35 women’s teams from 22 clubs took to Ocean park last weekend to compete for the  Bonnie Lassie Trophy for the first time in 3 years. The pre season tournament saw close to 100 shortened games being played over Saturday and Sunday with the final being held 4:00 on Sunday.

It was a great hit out for all teams before the competition commences on the 12^th of April.

It was the first time the under 18 girls were invited to the competition with 7 teams taking on the challenge of playing women’s football. The level of football that was displayed from the junior teams highlights the growth and progression of the women’s game in the Illawarra, with many teams causing upsets and forcing higher ranked teams to fight hard to secure points.
Two under 18 teams reached the elimination round with Lakeside under 18’s going down 1-0 to Tarrawanna, while an impressive Woonona under 18’s stunned West’s in their elimination round final beating them 2-0 to progress through to the Quarter finals.

The final saw State champions Albion Park take on Wollongong Olympic.

Within the first 5 minutes Albion Park had taken the lead when Brittany Ring took advantage of a free kick outside the box and sent the ball into the top right hand corner of the goal. Olympic responded by holding possession for a good amount of the first half, they created multiple chances including a long range shot that almost dropped between the legs of the Albion Park’s keeper.

The first half ended 1-0 to Albion Park.

The second half saw Olympic again have the best share of possession and was trying hard to find the equalizer. Olympic was committing numbers forward which saw a through ball squeezed past their defence for Albion Parks striker Shakiah Tunguai to seal the victory, a quality save from the Olympic keeper made sure her team wouldn’t be down 2-0. The teams traded blows in an entertaining final minutes, seeing the ball go from one end to the other in a barrage of attacks from both teams. Unfortunately Olympic couldn’t find the equalizer they needed and Albion Park ended up victorious for the first time in the Bonnie Lassie.

The women’s council would like to thank Better Business Accounting for sponsoring the event, Woonona Football Club for hosting, the referees, spectators and the players for a fantastic event to kick start the women’s season. From the talent, passion and enthusiasm shown on the weekend women’s football in the Illawarra is looking strong for years to come.