Galway women on brink of history after pulling off surprise semi-final win

THE NUIG ladies soccer team is making the headlines following their victory over Maynooth in the Premier Division Cup semi-final. This is the first time in the history of the University that the ladies team has reached this stage, the pinacle of women’s college soccer.

Maynooth got the lucky toss of the coin for this game, with NUIG having to make the two hour journey to county Kildare. This did appear to take its toll on the away team, with the starting 11 starting quite sluggish.

The first 45 minutes were a tight affair overall, with both sides having chances yet nothing too clear-cut. Galway’s Ciara Lynagh and Maebh Coleman dominated central midfield in the opening half, with both working hard in helping out the defence.

Galway created a few chances down the right, with full back Aoife Walsh linking up well with winger Eimear Foley. Maynooth’s main threat Amber Barrett, one of the league’s top scorers, was well marshalled at the back by Laura O’Carroll and Rosa Shine throughout the first half.

For the opening five minutes of the second half, NUIG dropped their concentration levels and this was all it took for Barrett to swoop in and score the opening goal of the game.

With a deficit to overturn, it would have been easy for heads to drop on the Galway side, the clear underdogs for this game. However this is a team brimming with confidence and self belief, and the 1-0 scoreline seemed to spur them on to play even more probing football.

Erasmus student Kara Shue used her fantastic pace to beat the Maynooth defence and score the equaliser, much to the delight of managers John Hynes and Padraic de Burca.

Striker Lisa Casserly then struck a wonderful free kick only moments later, which was well saved by the home keeper, who could do nothing about the follow up from Paula McGrory however.

In an incredible ten-minute turnaround, Lisa Casserly put the NUI Galway side 3-1 up with a neat finish to a cross from another international student Ella McMackin.

Tori D’Acunto put the game to bed in the dying minutes with a superb strike to make it a total of four goals for NUIG. Shauna Fox and Bridget Westermann kept the defence tight throughout this half to ensure a 4-1 win for the travelling team.

Biggest congratulations must go to captain Jennifer Byrne who was terrific throughout, and goalkeeper Louise Creaven who undoubtedly kept the Galway side in the game with a handful of top class saves.

The Premier Division Cup Final will take place the end of February, where NUIG will take on the winners of Carlow IT/UUJ. The venue has yet to be decided.

It represents a fine achievement for both the sports club and indeed the college. The team will now be hoping to go one step further and become Irish cup champions.