Across the Easter long weekend, Peter Moore Field played host to a miraculous 7-4 victory with Sydney Olympic defeating the visiting Bulls FC Academy.
Heading into Round 5, Olympic sat in 2nd place and knew they needed to be at their best when taking on an unbeaten Bulls FC side sitting just underneath them in 3rd place.
The away side would quickly surprise their hosts when in the 8th minute Isabella Volkanovski launched a looping ball in behind the Olympic defence for Tamires Souza to head the ball past Susanna Behne-Smith in the Olympic goal. 1-0 to the Bulls.
Olympic would soon respond with new signing Rochelle Borromeo scoring her first goal of the season after rounding Bulls keeper Trudy Simmons and sliding the ball in for 1-1 in the 22nd minute.
Maintaining her excellent form this season, Demi Koulizakis would give her side the lead in the 34th minute after eluding the Bulls defence and beating Simmons for 2-1.
Brianna Oliverio added a third for her side after Aya Yamahata’s shot landed at her feet and the Olympic captain took a touch and buried the ball into the bottom right corner for 3-1 in the 36th minute.
The home side remained determined to pile on the goals and would earn a fourth in the 41st minute after the ball was pressed high and won by the energetic Oliverio, who spotted Koulizakis at the back post and crossed for the No. 9 to head home.
The goals kept on coming with the Bulls putting themselves right back into contention in the 44th minute through Amber Luchtmeijer, who was able to guide an assured finish after Behne-Smith’s save landed in a perfect spot for the Bulls striker to capitalise.
Koulizakis and Oliverio would again linkup in the second half for Oympic’s fifth, as the striker confidently took the ball down and played her captain through with a nifty reverse pass, with Oliverio eventually able to smash the ball home after being initially prevented by Simmons. 5-2 to Olympic.
A quick release from Simmons allowed her side to counter effectively, with Luchtmeijer showing the quality that has made her a standout in the NPL Women’s this season as she hit a low finish into the bottom left corner from range for 5-3.
A terrific chipped through ball from Koulizakis in the 78th minute setup Maxine Peak, who was smartly positioned behind the Bulls defence, to capitalise and fire a rocket beyond Simmons that nestled in off the underside of the bar for 6-3.
Barely a minute later, Alyssa Rose stepped up to hammer a lethal free kick that evaded Behne-Smith and crashed into the back of the net for 6-4.
The final goal of the game would be scored by substitute Lacie Bowling, who showed plenty of assurance as she dragged an assured finish across the face of goal that nestled itself into the bottom left corner. 7-4 the final score.