Drysdale soccer women win cup against state’s best

THE Drysdale women’s soccer team recorded a well-deserved victory in the inaugural Victorian Country Challenge Cup at the weekend.

Despite being in the middle of the off-season, the Geelong Regional League winning women’s side were hard at work on Saturday and Sunday representing the Geelong region at Stead Park.

The girls took on league winners from other regions from around Victoria and came out winning a thrilling final against Bendigo.

Drysdale started the weekend off slowly, on Saturday, drawing 1-1 with Leongatha after conceding in the last few minutes in a game Drysdale had dominated.

The second match saw Bendigo race out to a 4-0 lead at half time, with Shannon Daffy scoring a late penalty to make it a 4-1 loss.

That meant Drysdale SC needed to win against Traralgon to make it through to the final, which they did, with Serena Clapp and Rhiannon Glenister scoring a goal each in a hard-fought 2-0 win with both goals coming in the last five minutes.

The final was a topsy turvey, high quality encounter that saw Bendigo twice take the lead, only for Drysdale to run over the top of them late in the game, winning the tournament with a 4-2 win, with star striker Serena Clapp scoring a hatrick and Emma Blanch also getting on the scoresheet.

It was a fantastic effort for the girls, who also went through the league undefeated in a successful year for the club.

Pre-season training is not that far away, with Senior teams getting underway in December. Head to the club’s webpage for all the latest news and updates at drysdalesc.com.