara in a big top-four clash last weekend, while Heidelberg claimed the three points in a big upset against South Melbourne.
On the back of a big win last weekend, Bulleen will look to overcome the Bergers at home, a side they have only beaten once in their last five attempts.
In the first half of the season, it was Bulleen's defence that stood out; however, their forward line looks as dangerous as any after some key signings.
Maja Markovski will play up front with reliable centre-back Felicity Georgopoulos (Heidelberg) faced with stopping the A-League forward.
Wingers Alana Jancevski and Tyla-Jay Vlajnic both scored in last week's win over the Eagles and will be a tough match-up for Elly Torre and Elwen Parbery.
After missing a week of action, Heidelberg forward Georgia Beaumont was back last week and will be ready to take on the Lions this week alongside Steph Galea, a lethal front two that will still trouble the all-star defence of Bulleen.
Bulleen full-back Katie Beck has blocked the most shots this season, while Beattie Goad and Lia Muldeary will look to control the flanks, but Katrina Nikpour (Heidelberg) may prove a handful after scoring last week in the big win against South Melbourne.
Heidelberg will hope to get on top through the midfield battle with Nicole Blackett (6 goals, 1 assist) providing plenty of firepower and Kathryn Vlahopoulos' (1 goal 4 assists) creativity a real asset for the Bergers.
Playing behind them will be Reona Omiya who has made 34 interceptions this season, the most of any player in the competition and 12 more than any Bulleen Lions player.
Midfielder Paige Zois has already shown her quality since coming into Bulleen's side in the mid-season registration window, while Aroha Little and Alans Burn will provide plenty of stability for the Lions.
Heidelberg and Bulleen couldn't be split when they faced off in Round 2, with the match ending in a 1-1 draw.
Can Bulleen win back-to-back NPLW matches at David Barro Stadium for the first time since July 2022 or can Heidelberg leapfrog them into third place?