Poletti 
Sydney University's Talia Kapetanellis. Photo: Poletti
After Sydney University fell to APIA Leichhardt in the semi-final stage of the inaugural Sapphire Cup last year, this year the side is ready to lift the Sapphire Cup.
Sydney University player Talia Kapetanellis said it would mean a lot to take that extra step on Wednesday night.
“We’ve struggled a lot throughout this whole season and [the] Sapphire Cup has just been our main focus to be honest,” Kapetanellis said.
“We’d just love to bring home a trophy for the club and get the win.”
The club’s semi-final match was a 1-0 victory over Sydney Olympic, which saw defender Amelia Feeney score the game’s lone goal inside the opening five minutes, but at no point did the side think they were through to the final.
“We scored [early on]. The whole game, to be honest, I wasn’t certain that we were going to pull this through. After half-time we still put our heads together, we still thought it’s not the end, it’s nil-all in our heads and we’ve still got to try,” she said.
“It was more, we pushed back and played defensively to avoid conceding.”
One of the testaments to Sydney University’s season and their Cup success has been the squad’s depth, allowing players to be rotated in and out as needed, but it is also the quality of the depth.
Like all NPLW NSW clubs, there are a number of A-League Women players that are part of the squad, or those with past experience in the competition. Kapetanellis talked about just how big of a help those players are.
“We had a couple of them leave unfortunately, but we still have a couple there and every week, it’s just… they know exactly what to say, they know how to help us, they know what to do for all of us,” she said.
“They always give us advice and they’re definitely a big help for this team I’d say, especially with their experience throughout the defence and the midfield.
“They definitely helped us push through this year and definitely helped us with the Sapphire [Cup].”
The club has had to deal with two key departures amongst its ranks, with Emily Husband joining the Central Coast Mariners as its A-League Women head coach, and now Director of Football Amy Shepherd joining the Wellington Phoenix A-League Women side as an assistant coach.
Kapetanellis was full of praise for both Husband and Shepherd, congratulating both of them, and she also noted how the club environment sets people up to succeed.
“It was definitely a loss for us. I’ve known both of them since SAP (Skills Acquisition Program), I’ve been there for years and it was weird not having them there, especially this year with Emily’s first year of not being there,” she continued.
“We did start with a struggle, new coach and everything. They still came and helped us, they still would support us because Sydney Uni has that culture of a family.
“I think Sydney Uni has one of the best environments in football in New South Wales. The culture is amazing and I love every single one there.
“The coaching is extraordinary and I think that’s why they’ve been scouted by A-League coaches and A-League clubs even though we’ve been struggling for the past couple of years, they always just push us to just keep going and keep doing better and I think that really just helps them with their coaching careers.”
Kapetanellis is having a strong season in the league having scored 14 goals so far, and with A-League Women clubs still needing players and Auckland entering the league next season, she said that to make the step up she just needs to keep playing how she’s playing right now.
“I’ve had one of the best seasons I’ve had in NPL. Reaching out to people, it is always a big help but it’s good to get that recognition, do what you can, do some training, do a lot of media stuff, a lot of posts, everything, just anything you can to really just be recognised by those A-League clubs,” she concluded.
Sydney University face the Northern Tigers in the Sapphire Cup final on Wednesday August 21 at 7:15pm at Valentine Sports Park. Entry is free, or you can tune in via the Football NSW YouTube channel.