The Ultimate New Zealand Soccer Website | home
2004
Player Of Year Award Caps Michele’s Memorable Year
by Jeremy Ruane
New Zealand women’s soccer international Michele Keinzley has good reason to be happy with life at the moment, despite the outcome of the National Women’s League Grand Final.
Auckland-Manukau’s loss to Capital Soccer was one of the few occasions in the last two years when the lively attacking midfielder has found herself on the beaten team in either club or provincial action, but having had time to reflect on the outcome, the twenty-two-year-old is, as ever, looking on the positive side of the equation.
"It’s been a really long season, that’s for sure, with some of us having been on the go since mid-January. Because of that, the fact that the National League is just a one-round affair is good. The league format is far better than the week-long National Tournament format, though - that was a real case of survival of the fittest!
"One good thing from the National League season is that a fair few younger players came into the Auckland squad and got a taste of top-level action. I hope they learnt quite a bit from playing and training alongside far more seasoned players like Maia Jackman and Terry McCahill, someone who, I felt, should have appeared in far more games than the two in which she did take an active part".
Keinzley herself had a stellar campaign, culminating in being named National Women’s League Player of the Year. "That was a total surprise - I had no idea I was in the running! I wasn’t named Player of the Day during the season, so this was totally unexpected.
"I wasn’t too happy about not being present at the awards ceremony to receive the trophy, however. What makes it worse was that it was through no fault of my own. To cut a long story short, a series of miscommunications concerning my tickets meant I was left with insufficient time to get to the venue from Kamo, Whangarei".
That disappointment pales in comparison with the real low-point of Keinzley’s year, which came very early on in the piece. "I was really gutted when I was left out of the Australia Cup squad in January", reflected the former Secondary Schools, Under-17 and Under-19 international.
"Having made my full debut for New Zealand the previous year, on the tour which took in the Oceania Women’s World Cup qualifying tournament via Texas, it was a real blow to miss out on the next squad named for international duty.
"It left me with a point to prove to the selectors - that they couldn’t leave me out of the equation. So as you can imagine, I was really thrilled to be named in the squad for the USA games.
"It doesn’t get any better than playing against the best women’s team in the world, especially so given the two games were two of the last in the careers of the likes of Mia Hamm and Julie Foudy".
The tour itself was one Keinzley enjoyed immensely. "The
|
crowds were awesome - they cheered us on just as much as their own players. And I was very impressed with the professionalism shown by NZ Soccer over the course of the tour - I felt more like a rep player than ever before! It certainly set standards which I hope are maintained.
"Sure, we had sore legs on game day because of the training regimen under which we worked, but that’s only because we weren’t used to it. Regular training of that nature is what we need, however - all up, a really good tour".
Like all her international team-mates, making the 2007 Women’s World Cup Finals in China is definitely uppermost in Michele’s desires. And the six-times-capped international is quietly confident that, come qualifiers time, the arch-enemy can be overcome. "The gap between Australia and ourselves really isn’t that huge, believe me!
"We had a really good chance of beating The Matildas when we played them in Canberra in April, 2003, but in the end, it was one of those games when things didn’t go our way. Terry McCahill falling ill just prior to the match, for instance - things like that simply don’t happen, but on this one occasion, did … frustrating!!"
A word which sums things up for Michele when it came to her early attempts to be part of a winning Uncle Toby’s Women’s Knockout Cup combination. A member of the Wairarapa United squad which was beaten in the 1999 and 2000 finals, she joined Ellerslie for the 2002 campaign, only to collect a third loser’s medal as her side was downed on penalties by Lynn-Avon United after a thrilling two-hour duel ended scoreless.
"I thought it would be third time lucky on that occasion, but at the start of the following year, when Ellerslie hadn’t got a coach in place by the time of our pre-season team gathering, I opted to do what was best for me, so transferred to Lynn-Avon.
"It’s certainly a move about which I have no regrets. The team atmosphere, training - all really enjoyable, and it certainly makes the travel factor from my Whangarei home worthwhile.
"Best of all, finally being part of a winning Uncle Toby’s Cup team!! It all came together in the 2003 final, and while I don’t remember much about the game now, I do remember scoring - it was definitely fourth time lucky for me!"
Michele played a key role in the 2004 final as well, as Lynn-Avon completed a "three-peat" in the competition by downing Three Kings United 1-0. Add to that Northern Premier Women’s League championship medals in both the last two seasons, and it’s fair to say the move to Ken Maunder Park has certainly paid dividends for the player with nineteen goals to her name in Lynn-Avon’s colours.
Yes, life’s pretty good for the National Women’s League Player of the Year right now. And with more internationals on the cards in 2005, as New Zealand’s preparations for China 2007 intensify, Michele Keinzley is hoping it gets even better.
|