Many familiar faces in the National Women's Soccer League are currently plying their trade in the Westfield W-League at this moment so we at VAVEL NWSL will be covering the league until its completion.
With some teams already having played their two games, the W-League table is slowly shaping up and matching pre season predictions although it does look like current champions Melbourne City FC will not have it all their own way this year as teams push them to their limit in each game.
Melbourne rely on defense against Canberra
Canberra United played their first game of the season at home against Melbourne and almost came away with the upset. The performances of City's back four and goalkeeper Lydia Williams is what ultimately decided the game as City came away with with a 2-1 win. Canberra had 20 shots on goal, over double that of Melbourne and they threatened the away side's goal all throughout the match, forcing the City defense into making 30 tackles to try and stem the Canberra attacking tide. Against the run of play, Laura Alleway opened the scoring in the game for Melbourne in the 18th minute and then Melina Ayres doubled the lead in the 80th minute. Canberra never gave up but could only get a consolation goal late in stoppage time through defender Ellie Brush.
Melbourne stay top with two wins in two while Canberra, only having played one match so far, are currently in eighth. If Canberra continue on like they did in this game, they will climb the table quickly and potentially make a title run of their own. Melbourne are the league's top team and have the depth and quality to win back-to-back championships. It will take an enormous effort from another team to topple City and stop them from winning the title again.
Newcastle back short work of the Victory
The Newcastle Jets bounced back from their opening day loss to produce a dominating 4-0 win over Melbourne Victory. The Victory may have dominated possession but the Jets are the team which created the better chances and also converted those opportunities when they came their way. Megan Oyster scored the first goal of the game in the 8th minute which was then followed by a goal from Arin Gilliland in the 15th minute. The Jets were not finished and Emma Stanbury made it three in the 23rd minute. The final goal of the game, and the Jets forth, came in the 90th minute from Jenna Kingsley.
Newcastle move up to fourth after the second round of matches while the Victory are not in seventh and will be looking to come back from this result.
Khamis stars in the Sydney derby
The Sydney rivalry renewed hostilities this weekend and it was Sydney FC who came out on top with a 2-0 win over Western Sydney Wanderers. The star of the show was undoubtedly Leena Khamis who scored a brace to secure all three points for the home side. Khamis got her first of the day in the 13th minute and added her second in the 29th minute. It was no less than Sydney FC deserved as they dominated proceedings on the day. They had the lion's share of the possession and also created more opportunities on goal than their opponents.
Sydney FC now sit in fifth after picking up their first points of the season while the Wanderers remain at the foot of the table with two losses in a row.
Perth and Brisbane can't break the deadlock
In the battle for second, Perth Glory welcomed Brisbane Roar FC to nib Stadium with the hopes of claiming second place as their own. Although both teams featured talented, creative players such as Sam Kerr, Vanessa DiBernardo and Katrina Gorry neither team was able to break the deadlock and win all three points to consolidate second place in the league and stay on par with Melbourne City. Instead, both teams had to settle for a point in a 0-0 draw which leaves Perth in second and Brisbane in third after two matches.