The Western Sydney Wanderers are proud to announce the signing of Westfield Matildas superstar Emily van Egmond for the upcoming Westfield W-League 2013/14 Season.
The Western Sydney Wanderers are proud to announce the signing of Westfield Matildas superstar Emily van Egmond for the upcoming Westfield W-League 2013/14 Season.
The 20-year-old midfielder has joined the Wanderers from Seattle Reign in the USA having previously played for Westfield W-League clubs Newcastle Jets and Canberra United.
A commanding and elegant footballer, van Egmond is a dominating figure in the middle of the park initiating attacking raids which has made her a mainstay of the national team-s midfield.
Citing her desire to reach her full potential as a key reason for signing, van Egmond believes that the coaching staff and facilities at the Wanderers give her the best opportunity to grow as a player.
“I-m really looking forward to playing with the Wanderers and the squad we have this season,” said van Egmond.
“The Wanderers offer a very competitive training environment so when I got the opportunity to come here and play I took it.
“I-ve been training here for two weeks and in terms of professionalism and the standard of play, training has been very good. I-m only 20¬-years-old and there are still things I need to work at so getting the best training environment possible was not something I could pass up.”
van Egmond claimed that the reputation of Steve Roche played its part in bringing her to the club and with the strong playing squad a Championship is a definite possibility.
“I haven-t worked under Steve Roche before but I know him from when he coached at Central Coast where he was successful,” she explained.
“He did well with the Wanderers in their first season as they just missed out on the semis and now with a talented bunch of girls and a lot of experience it-s going to be a very good season at the Wanderers.”
Having never played in a Westfield W-League Grand Final, van Egmond hopes her third club will bring her the Championship she craves.
“I want to go a step further in the W-League; I-ve never played in a Championship so if we could win the league with the Wanderers I would love that because I-ve only ever played in semi-finals,” she said.
“Everyone is playing for the Championship. We-ve got Heather Garriock who is an Australian football legend, then there-s Kyah Simon, Alanna Kennedy, Teigan Allen and Servet Uzunlar plus a couple of Young Matildas too who are in the squad.”
While expectations are high amongst the squad, van Egmond is keeping a level head about what the team needs to do to achieve their goals.
“It-s going to be important for all of us involved in the senior national team to lift and maintain the intensity in training,” she said.
“We-ll be doing our best to get a good start and see if we can build on the season from there. Like the rest of the girls I-m here to do a job and whatever the coach wants I-ll do.”
The Western Sydney Wanderers kick off their Westfield W-League campaign against Adelaide United on Sunday 10 November at Marconi Stadium 2pm.
Western Sydney Wanderers W-League Squad Teigan Allen Mackenzie Arnold Catherine Cannuli Michelle Carney Caitlin Cooper Heather Garriock Shawna Gordon Tori Huster Alanna Kennedy Jenna Kingsley Linda O-Neill Georgia Rowntree Jessica Seaman Kyah Simon Rachael Soutar Samantha Spackman Servet Uzunlar Emily van Egmond
