South Melbourne FC is excited to announce the signing of Jamie Pollock who returns to Lakeside Stadium for the 2017 NPL Victoria Season.
Pollock grew up in Georgia, USA first experienced football at Harrison High School also playing youth football at Tophat 08 Gold and as part of the Georgia State Olympic Development Program. Accolades followed the midfielder through her youth football being a part of and Captaining teams to the Georgia State Championship and the Olympic Development Program National Championship.
Her success continued at the University of Georgia where she started every game she played over the course of three years, scoring 8 goals and 12 assists. As her time with the Georgia Bulldogs came to a close, she was offered a contract with Atlanta Beat in the Women’s Professional Soccer League, however the league would fold before she graced the pitch. In 2013, Pollock joined the Florida Atlantic Owls as a coach, before moving north to join the Boston Breakers setup in the National Women’s Soccer League
A year later and Pollock was back in her native Georgia, this time playing for the Atlanta Silverbacks. The Silverbacks would be her last US-based team as she made the long journey down under to play in Victoria. South Melbourne Senior Coach Socrates Nicolaidis has extensive experience in the USA having coached at club and college level for some fifteen years. His network enabled him to identify Pollock to join his squad at Lakeside. He was interviewed about the signing by The Corner Flag and said “Jamie played for a friend of mine James Galanis and he selected her for the Atlanta Beat in 2012, giving her a glowing report. She’s a high pedigree player. She raises the standard at training, brought a professionalism to training and she’s like a new zest of life. She’s a special player and she scores special goals”.
Pollock’s debut for South Melbourne was in June 2015 against the Senior NTC, followed by her Lakeside debut a week later against Casey Comets. A successful 2015 campaign for South Melbourne finish fourth and qualify for the finals. Pollock would play a crucial role. In week two of the finals she scored a 90th-minute goal to down Heidelberg in a thrilling match at Lakeside. The following week she would score a brace at Kingston Health to help eliminate Ashburton United and book a place in the Grand Final. Pollock played a critical role throughout the final and was front and centre as South Melbourne Captain Alex Cheal raised the club’s Grand Final trophy.
This Jamie Pollock strike doubled the lead for South Melbourne right on half time. Pollock would score again on the way to a 3-0 win and a place in the 2015 Grand Final
Dave Edmondson, the coach at Melbourne Victory came knocking and Pollock was soon pulling on a W-League jersey. She would make 10 appears for the club through the summer season before joining FC Bulleen Lions for the inaugural NPLW season. Pollock represented the Lions on 23 occasions scoring four goals.
With South Melbourne joining the NPLW for 2017, the opportunity existed for Pollock to return to the club she first called home when coming to Australia. It will be a friendly return with familiar faces in the dressing room and Socrates Nicolaidis still Senior Coach. Reflecting on a half season in 2015 in which she scored 13 goals, Pollock was side-by-side with the likes of Alex Cheal, Natalie Martineau, Caitlin Grieser and Tiffany Eliadis. Jamie Pollock will once again join these names in the Lakeside Stadium dressing room as South Melbourne prepares for its first foray in the NPLW.
Speaking to smfc.com.au, Pollock is excited to once again pull on the blue and white South jersey saying “it is an amazing feeling to return to South Melbourne, to Lakeside Stadium and to so many familiar faces and friends. The history, culture and atmosphere at our Club is unique and it is a wonderful opportunity to be a part of it once again. It was only a year ago when I last played for South that we raised the Grand Final trophy and I am really looking forward to doing that again in 2017″.
Women’s Football Director Gabrielle Guiliano jumped at the chance to welcome Pollock back to South Melbourne. “Our playing group, as well as the broader club has always been a family environment. It’s always hard to lose players but we encourage our girls to develop and strive to be better. The opportunity for Jamie to play in the W-League on the national stage here in Australia was fantastic for her. Now in 2017 it’s great to have her back at South Melbourne. You only need to read her playing history to recognise the depth of experience she has to offer. As well as being a star in the midfield, her leadership both on and off the pitch plays a critical role at the club, especially as we develop girls through our youth program” she said.
