Melbourne Victory FC (women)

Following on from the previous top-division Women's National Soccer League, Melbourne Victory Women linked with the Hyundai A-League men's club but run by Football Federation Victoria (FFV), was a foundation club of the Westfield W-League.^[1] With a strong roster boasting Australia's number one goalkeeper Melissa Barbieri and former Matildas star Tal Karp as captain, expectations were high.

Early signs were positive in the first season with New Zealand international Marlies Oostdam scoring the club's first goal as Victory won their first competitive fixture, defeating Central Coast Mariners 2–0.^[2] Despite being on top of the table at the conclusion of Round 3, the next few rounds were lean for Melbourne, and it found itself in the position of needing a win in the final round to make the finals series. With the final round match in the balance, Central Coast Mariners came back to haunt Victory with goals in the 89th and 90th minutes to deny the Victory a play-off spot in the inaugural year.^[3] Melissa Barbieri was awarded Goalkeeper of the Year by the league.^[4]

The second season proved even more painful as once again Melbourne's finals prospects came down to a last-round showdown, this time against Perth Glory. Needing only a draw to claim fourth spot, late goals again cost Victory as Perth scored in the 81st and 87th meaning the Victorians missed out on finals to Canberra via goal difference.

Season 2010/11 saw a change of personnel for Melbourne Victory with new coach Vicki Linton taking charge of a re-shuffled squad. Adjusting to a new system and new teammates, it was a slow start with the team having to wait until Round 4 to claim its first win of the season before finishing the regular season off with a five-match undefeated run.

Finishing in fourth spot, Victory made the finals but succumbed to a strong Sydney FC team 5–1. The team was not quite ready for a title challenge but a maiden finals campaign was an important step forward. 2010/11 also saw the club win its first silverware with a win over Canberra United, seeing it awarded the OCRF Trophy while also taking out the W-League Fair Play Award.

If 2010/11 was an important step forward, 2011/12 was a giant leap for Melbourne Victory as it consolidated its place as one of the top teams in Australia. Its most consistent season so far saw it never out of finals contention. Going the entire season undefeated at home – including going within minutes of beating the undefeated Canberra United – Victory finished fourth in the tightest season of the Westfield W-League in history.

Despite a tight 1–0 loss to Canberra in the semi-final it was a successful season with Steph Catley, Ashley Brown, Brianna Davey and Katrina Gorry all making their Matildas debuts while Catley and Brown won Footballer of the Year (Australian Football Fan Awards) and W-League Young Player of the Season respectively. Melbourne Victory also won its second successive W-League Fair Play Award, sharing with Canberra, and retained the OCRF Trophy.

Hoping to build on their strong 2011/12 season, the Victory got off to a shaky start in 2012/13 with head coach Vicki Linton resigning only weeks before the season was to kick-off. With her departure Darren Tan was appointed as interim coach until former Gold Coast United coach Mike Mulvey was given the job just days before the opening round.

Having only a squad of 12 players registered going into the match, Melbourne Victory was forced to sign three more players due to FFA regulations before going on to lose 2–0 to Perth. Despite another loss in Round 2 leaving the team on the bottom of the ladder, a combination of international signings – including stars Petra Larsson and Jessica Fishlock – and players beginning to understand Mulvey's playing system led to a turnaround in form.

With the league's best defence, Melbourne finished the regular season in third place losing only a single match after Round 2. Even so, the team had to contend with more issues as Mulvey left following Round 9 to take up an A-League contract with Brisbane Roar, while Fishlock's guest contract ended after Round 10. A dramatic semi-final win over Perth Glory extended the side's historic undefeated streak to seven and allowed it to host the 2012/13 Westfield W-League grand final at AAMI Park, although it fell to Sydney FC 3–1. Despite this, Steph Catley was awarded W-League Young Player of the Year and Mike Mulvey W-League Coach of the Year.

