Page 20 - Women's Soccer Scene Issue No.18 2020-21

Nottingham Trent University are celebrating winning the Nottingham Ladies League title
having won six and drawn the other of their seven league matches in the top division.
Daniel Corlett is Head Coach of Women’s Football at the university and he has given
us the following account of what has been a successful season:
“Though the Women’s Football club at NTU has existed for three decades, playing in
the BUCS university leagues this is only the second season the club has entered a team into
the main FA Pyramid, playing in Step 7 in the Nottinghamshire Girls and Ladies Football
League.
“The team was set up to provide greater playing opportunities year round for the
players already engaged with the clubs three BUCS sides and their non-BUCS development
squad, and as such is comprised solely of current students from within the NTUWFC
program along with alumni members of the club who want to continue to represent us
following graduation. In their first season, which was always viewed as a proving year to
check the need for the squad to exist, they were sitting in a high creditable sixth (with a
strong chance of finishing 4th) when the season was curtailed by Covid.
“Following the success of the first season (and the knowledge that the main BUCS
leagues were not taking place in 2020-21) the program was pushed ahead with this year,
with the club entering the FA Women’s Cup for the first time (being the only university team
to do so this year). After receiving a bye in the Extra Preliminary Round, they received an
extremely tough draw in the Preliminary Round, hosting a Lincoln United side who had (in
their previous guise at Hykeham Town) finished in the top two in the East Midland
Women’s Regional Football League Division One North (the Tier above NTU) for each of the
last three years (a feat they were on course to repeat again this season). Though the game
finished in a 2-1 defeat, the performance in pushing a higher level opponent throughout, off
the back of only returning as a squad two weeks before and it being their first game of any
kind in the season, provided further confidence in there being a strong year ahead.
“Their league campaign began impressively with a 10-1 home victory against
Mansfield Town Development, with Americans Madison LaPole and Kathryn Laughlin both
scoring braces on debut and with a hat-trick for the teams goalscoring talisman Julia Kings
(who had scored 25 goals in their debut season and had also scored the goal in our FA Cup
debut).
“The following week saw the first of the key games of the season as they travelled to
face Nottingham Forest Development, but without both Julia Kings and the squad’s
goalkeeper Beth Marshall. In what was possibly the standout performance from the team
they came away with a 6-1 win, despite also losing stand-in goalkeeper Jessica Phillips to a
dislocated shoulder midway through the 2nd half, with Emily Maslen scoring her first two
competitive goals in four years (following a string of knee injuries beginning at aged 15) and
Madison LaPole notching another pair of goals.
“The last fixture prior to the five-month Covid enforced league break brought a hard
fought 2-1 win against Keyworth United, with midfielder LaPole getting her fifth goal in
three games along with one for the returning Kings.
“The league resumed in April with a tough home return fixture against Nottingham
Forest Development. The squad had also seen some changes, most notable the unfortunate
losses of Madison LaPole and fellow American Kathryn Laughlin, who had been unable to
return from America due to Covid restrictions. Despite this, the team put together a hugely
spirited performance to win 4-1, thanks in large part to a hat-trick player of the match
Issue no. 18 - 20 May 2021 news@womenssoccerscene.co.uk