# 2018–19 Melbourne Victory FC (women) season

The 2018–19 Melbourne Victory W-League season was the club's eleventh season in the W-League, the premier competition for women's football in Australia. The team played home games at Epping Stadium, Lakeside Stadium and AAMI Park. The club's head coach for the season was Jeff Hopkins.

## Background

The Victory entered the season having missed out on the final series in the previous three years. In 2017–18, while they had improved defensively, they only finished a point off last place. Media predictions had them finishing in the top four in 2018–19, with former player Gülcan Koca suggesting they could win the premiership/championship double.

## W-League
### Regular season

The Victory opened their campaign with a match against Adelaide United at AAMI Park. Despite having 60 percent of possession, they were not able to convert any of their 21 shots at goal.
Playing Newcastle Jets on 1 November at Lakeside Stadium, the Victory took an early lead with Melina Ayres scoring a long-range goal after seven minutes. Natasha Dowie made the score 2–0 in the 11th minute before Cortnee Vine pulled a goal back for the Jets a minute later.
The Victory match against Canberra United on 17 January at Seiffert Oval in Queanbeyan was abandoned after 16 minutes due to lightning. A rematch was scheduled for 5 February at McKellar Park in Canberra.
A 2–1 victory over Perth Glory at Dorrien Gardens secured the club's first W-League premiership. The Victory entered the match needing a point to win the trophy after Brisbane Roar were unexpectedly defeated.
The makeup game against Canberra United at McKellar Park on 5 January was delayed for 35 minutes due to lightning. Victory rested several first-choice players in preparation for the semi-final five days later. The match ended 0–0 and the Victory were awarded the Premier's Plate after the match.
| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Scorers | Attendance | Referee |
| 28 October 2018 | Adelaide United | Home | 0–0 | | 2,714 | Isabella Blaess |
| 1 November 2018 | Newcastle Jets | Home | 2–1 | Ayres, Dowie | 713 | Rachel Mitchenson |
| 16 November 2018 | Melbourne City | Away | 2–0 | Nairn, Gielnik | 1,619 | Kate Jacewicz |
| 24 November 2018 | Sydney FC | Away | 3–2 | Dowie (3) | 5,540 | Rachel Mitchenson |
| 2 December 2018 | Western Sydney Wanderers | Home | 2–1 | Dowie, Nairn | 593 | Isabella Blaess |
| 16 December 2018 | Brisbane Roar | Away | 3–4 | Nairn, Dowie, Gielnik | 1,045 | Katie Patterson |
| 21 December 2018 | Adelaide United | Away | 2–3 | Mastrantonio, Alleway | 902 | Katie Patterson |
| 28 December 2018 | Perth Glory | Home | 2–1 | Dowie (2) | 7,163 | Rachel Mitchenson |
| 5 January 2019 | Melbourne City | Home | 1–0 | Nairn | 1,265 | Lara Lee |
| 27 January 2019 | Sydney FC | Home | 2–2 | Gielnik, Dowie | 784 | Katie Patterson |
| 1 February 2019 | Perth Glory | Away | 2–1 | Nairn, Gielnik | 1,110 | Georgia Ghirardello |
| 5 February 2019 | Canberra United | Away | 0–0 | | 1,546 | Isabella Blaess |

### Finals

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Scorers | Attendance | Referee | Refs |
| 10 February 2019 | Perth Glory | Home | 2–4 (a.e.t) | Nairn, Maher | 8,599 | Rachel Mitchenson | |

### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Melbourne Victory | 12 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 21 | 15 | +6 | 24 | Qualification to Finals series and 2019 AFC Women's Club Championship |
| 2 | Brisbane Roar | 12 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 18 | 17 | +1 | 20 | Qualification to Finals series |
| 3 | Sydney FC (C) | 12 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 28 | 19 | +9 | 19 | Qualification to Finals series |
| 4 | Perth Glory | 12 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 28 | 20 | +8 | 19 | Qualification to Finals series |
| 5 | Melbourne City | 12 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 20 | 15 | +5 | 19 | |
| 6 | Adelaide United | 12 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 17 | 19 | −2 | 18 | |
| 7 | Newcastle Jets | 12 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 18 | 21 | −3 | 16 | |
| 8 | Canberra United | 12 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 13 | 18 | −5 | 13 | |
| 9 | Western Sydney Wanderers | 12 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 11 | 30 | −19 | 4 | |

### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: 5 February 2019. Source: Competitive Matches

### Results by round

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
| Ground | H | H | A | A | H | B | A | A | H | H | B | A | H | A |
| Result | D | W | W | W | W | ✖ | L | L | W | W | ✖ | D | D | W |
| Position | 6 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |

## Players
### Squad information

Updated 27 October 2018.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | AUS | Casey Dumont |
| 3 | DF | AUS | Teigen Allen |
| 4 | DF | AUS | Alexandra Gummer |
| 5 | DF | AUS | Laura Alleway |
| 6 | DF | AUS | Annabelle Martin |
| 7 | MF | USA | Christine Nairn |
| 8 | DF | AUS | Angie Beard |
| 9 | FW | ENG | Natasha Dowie (captain) |
| 10 | FW | AUS | Kyra Cooney-Cross |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 11 | MF | AUS | MelindaJ Barbieri |
| 14 | FW | AUS | Melina Ayres |
| 15 | MF | AUS | Emily Gielnik |
| 16 | DF | USA | Samantha Johnson |
| 17 | MF | USA | Dani Weatherholt |
| 18 | MF | AUS | Grace Maher |
| 19 | MF | AUS | Lia Privitelli |
| 20 | GK | AUS | Bethany Mason-Jones |
| 21 | MF | AUS | Ella Mastrantonio |

### Transfers in

| No. | Pos. | Name | Age | Moving from | Type | Transfer window |
| 15 | FW | Emily Gielnik | 26 | Brisbane Roar | Transfer | Pre-season |
| 18 | MF | Grace Maher | 19 | Canberra United | Transfer | Pre-season |
| 21 | MF | Ella Mastrantonio | 26 | unattached | Signed | Pre-season |
| 17 | FW | Dani Weatherholt | 24 | Orlando Pride | Loan | Pre-season |
| 7 | MF | Christine Nairn | 28 | Orlando Pride | Loan | Pre-season |
| 16 | DF | Samantha Johnson | 27 | Utah Royals FC | Loan | Pre-season |
| 3 | DF | Teigen Allen | 24 | Sydney FC | Transfer | Pre-season |

### Transfers out

| N | Pos. | Name | Age | Moving to | Type | Transfer window |
| 19 | DF | Kristen McNabb | 24 | Seattle Reign | Loan return | Pre-season |
| 31 | DF | Christina Gibbons | 22 | Sky Blue FC | Loan return | Pre-season |
| 17 | MF | Gülcan Koca | 28 | | Retired | Pre-season |
| 7 | FW | Jeon Ga-eul | 30 | Hwacheon KSPO WFC | Transfer | Pre-season |