Melbourne Victory FC (women)

Melbourne Victory Women
Full name	Melbourne Victory Football Club
Founded	2008; 16 years ago
Ground	AAMI Park; The Home of the Matildas
Capacity	30,050; 2,000
Chairman	John Dovaston
Manager	Jeff Hopkins
League	A-League Women
2023–24	4th of 12
Home colours	Away colours
	Current season

Melbourne Victory FC is an Australian professional women's soccer team affiliated with Melbourne Victory FC and Football Federation Victoria. Founded in 2008, the team is one of the representatives of Melbourne in Australia's top-tier domestic competition – the A-League Women.

History

Establishment

Following on from the previous top-division Women's National Soccer League, Melbourne Victory Women linked with the Hyundai A-League men's club but run by Football Federation Victoria (FFV), was a foundation club of the Westfield W-League.^[1] With a strong roster boasting Australia's number one goalkeeper Melissa Barbieri and former Matildas star Tal Karp as captain, expectations were high.

Inaugural season

Early signs were positive in the first season with New Zealand international Marlies Oostdam scoring the club's first goal as Victory won their first competitive fixture, defeating Central Coast Mariners 2–0.^[2] Despite being on top of the table at the conclusion of Round 3, the next few rounds were lean for Melbourne, and it found itself in the position of needing a win in the final round to make the finals series. With the final round match in the balance, Central Coast Mariners came back to haunt Victory with goals in the 89th and 90th minutes to deny the Victory a play-off spot in the inaugural year.^[3] Melissa Barbieri was awarded Goalkeeper of the Year by the league.^[4]

2009

The second season proved even more painful as once again Melbourne's finals prospects came down to a last-round showdown, this time against Perth Glory. Needing only a draw to claim fourth spot, late goals again cost Victory as Perth scored in the 81st and 87th meaning the Victorians missed out on finals to Canberra via goal difference.

2010–11

Season 2010/11 saw a change of personnel for Melbourne Victory with new coach Vicki Linton taking charge of a re-shuffled squad. Adjusting to a new system and new teammates, it was a slow start with the team having to wait until Round 4 to claim its first win of the season before finishing the regular season off with a five-match undefeated run.

Finishing in fourth spot, Victory made the finals but succumbed to a strong Sydney FC team 5–1. The team was not quite ready for a title challenge but a maiden finals campaign was an important step forward. 2010/11 also saw the club win its first silverware with a win over Canberra United, seeing it awarded the OCRF Trophy while also taking out the W-League Fair Play Award.

2011–12

If 2010/11 was an important step forward, 2011/12 was a giant leap for Melbourne Victory as it consolidated its place as one of the top teams in Australia. Its most consistent season so far saw it never out of finals contention. Going the entire season undefeated at home – including going within minutes of beating the undefeated Canberra United – Victory finished fourth in the tightest season of the Westfield W-League in history.

Despite a tight 1–0 loss to Canberra in the semi-final it was a successful season with Steph Catley, Ashley Brown, Brianna Davey and Katrina Gorry all making their Matildas debuts while Catley and Brown won Footballer of the Year (Australian Football Fan Awards) and W-League Young Player of the Season respectively. Melbourne Victory also won its second successive W-League Fair Play Award, sharing with Canberra, and retained the OCRF Trophy.

2012–13

Hoping to build on their strong 2011/12 season, the Victory got off to a shaky start in 2012/13 with head coach Vicki Linton resigning only weeks before the season was to kick-off. With her departure Darren Tan was appointed as interim coach until former Gold Coast United coach Mike Mulvey was given the job just days before the opening round.

Having only a squad of 12 players registered going into the match, Melbourne Victory was forced to sign three more players due to FFA regulations before going on to lose 2–0 to Perth. Despite another loss in Round 2 leaving the team on the bottom of the ladder, a combination of international signings – including stars Petra Larsson and Jessica Fishlock – and players beginning to understand Mulvey's playing system led to a turnaround in form.

