The Wander Women kick-off their first home game in the Westfeld W-League on Sunday when they take on Adelaide United at Marconi Stadium.
It’s an exciting time for the Red & Black with new coach Rich Byrne going on an offseason recruitment drive to bring some of the league’s best talent to Western Sydney.
Formerly an inexperienced and inconsistent outfit, the new-look squad now has an honours list to rival that of any team with a combined total of eight Westfield W-League premiership and championships as well as international caps for Australia and the United States of America.
Across the pitch the Red & Black have strengthened, putting the rest of the Westfield W-League on notice as they look to book their first ever finals spot.
Two players very familiar with finals football is the 24-year-old Matildas goalkeeper Casey Dumont and USA international Kendall Fletcher. Two key acquisitions to the squad, neither player has ever missed out on qualifying for the finals in their careers.
The experienced Joey Burgess holds an even better record, playing three grand finals in only four seasons in the league. The Matildas veteran has come out of retirement to play for the Red & Black and has already made an impact: marking her debut with a goal and an assist in Round 1.
New import Katie Stengel will also be looking to make an impact with the formidable striker keen to make a name for herself in Australia after winning the golden boot for Bayern Munich when they won the Bundesliga undefeated in 2014/15.
Players returning from last season include stalwarts Caitlin Cooper and Helen Petinos as well as young superstar Ellie Carpenter who, earlier this year, become the first millennial to play for Australia at just 15 years of age.
Early signs are that the Wander Women will be a team to be reckoned with but they will need the support of the Red & Black faithful to make Wanderland a fortress and to push them to finals football.
Until two weeks ago the Wanderers held the record crowd for a Westfield W-League match but Western Sydney have six opportunities this season to win back that crown.
It all starts when the Wander Women take on Adelaide United at Marconi Stadium this Sunday. Kick-off is at 3pm with the Foxtel National Youth League completing the double header with their match at 6pm.
