Cowra & District Junior SC proud of their Matilda Ellie Carpenter

Set on the banks of the Lachlan River and surrounded by vineyards, waterways and pretty countryside in the beautiful Lachlan Valley, the NSW regional town of Cowra is also responsible for developing one of our star Matildas gearing up for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup and that star being Ellie Carpenter.

Born and raised in Cowra, the 23-year-old lived on a farm with her parents, and it was local club Cowra & District Junior SC where the defender first fell in love with the game where she honed her skills up until the age of 12.

Years have gone and Carpenter continued to reach new heights jumping from local football to elite football in a matter of seasons which saw her take the A-League Women’s competition by storm before signing for one of the biggest clubs in Europe, French side Olympique Lyonnais.

The proud residents of Cowra have not forgotten about their female superstar as Carpenter is a legend in her place of birth.

Cowra & District Junior SC Club President Derek Sullivan in particular praised the contribution Ellie has made to their community as they continue to support their local star.

“The Cowra & District Junior Soccer Club has been very proud of Ellie and her remarkable achievements on the international football arena.

“Her selection to the Matildas World Cup team was certainly no surprise.

“Ellie’s Junior legacy in Cowra is still a prominent thing here in Cowra.”

Even though Ellie’s time has been precious with her playing professionally in France, the marauding right-back still has time to connect with her roots back at Cowra.

“Ellie has engaged with our club a few times over the years, notably when she was nominated two years running, whilst playing for Canberra United in the A-League Womens, for Young Footballer of the Year,” said Sullivan.

“Ellie’s nomination entitled her to award a junior club with a cheque, balls and other important football training equipment.

“What an honour it was for our club to be considered by Ellie and we felt connected to a superstar, who grew up and first played in our club.

“Another time Ellie connected with us was in January 2019, when Ellie held a Football Coaching Clinic in Cowra. 60 kids from our club had an amazing experience to remember as Ellie and four of her Canberra United teammates demonstrated their remarkable talent and got up close with our kids to teach and mentor them for the day.

“I’m so grateful to Ellie for coming back to Cowra to hold a clinic, especially when this was in a pivotal period in her emerging stardom, as she was doing deals with clubs overseas and in her final year with Canberra United.”

The club itself continues to fly the flag for football proudly with recent participation figures indicating the female game is on the rise in the regional NSW area – somewhat so, it’s also done to the fact they had a star Matilda in their midst that has carried this spark onwards.

“I do believe that Ellie has made an impact on the female participation in our club,” said Sullivan.

“We currently have a total of 350 players registered with our club from Cowra, Canowindra and other small towns in our region. Of that 350, 111 of them are female. That’s over 31%.

“All our teams are mixed, boys and girls teams.

“Pre Covid, our club had a great history of having girls’ teams represent our club at Gala days in other towns like, Forbes, Young, Mudgee and our Club’s own Football Carnival days.

“Sometimes our little club would be up against the might of clubs from much bigger towns and cities, like Canberra and Wagga Wagga.”

FIFA Women’s World Cup fever has well and truly hit Cowra in a massive way and the town will be honouring not just their superstar, but her teammates with Matildas activation set to ignite the region in a huge way.

“Our Council is putting on a special “Big Screen” live viewing of the three Matildas pool matches against Ireland, Nigeria, and Canada.

“These will be at Sid Kallis Oval, heaters will be on the grounds and our club will be doing a fund-raiser BBQ.

“We’re inviting all to come, rug up and cheer on the Matildas at this historical time, when they play in the World Cup, in Australia, and also cheer on Ellie as she does what she does best of course.”