With the league's best defence, Melbourne finished the regular season in third place losing only a single match after Round 2. Even so, the team had to contend with more issues as Mulvey left following Round 9 to take up an A-League contract with Brisbane Roar, while Fishlock's guest contract ended after Round 10. A dramatic semi-final win over Perth Glory extended the side's historic undefeated streak to seven and allowed it to host the 2012/13 Westfield W-League grand final at AAMI Park, although it fell to Sydney FC 3–1. Despite this, Steph Catley was awarded W-League Young Player of the Year and Mike Mulvey W-League Coach of the Year.

Support

The active support group for Melbourne Victory is the Victory Vikings, who also serve as the active support group for Melbourne Victory FC AWT.^[5]^[6] The group was formed prior to the 2019–20 W-League season by Melbourne Victory supporters who attended the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup, after they were involved with the Matildas Active Support and enjoyed the experience.^[7] Aside from attending matches, the Victory Vikings are also known for announcing statistics on player milestones, as well as posting instant live match updates for Melbourne Victory and AWT matches. The group is notable for their mascot, a large stuffed Homer Simpson doll wearing a Viking helmet that is brought to matches, with players frequently posing with it.^[8]

Players

Current squad

As of 25 September 2024

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
1	GK	AUS	Lydia Williams
2	DF	ENG	Ellie Wilson
3	DF	NZL	Claudia Bunge
5	MF	AUS	Sofia Sakalis
6	MF	AUS	Beattie Goad
7	FW	AUS	Ella O'Grady
8	MF	AUS	Alana Murphy
10	MF	AUS	Alex Chidiac
11	FW	AUS	Nickoletta Flannery
13	MF	USA	Sara D'Appolonia
15	FW	AUS	Emily Gielnik


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
16	MF	AUS	Paige Zois
18	DF	USA	Kayla Morrison (captain)
19	FW	AUS	Lia Privitelli
22	MF	AUS	Ava Briedis
23	MF	AUS	Rachel Lowe
24	MF	AUS	Laura Pickett
27	MF	AUS	Rosie Curtis
50	GK	AUS	Courtney Newbon
66	FW	AUS	Alana Jancevski
—	GK	NZL	Geo Candy (injury replacement)

Notable former players

Below is a list of notable footballers who have previously played for Melbourne Victory Women. Generally, this means players that have played 50 or more first-class matches for the club. However, some players who have played fewer matches are also included, are the club's integral founding members, were integral members of a championship winning team, have at least one senior international cap or made significant contributions to the club's history.

Australia

Laura Alleway (2008–09, 2017–20)
Melissa Barbieri (2008–11, 2015–16)
Louisa Bisby (2008–13)
Steph Catley (2009–15)
Emma Checker (2013–15)
Alex Chidiac (2021–23)
Brianna Davey (2010–16)
Lisa De Vanna (2013–15)
Casey Dumont (2017–)
Beattie Goad (2013–15, 2022–)
Katrina Gorry (2009, 2011–012)
Amy Jackson (2010–13, 2014–15, 2019–)
Tal Karp (2008–09)
Elise Kellond-Knight (2022–)
Selin Kuralay (2008–09)
Gema Simon (2014–15, 2022–23)

Canada

Katie Thorlakson (2009)
Brittany Timko (2008–09)

England

Natasha Dowie (2013–20)
Jodie Taylor (2010–12)

New Zealand

Claudia Bunge (2020–23)
Katie Hoyle (2013–14)
Annalie Longo (2019–2021)
Marlies Oostdam (2008–11)
Rebekah Stott (2011–13)
Rebecca Tegg (2008–09)

South Korea

Jeon Ga-eul (2017–18)

Sweden

Petra Larsson (2012–13)
Jessica Samuelsson (2013)

Turkey

Gülcan Koca (2009–18)

United States

Lauren Barnes (2014–15)
Kendall Fletcher (2010–12)
Haley Hanson (2019–20)
Christine Nairn (2014–19)

Wales

Jessica Fishlock (2012)

