League One Women’s 2025 Season Preview
The Football NSW League One Women’s competition is back for 2025 and the season ahead looks like it’ll be another thrilling campaign for fans to enjoy.
All thirteen sides (click here to view the withdrawal of South East Phoenix) have trained the house down in the summer and ready to go for the new year.
Let’s look at how every side is shaping up for 2025.
Bankstown City Lions FC
The first cab off the rank is Bankstown City Lions FC. They had a solid first season in the league with a semi-final appearance and finished third on the ladder. Now, the Lions head into 2025 looking for a similar performance once again under the leadership of Ante Covic.
Bankstown City Lions FC fell in the semi-finals last season against eventual Champions Mt Druitt Town Rangers FC after a rollercoaster season. They will be hoping that they can now take the next step and earn some silverware as well as hopeful promotion which the club is pushing for.
Both Aya Seino and Ena Harada have graduated to the A-Leagues after their stints with the Lions so they will have to replace almost 50 goals this season. Stephanie Ambrose will lead the side again in the heart of defence as they look to turn Jensen Park into a fortress.
Blacktown City FC
Blacktown City FC finished in tenth spot in the League One Women’s competition and the Western Sydney side are looking for a top half finish as Michael Hawthorne continues as the coach in the dugout.
It has been a case of stability in the squad for Blacktown City FC with much of the team continuing from 2024 including Olivia Moar and Amber Precious in attack while Paris Kambouris will take the armband for the team in the new campaign while the consistent Zoe Zaczek will roam down the wing once more.
Blacktown City FC have made two key signings to help them towards their stated goal of playing a more attacking brand of football this season. Jasmine Stretton comes across from Bankstown City Lions FC and experienced campaigner Kalize Jarvis is the other new name for the squad heading into 2025.
Blacktown Spartans FC
Blacktown Spartans will be sporting a whole new team following its relegation from the National Premier Leagues Women’s NSW competition.
The entire squad will feature a number of new faces as head coach Lachlan Raymond is under no illusion on the tough challenges that lie ahead for the club.
Raymond has brought in some talent familiar with the League One Women’s competition including Paris Vinuya from Mt Druitt Town Rangers, striker Milena Visser who comes across from Inter Lions alongside talented youngsters Lili Rosandic and Lauren Wickermeratne.
Otherwise, there is a youthful look for the Spartans including promotions from their reserve grade squad with the likes of Angel Lynch, Ella Morris and winger Danielle Keller.
Camden Tigers FC
It has been a steady improvement for the Camden Tigers as they enter their fourth season in the League One Women’s competition.
They have improved two spots each season and look to improve on their eleventh place finish in 2024.
Under the tutelage of Alex Antolak, the Tigers will be looking for consistency in every game across the season. To help that, defender Deana Caronna has joined from the Blacktown Spartans, a great recruit who will look towards marshalling her troops throughout the course of the year.
Otherwise, Ashlee Taff will be pulling the strings in midfield while Ellie-Leigh Lontis and Samantha Cefai will hope to be more prolific in front of goal this season. Kelsea Nash is another player to watch out for making the move from Nepean FC while there is some hype building on youngster Aqueelah Osmay who showed enormous potential in 2024.
Central Coast Mariners FC
The Central Coast Mariners FC Academy finished sixth in 2024 and saw a couple of those faces move onto its A-League Women’s side.
Academy sides usually focus on their development than results and new head coach Greg Hartge will have that as his mission in 2025. He hopes that talents such as Eliza Familton, Claire Denning and Peyton Scollay can use this competition as a springboard in getting them a contract in Australia’s elite women’s competition.
There will be plenty of talent in the squad which will make the Mariners one of the sides to watch for the season as ace goal scorer Ava-Marie Carlson, keeper Kyara O’Brien and Amber Ford will be players leading the club’s charge for hopeful promotion.
Hills United FC
Hills United FC have been one of the most consistent sides in the League One Women’s competition since their inception but now they will be looking towards consolidating that at its new home, Valentine Sports Park.
Coach Alan Tasses has been busy in the off-season with Hills set to unearth an incredible 16 new players for the 2025 season.
Experienced campaigner Desiree Galea has retired while leader and custodian Sarah Easthope has taken a year off to focus on futsal leaving a huge hole to fill in their defence.
Hills United FC have brought in Nicole Simmons from Manly United FC to play between the sticks while Gemma Woolley and Jess Wooton look to provide the goals upfront. Elin Rosenberg-Cemazar moves from SD Raiders FC alongside young talent furnishing the squad including Tasmin Buchanan (Spirit FC), Zeyra Plebani (Sydney University) and Elif Ergodan (Bankstown City Lions FC).
Tasses remains ambitious in the club’s objective in playing finals football with a strong focus on building towards promoting the club to the NPL Women’s NSW competition.
