October 4, 2019

Defending champions UOW win gold at nationals

UOW’s football team defeats La Trobe University 2-1 in grand final

University of Wollongong (UOW) football coach and former Socceroo Luke Wilkshire couldn’t be more proud of his team for their efforts at the UniSport nationals this week.

On Thursday in the Gold Coast, UOW completed a tournament-long winning streak with a dominant 2-1 victory over La Trobe University.

The defending champions cemented their reputation as the team to beat according to Wilkshire.

“They’re satisfied,” he said.

“We came here to win it, they put in a lot of work and effort, and they got what they deserved.

“It was competitive, but from all the teams I saw there’s no doubt UOW was a cut above.”

UOW coach Luke Wilkshire. Picture: Aristo Risi

In the grand final, UOW controlled the play, and scored two goals early in the match. UOW’s goal scorers were Marcus Beattie and James Stojcevski.

Ethan Kambisios was unbeatable in the midfield, and everyone played their role according to Wilkshire.

UOW missed a number of opportunities upfront and La Trobe gave UOW a scare towards the end of the game, scoring from a set piece.

But UOW’s continued pressure led to the win.

UOW won each round game, finishing on top of the pool and defeating University of Technology Sydney in the semi-final 1-0.

The players were fit for the challenge of playing in an intensive tournament, experiencing an injury-free week.

UOW Pulse Head of Sport and Fitness Tony Wrightson provided managerial support for the team and a couple of assistant coaches were on hand to spur the team along.

Now, the squad prepares for an international tournament in China, the FISU University World Cup in November.

Wilkshire will focus on fitness and ensure the players understand their roles in the lead up to the tournament.

He said nationals were great preparation for the international event.

“They’ve taken on everything and worked hard, this is their first reward,” Wilkshire said.                        

NATIONALS SQUAD: Daniel Farina, Jacob Hufton, Jayden Smileski, James Carli, James Ralston, Jack Harris, Ethan Kambisios, Alexander Rooke, James Stojcevski, Harrison Bagot, Joel Beattie, Marcus Beattie, Nelson McLeod, Joel Starr, Sandy Lowcock, Christian Saffioti, Samuel Lendrum, Christian Saffioti.