The active support group for Melbourne Victory is the Victory Vikings, who also serve as the active support group for Melbourne Victory FC AWT.^[5][6] The group was formed prior to the 2019–20 W-League season by Melbourne Victory supporters who attended the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup, after they were involved with the Matildas Active Support and enjoyed the experience.^[7] Aside from attending matches, the Victory Vikings are also known for announcing statistics on player milestones, as well as posting instant live match updates for Melbourne Victory and AWT matches. The group is notable for their mascot, a large stuffed Homer Simpson doll wearing a Viking helmet that is brought to matches, with players frequently posing with it.^[8]

As of 25 September 2024

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK   AUS Lydia Williams 2 DF   ENG Ellie Wilson 3 DF   NZL Claudia Bunge 5 MF   AUS Sofia Sakalis 6 MF   AUS Beattie Goad 7 FW   AUS Ella O'Grady 8 MF   AUS Alana Murphy 10 MF   AUS Alex Chidiac 11 FW   AUS Nickoletta Flannery 13 MF   USA Sara D'Appolonia 15 FW   AUS Emily Gielnik

No. Pos. Nation Player 16 MF   AUS Paige Zois 18 DF   USA Kayla Morrison (captain) 19 FW   AUS Lia Privitelli 22 MF   AUS Ava Briedis 23 MF   AUS Rachel Lowe 24 MF   AUS Laura Pickett 27 MF   AUS Rosie Curtis 50 GK   AUS Courtney Newbon 66 FW   AUS Alana Jancevski — GK   NZL Geo Candy (injury replacement)

Below is a list of notable footballers who have previously played for Melbourne Victory Women. Generally, this means players that have played 50 or more first-class matches for the club. However, some players who have played fewer matches are also included, are the club's integral founding members, were integral members of a championship winning team, have at least one senior international cap or made significant contributions to the club's history.

• W-League/A-League Women:
  • Champions (3): 2013–14, 2020–21, 2021–22
  • Runners-up (1): 2012–13
  • Premiers (1): 2018–19
  • Runners-up (1): 2019–20

• Record Win: 0–7 vs Newcastle Jets, Round 13 (Season 2019-20), 23 February 2020
• Record Defeat: 6-0 vs Brisbane Roar, Round 5 (Season 2020-21), 22 January 2021
• Record High Attendance: 8,838 vs Adelaide United, AAMI Park, Melbourne, 26 February 2023^[22]
• Most Goals by a Player in a Game: 3
  Caitlin Friend v Adelaide United, 19 November 2011; v Newcastle Jets, 7 December 2013
  Jodie Taylor v Perth Glory, 10 December 2011
  Lisa De Vanna v Newcastle Jets, 25 January 2014
  Amy Jackson v Adelaide United, 12 October 2014
  Racheal Quigley v Newcastle Jets, 22 November 2014
  Natasha Dowie v Brisbane Roar, 1 January 2017; v Sydney FC, 25 November 2018
  Melina Ayres v Brisbane Roar, 4 April 2021; v Melbourne City, 15 April 2023
  Kayla Morrison v Newcastle Jets, 18 December 2022
• Most Wins in a Row: 5 – 4 April 2021 to 18 December 2021
• Longest Undefeated Streak: 9 matches – 16 November 2013 to 25 January 2014; and 12 January 2024 to 10 March 2024
• Most Goals In a Regular season: Melina Ayres – 9 goals, 2022–23 A-League Women

Amy Jackson holds the record for most appearances with 103 as of April 2023

Last updated 30 April 2023

Competitive, professional matches only.

	Name	Years	League	Finals	AFC Women's Champions League	International Women's Club Championship	Total
1	Amy Jackson	2010–2014, 2019-	87	12	3	1	103
2	Lia Privitelli	2016–	75	7	2	0	84
3	Casey Dumont	2017–	64	7	2	0	73
4	Melina Ayres	2017–	57	9	2	0	68
5	Gulcan Koca	2009–2018	61	5	0	1	67

Natasha Dowie holds the record for most league goals with 33 (including finals) as of April 2023.

Last updated 30 April 2023

Competitive, professional matches only, appearances including substitutes appear in brackets.

	Name	Years	League	Finals	Total	Games per goal
1	Natasha Dowie	2015–2020	33 (55)	0 (2)	33 (57)	1.73
2	Melina Ayres	2017–	20 (57)	8 (9)	28 (66)	2.36
=3	Caitlin Friend	2010–2014	15 (42)	0 (4)	15 (46)	3.07
=3	Amy Jackson	2010–2014, 2019-	14 (87)	1 (12)	15 (99)	6.60
=5	Lisa De Vanna	2013–2015, 2020-2021	11 (32)	3 (5)	14 (37)	2.64
=5	Catherine Zimmerman	2021–2023	12 (32)	2 (7)	14 (39)	2.79

• List of top-division football clubs in AFC countries
• Women's soccer in Australia
• W-League (Australia) all-time records
• Australia women's national soccer team

• Melbourne Victory official website