A South Melbourne FC Under 19 team has traveled to Florida, USA as part of an 18 day tour during the festive season. The squad prepared by South Melbourne Senior Coach Socrates Nicolaidis in partnership with MatchFit Australia, comprises representatives from our Senior and Youth teams together with other quality youth players from around Melbourne.
The team would participate in two tournaments being the 20th Annual Orange Classic Girls Tournament and the Disney Girls Soccer Showcase, played at the ESPN Wide World or Sports Complex. The girls would be guaranteed a total of six matches in six days with the potential to make it through to the finals.
These tournaments provide exposure for the club but more importantly an opportunity for the girls to be a part of a professional squad for the 18 day tour and play in a tournament environment with 1500 other players and in front of over 10o US college coaches hoping to recruit new talent into their college squads.
20th Annual Orange Classic Girls Tournament
Match #1 :: 28 Dec 2016 vs FC Tampa (Florida)
Result :: 5-1 win with goals to Caitlin Greiser (x2), Kathryn Vlahopoulos (x2), Chloe Belingham
In their first match on foreign soil, the squad made an impressive start to their campaign recording a 5-1 win over FC Tampa.
Caitlin Greiser would record the only goal of the first half shooting low and right from the penalty spot. After the break the girls had the setting sun in their eyes but you couldn’t tell by the way they played. Kathryn Vlahopoulos setup a Caitlin Greiser header to double the lead before finding the net and opening her own account for the tour. Chloe Belingham got into the scoring action with a quality move weaving between two defenders the slotting her shot past the keeper. Bryannen Gurr would make a superb run down the left wing all the way to the byline before cutting it back for Kathryn Vlahopoulos to stab it into the net for her brace and the fifth goal for South.
Catherine Forto-Oddo spoke to smfc.com.au after the match saying “the game today went well with a quick pace. We set the standard pretty high and it was great to see how the American girls played. Theirs was a very different style of play, they like to play the long balls. They were physical and very different to what we were used to but I enjoyed it. The quick passing worked for us today, which is our normal standard of play. Rachel Jarvis did well and also Kathryn Vlahopoulos.”
Also talking to smfc.com.au after the match, Cleo Taliadoros shared her thoughts on the game saying “We went into the game not really knowing what to expect as we’ve never played an American team before. We went in hard, didn’t expect too much and I think we did pretty well.”
“We did a lot of combination plays with great passing instead of just kicking the ball up the field like our opposition did. Our passing really helped us transition the ball from the back line all the way to the forwards and we scored some goals off this passing play. Irene Paracki played so well, moving easily around players in the midfield and really setting us up for goals. Caitlin Greiser played well scoring goals up front. Chloe Belingham was great, so was Kathryn Vlahopoulos and everyone in the defence. Clearly a team effort all round. I thought the opposition had some good players. They were physical and had good technique. They made us work hard and tired us out. I thought they were really good and they play a very different style to us, which was effective at times giving them a goal” she said.
Assistant coach Jorge Rios provided a summary of the match preparation and some analysis saying “the girls have prepared well for the match considering the travel time from Melbourne to Miami and recovery from the jet lag. We had two sessions early in the week focusing on first touch, player combinations and player movement centrally through the midfield area.”
“Our 4-2-2-2 box midfield structure with two wide forwards had the American team confused. We outnumbered our opponents in the middle of the pitch thus frustrating both their coach and players who played a standard 4-4-2 flat midfield. Interestingly the Tampa goal keeper consistently played the long ball punting it when playing out from the back. Our girls constantly played their way out from the back and displayed great attacking intent” he said.
Match #2 :: 29 Dec 2016 vs Caboto Strikers (Canada)
Result :: 4-1 win with goals to Caitlin Greiser (x2), Jade Feakes, Samantha Black
It was an early start for the girls on match day two with an 8am kick-off time. The Caboto Strikers from Canada were highly rated and fast on the pitch, but our girls remained focused on their own game and secured a 4-1 win positioning themselves in outright first place.