Managers

Dates	Name	Notes	Honours
26 October 2008–5 December 2009	Matt Sheppard^[9]	Inaugural manager
3 August 2010–7 September 2012	Vicki Linton^[10]^[11]	First manager to take the club to W-League finals	W-League Fair-Play Award (x2): 2010–11 & 2011–12
12 November 2011–13 November 2011	Michael Edwards^{[citation needed]}	Step-in Manager for one match
21 October 2012–18 December 2012	Mike Mulvey^[12]	Departed in Round Ten to join Brisbane Roar in the A-League.	W-League Coach of the Year 2012–13
18 December 2012–27 January 2013	Fabrizio Soncin^[13]^[14]	Promoted from Assistant Coach to complete season 2012–13	W-League Premiership Runners-Up 2012–13
5 February 2013–23 February 2014	Dave Edmondson^[15]	Departed following Grand Final to join Bristol Academy^[16]	W-League Champions 2013–14
14 May 2014–March 2015	Joe Montemurro^[17]	Departed after season to join Melbourne City^[18]
October 2015–January 2016	Dave Edmondson^[19]^[20]
17 June 2016–	Jeff Hopkins^[21]

Honours

W-League/A-League Women:
- Champions (3): 2013–14, 2020–21, 2021–22
- Runners-up (1): 2012–13
- Premiers (1): 2018–19
- Runners-up (1): 2019–20

Continental record

Season	Competition	Opponent	Home	Aggregate
2019	AFC Women's Club Championship	Incheon Hyundai Steel Red Angels	0–4	4th place
		Jiangsu Suning	1–1
		Nippon TV Beleza	0–5

Year-by-year history

**Melbourne W-League history**
Season	Teams	League Position	Finals Position
2008–09	8	5th	–
2009	8	5th	–
2010–11	7	4th	Semi-Finals
2011–12	7	4th	Semi-Finals
2012–13	8	3rd	Finalist
2013–14	8	3rd	Champions
2014	8	2nd	Finalist
2015–16	9	9th	–
2016–17	9	9th	–
2017–18	9	7th	–
2018–19	9	1st	Semi-Finals
2019–20	9	2nd	Semi-Finals
2020–21	9	3rd	Champions
2021–22	10	4th	Champions
2022–23	11	4th	Preliminary Final
2023-24	12	4th	Elimination-final

Records and statistics

Records

Record Win: 0–7 vs Newcastle Jets, Round 13 (Season 2019-20), 23 February 2020
Record Defeat: 6-0 vs Brisbane Roar, Round 5 (Season 2020-21), 22 January 2021
Record High Attendance: 8,838 vs Adelaide United, AAMI Park, Melbourne, 26 February 2023^[22]
Most Goals by a Player in a Game: 3
Caitlin Friend v Adelaide United, 19 November 2011; v Newcastle Jets, 7 December 2013
Jodie Taylor v Perth Glory, 10 December 2011
Lisa De Vanna v Newcastle Jets, 25 January 2014
Amy Jackson v Adelaide United, 12 October 2014
Racheal Quigley v Newcastle Jets, 22 November 2014
Natasha Dowie v Brisbane Roar, 1 January 2017; v Sydney FC, 25 November 2018
Melina Ayres v Brisbane Roar, 4 April 2021; v Melbourne City, 15 April 2023
Kayla Morrison v Newcastle Jets, 18 December 2022
Most Wins in a Row: 5 – 4 April 2021 to 18 December 2021
Longest Undefeated Streak: 9 matches – 16 November 2013 to 25 January 2014; and 12 January 2024 to 10 March 2024
Most Goals In a Regular season: Melina Ayres – 9 goals, 2022–23 A-League Women

Most appearances

Amy Jackson holds the record for most appearances with 103 as of April 2023

Last updated 30 April 2023

Competitive, professional matches only.

	Name	Years	League	Finals	AFC Women's Champions League	International Women's Club Championship	Total
1	Amy Jackson	2010–2014, 2019-	87	12	3	1	103
2	Lia Privitelli	2016–	75	7	2	0	84
3	Casey Dumont	2017–	64	7	2	0	73
4	Melina Ayres	2017–	57	9	2	0	68
5	Gulcan Koca	2009–2018	61	5	0	1	67

Leading scorers

Natasha Dowie holds the record for most league goals with 33 (including finals) as of April 2023.