Round 2 of the Westfield W-League wrapped up on Sunday afternoon with the Newcastle Jets and Perth Glory each earning their second win of the season. Of the 11 goals scored across the four matches, six were scored by Americans including a hat-trick by Rachel Hill (Orlando Pride). Teams towards the bottom of the table are in danger of falling out of contention quickly as the league runs for just 12 games per squad over 14 weekends. There is yet to be a draw in the eight games played this season.
City wins the Melbourne derby over Victory
In the first Melbourne rivalry game of the season, Melbourne City FC came away on top of Melbourne Victory with a 1-0 scoreline. The game proved to be a tight, defensive match until Rebekah Stott (Seattle Reign) headed the ball past Victory keeper Casey Dumont off a cross from Rahli Dobson in the 82nd minute. City goalkeeper and Australian National Team starter Lydia Williams (Houston Dash) made a number of fantastic saves including a diving punch in the 85th minute to prevent Victory from pulling even. The goal by Stott who also plays for the New Zealand National Team was her first goal of the season after she played 22 goalless games for the Seattle Reign in 2017. Jess Fishlock (Seattle Reign) and National Women's Soccer League Rookie of the Year Ashley Hatch (North Carolina Courage) each had shots go off the woodwork but were unable to find the back of the net for City. Both teams are now tied on the ladder at 1-0-1.
Melbourne City will face the undefeated Newcastle Jets side in Round 3 while Melbourne Victory will be on bye.
Western Sydney scores late to beat Adelaide
The Western Sydney Wanderers squeaked out a win over Adelaide United to earn their first victory of the season. Lo'eau LaBonta (FC Kansas City) scored the first goal of the game in 13th minute with a beautiful curling shot into the bottom left corner of the goal. Makenzy Doniak (North Carolina Courage) answered that goal in the 22nd minute with a curled shot that pinged in off the post in her first game with Adelaide. The game featured solid goalkeeping throughout until the Wanderers earned a free kick from just outside the Adelaide box. The ball bounced awkwardly in front of United keeper Eliza Campbell who was unable to control the ball and it was put away by Rosie Sutton in the 91st minute. Western Sydney rises to 1-0-1 on the season as Adelaide falls to 0-0-1.
The Wanderers will face off against the Brisbane Roar next weekend with both teams looking for their second win of the season. Adelaide will try to right the ship in their second game of the season, but they face off against the top-ranked Perth Glory.
Newcastle tops Sydney to stay undefeated
The Newcastle Jets remained undefeated on the season with a 2-0 victory over the flailing Sydney FC. It took just two minutes for Nicola Orgill to find the back of the net with a header off of a deep cross from Jenna Kingsley. Arin Gilliland (Chicago Red Stars) scored again for Newcastle in the 29th minute when she headed a corner into the left side of the goal. The game was not an offensive battle as neither Newcastle keeper Hannah Brewer nor Sydney keeper Sham Khamis were tested frequently during the game. Apart from an early shot that found woodwork, Sydney FC never found their offensive form.
The Newcastle Jets are now one of just two undefeated teams in the league as they seek their second playoff appearance in the 10th year of the league. If they manage to earn a playoff spot it would be their first appearance since the inaugural 2008-2009 season. Sydney FC is the only 0-0-2 team in the league and is staring up from the bottom of the ladder after making the playoffs in all nine previous seasons. Newcastle will travel to Melbourne City next weekend while Sydney FC will travel to Canberra to face Canberra United.
Glory cruises to victory over Roar
The Perth Glory remain undefeated and at the top of the ladder with a 4-1 victory over the Brisbane Roar. Rachel Hill (Orlando Pride) got the scoring started in the 42nd minute off a pass from NWSL Most Valuable Player Sam Kerr (Sky Blue FC) and then scored twice in the second half to earn the first hat-trick of the 2017/18 W-League season. Hill has now scored five goals in the first two games of the season and has a commanding lead over her competitors for the Golden Boot award. No other player has more than two scores. Brisbane managed to score just one minute after Hill's first goal when Hong Kong native Cheung Wai Ki scored when Perth goalkeeper Sarah Carroll let a free kick slip through her hands and hit the crossbar. 2017 NWSL Golden Boot winner Sam Kerr scored after she earned a penalty kick and then put it away on her own. Kerr has now scored once in each match for Perth this season.
The 2-0-0 Perth Glory will travel to Adelaide next weekend as they try to maintain their undefeated streak. The Brisbane Roar will try to find their second win of the season when they travel to Western Sydney to face the Wanderers.