Western United manager Mark Torcaso believes the club’s strong showing in their maiden A-League women’s campaign has vindicated those who believed Victoria’s playing stocks were strong enough to warrant a third professional team in the state.
Seemingly Premiers-elect after winning their first seven games of the season, Torcaso’s side were ultimately pipped to the Premiership by Sydney FC; Saturday’s 1-0 semi-final win over the Sky Blues exacted a degree of revenge, and ensured United will be there come Grand Final day on April 30.
Torcaso made a point of the squad composition that has taken United this far post-match; while big-name loanees Chloe Logarzo and Jessica McDonald helped lay the initial foundation (both have since departed), it’s been the development of previously-NPL level players that has largely delivered their success.
‘We’ve made a statement here in Victoria, that we had good enough players that should have been playing at the next level. To have three teams from Victoria in the finals was remarkable, so I guess it shows we do have good quality players here’, Torcaso told Box2Box.
‘We wanted to be competitive and seven wins to start was definitely that, so I was pretty happy at that point. It was probably around that time that we thought we could really be a good side in the competition. At that point, it was about running with it.
‘It’s a proud moment for me to be able to sit here and say there are twelve girls from the NPL system who had never played A-League before, who are going to be up for selection in a Grand Final against Sydney or the Victory, who have been the benchmark for this competition since it started.’
The lack of progress on United’s stadium in Tarneit continues to stymie the ambition at the cornerstone of its successful bid to join the A-League competition in November 2018. It must be credited that this has not held them back on-field, and they now stand just a win away from becoming the fifth club to win national men’s & women’s titles.
Torcaso has been at the club since July 2021, when he was appointed their inaugural women’s development squad coach. He came well commended, following a stint as Calder United boss in Victoria’s NPLW competition that saw them win the double in 2016 & 2019.
‘The organisation from top to bottom is transparent, very honest, very real. They’ll tell you exactly how things are and how they aren’t, so it’s a credit to them that they’ve been able to put together very good girls and boys programmes.
‘There’s a lot going on behind the scenes, I attended the new training facility that’s nearly complete and it looks amazing. The club is going in the right direction, these foundations we’ve built are for the future. Any young girls that want to play football, hopefully this gives them the opportunity to want to play for Western United.
‘I’m just proud of this group to get this far in their first season. Everything from last week was a bonus, and who knows, someone might get picked up in a national team if they perform. It’s great to lift a trophy, but for some of these girls it’s just about the opportunity to play on the big stage, and to support them.’