In what was described as a physical game of football, the Kiama Quarriers Division 3 women’s team have beaten Oak Flats 3-2 in the South Coast Football competition grand final at Shellharbour’s Myimbarr Sports Fields on Sunday.
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The game remained scoreless until only 10 minutes before the final whistle, when Kiama scored to make it 1-0. With about a minute remaining on the clock, Oak Flats levelled the score to make it 1-all.
Captain and club president Hayleigh Beringer said it felt like the longest game of her life.
“It felt like it went forever, they’re a really tough side,” she said.
“We fought hard, the girls dug deep and everybody lifted, it was amazing.
“It felt like a really physical game, a lot of people went down with injuries.”
The game went then went into extra time.
“We played harder and we got another goal back just on half time in extra time,” Beringer said.
“That was amazing and we thought, ‘yep we’ve done it now’ and then we scored again just after half time, the girls just continued to lift.
“Just after we scored, Oak Flats scored again and I though ‘oh no, here we go again’, each time the other team scored we would lift and fight harder, but it was our day.
“For me it’s been a long time coming, Kiama has constantly been in the finals and we haven’t won a grand final in a long time, the whole day was just amazing.”
Beringer said two Kiama players’ performances stood out on the field.
“Emma-Kate Dewhurst played the best game of the season, she was amazing, and Angela Graham, she scored two of our three goals,” she said.
Remarkably, this is the first season the team has played together, and along with the Men’s Over 35s side, was one of two teams from the Quarriers to make the grand final.
"We have a great team, at the start of the year the aim was to make the finals, we had high hopes, but it was an amazing effort to make the grand final in our first year together,” Beringer said.
"The team has gelled really well, we’ve got great support from the club and great coaches – everything has come together.
"There's a good mixture of experience in our team.”
Kiama Quarriers Division 3 women’s team list
- Hayleigh Beringer
- Melissa Breuker
- Lauren Bullivant
- Jessica Cignarella
- Emma-Kate Dewhurst
- Clare Dunbar
- Rebecca Fist
- Sofia Fridell
- Angela Graham
- Melissa Liebrand
- Carolynn Mackenzie
- Nicole Miljevic
- Nerissa Peterson
- Meg Russell
- Shannon Sandford
- Jenna Shiaxiates
- Jeyda Shiaxiates
- Tamara Went