Inter Lions FC
The only way is up for Inter Lions FC after another torrid campaign in 2024 but will be looking at all the positives under the new leadership of John Di Biase as coach and Tony Pace as Technical Director.
Inter Lions FC have brought together a young and promising squad for the upcoming season with the average age being 21 years old aided with some experienced heads. Goalkeeper Amy Orphanides joins the club from St George FC alongside Kiara Coscia and Hannah Charak who have spent time in the top division while Jenny Hughes has made the move from Blacktown City FC.
Zoe Katsionis, Mia Micalizzi and Emma Chiew headline the returning core which will give the side some stability across the park.
Di Biase is pinning his hopes on a better return in 2025 as the club looks set to push itself up that ladder.
Marconi Stallions FC
Marconi Stallions had their highest finish since 2022 with an eighth place finish in the League One Women’s competition, but expectation is there for the club to go one step better.
Coach and former Socceroo Michael Beauchamp will hope they can take another step forward towards possible finals football and more.
Pene Bonovas and Asiyah Zreika are the two names which have been added to the Stallions team, a duo that will have the responsible of hopefully hitting the back of net a few times this year. Zreika has represented Lebanon at senior level and will bring experience to the squad while Bonovas is another experienced head for Beauchamp to call upon.
Isabella Sollecito returns to the club after establishing herself as the Stallions number one keeper while up front Tania Baban will lead the line again with Erinn Cleghorn and Marie Herrara also key inclusions hoping to make an instant impact at the Palace.
Nepean FC
For Nepean FC, the season ahead is yet another big one for the club’s female football development after they finished in twelfth spot on the ladder in 2024.
Coach Josh Jacka takes over in the dugout and continues the work from last season.
Nepean FC have retained the majority of the squad from last season including Gemma Morgan and Catriona Haberman who were the club’s top scorers in 2024 alongside custodian Jasmie Crouch and Alisha Gatt. Jacka is hoping this consistency can help her side in both their short term success and their long term development.
The club will feature two new faces that hope to raise the quality further at Nepean FC.
Former Camden Tigers star Isabella La Malfa and Evie Batchelor are the club’s big signings with hopes pinned on the duo to spring a few upsets this season.
SD Raiders FC
SD Raiders FC had a strong campaign in 2024 which saw them earn the Premiership as well as finishing up finalists – something the club hopes to go one better on this year.
Coach Bojan Radmilo has kept a majority of the young squad which performed fantastically and has added a trio of quality signings.
Tenealle Hay joins the club from NPL Women’s NSW side Macarthur Rams while Blacktown City FC duo Amelia Savetta and Angelina Mastoris will give the squad some decent depth.
There is plenty of talent to keep an eye on including 2024 League One Women’s Player of the Year Taina Almeida, Maddie Malone and Abigail Boag.
These three stars will be key as they hope to fill the void left by Isabella Sultan, Tahlia Voskanian and Miriam Zumaya all of which have signed for the Western Sydney Wanderers which is a true testament to the female program run at the club.
South Coast Flame FC
The fire burns bright for the South Coast Flame FC as the side chase their first taste of finals football this year underlined by the heavy recruitment from head coach Daniel Naumovski.
Headlining the new additions to the Flame is former Canberra Olympic FC ace Bessie Riethmuller who has made the move from the capital while Abbey Crapp has come across from the Ilawarra Stingrays.
Both players will be hoping to assist Cristina Barrazza and Emily Kostovski who were the Flame’s leading scorers last season.
Helping to shore up their defence will be Ashleigh Long from Camden Tigers and Daisy Canava from Stingrays alongside Molly Lawless who rounds out their Stingrays contingent of signings. Flame have kept together the majority of their squad from last year and will be ready to fire from the opening game.
St George FC
St George FC fell at the final hurdle last season but they remain a consistent force in the League One Women’s competition with appearances in the last two Grand Finals. Experienced coach Mark Greenfield has kept the core of the squad from those achievements to move forward.
The Saints have complemented that core with a handful of signings to fill the void of players who have moved on for other commitments including Kyla Vanderlaan, defender Kate Dale and Emma-Jane Winston.
Danielle Rutstein and keeper Emilija Vidakovic alongside winger Ashley Kotevski from the South Coast Flame have made the move to the Saints and will all want to impress in their new colours from round 1 onwards. Jess Fallah and Lauren Johnson round off the Saints’ new signings with Lulu Lozano returning from injury.
Sutherland Strikers FC
Sutherland Strikers FC had a rough start to its first season in this league but finished on a high with eight wins in the second half of the 2024 season which gave them a respectable ninth placed finish in their maiden year.
Hanif Verjani takes over as the head coach for the Strikers this season and the goal for the club this time around is to continue its rise on the ladder with the hope of surprising a few teams along the way.
By Justin Davies (@JustDavies90)