Jade Feakes would opening the scoring when she chipped the keeper from the edge of the area placing the ball neatly into the top left corner of the net. The next to score would be Caitlin Greiser who picked up where she left off yesterday. Greiser took a pass from winger Samantha Black, took one touch and then fired across the goal to beat the rushing keeper. After the break, Samantha Black turned from play-maker to goal scorer. Black latched on to a quality ball from the midfield and went one-on-one with the keeper, sliding the ball into the bottom left corner of the net. The final South goal was again from Greiser. Irene Paracki set up the play crafting a through ball to the feet of Greiser who rounded the defender and then similar to Black, beat the keeper one-on-one and hit the ball into the bottom left corner of the net. It was a quality performance by the team.
Speaking to smfc.com.au after the match, Irene Paracki shared her thoughts on the match saying “it was really good out there today but we started off slowly and we weren’t getting our passes together. After a while, we started to get our rhythm, our quick passing, switching play and some great goal chances. Overall, the strongest aspect of our game today was our passing and through balls which directly lead to the goals”.
“Jade Feakes was an absolute stand-out today, she scored our first goal and then she was consistent throughout the game. Our midfield gelled well today, we changed up our formation a few times and that worked well. The Canadian team were very fast and quite physical off the ball, blocking and shielding. We were good at intercepting passes and shut them down pretty well. We learnt their weaknesses quickly and played to those. It was a great game out there today” she said.
Also talking to smfc.com.au after the match, Bryannen Gurr reflected on the win saying ‘I think we played pretty well. We started off a bit slow and conceded a goal which was a bit disappointing. We got back into the game, get even and were good enough to put another three into the back of the net which was good for us. As we got more into the game and adjusted to the conditions, as it was a bit wet, our passing game and combination plays were impressive. In the midfield Irene Paracki had great touches and was always able to find an outlet wide or moving forward. Caitlin Greiser scored a couple of goals and Jade Feakes was solid down the back. D’arne Boato was very strong too, reading the play. Rachel Jarvis was strong on the ball as usual. Everyone played well.”
“The Canadians were pretty good, probably stronger than our opposition yesterday. We played Caboto Strikers who are ranked maybe 4th in Canada so that’s pretty impressive. We did well to win 4-1 so hopefully we can continue that theme and keep winning” she said.
With the early morning start, the girls were done and dusted by around 10:30. The days ‘recovery’ started off with karaoke inside the team bus, the singing and dancing aptly lead by D’arne Boato, Cleo Taliadoros and Alexia Karatzikos. The cool-down session comprised beach volleyball on on Fort Lauderdale Beach. It was here at the beach were the were witness to the marching band of Michigan University who were preparing for the upcoming Orange Bowl NFL match. Bryannen Gurr, D’arne Boato, Alexia Karatzikos and Rachel Jarvis quickly found themselves talking to reporter Thomas Eschen of Fox 66 Michigan. A few hours later, they had made their US TV debut being introduced as a ‘girls travel soccer team from Orstralia’.
Bryannen Gurr, D’arne Boato, Alexia Karatzikos and Rachel Jarvis talking to reporter Thomas Eschen of Fox 66 Michigan.
Match #3 :: 30 Dec 2016 vs Pinellas County United (Florida)
A relaxing afternoon the day prior gave some respite to the girls heading into their third match in as many days in Miami. Matchday three would be the final hit-out in the Orange Classic Tournament prior to moving to Orlando for the big one, the Disney Girls Soccer Showcase. The girls were happy with the 2-0 win to round out the tournament and also positive in securing their first clean sheet.
Pinellas County bought their A game for the South fixture. They were physical, aggressive and pressed high to put the pressure on. The defence today was rock solid with great passing and playing out from the back. As the first half went on, the girls started to find their rhythm. The first goal came which served well to settle the team. A corner kick found its way to defender Victoria Argyropoulos who had a low strike at goal. The ball rolled to the feet of Irene Paracki who turned and placed it past the keeper. South were in business and went into the half time break with a one nil advantage.
Pinellas continued to attack in the second half however the strong passing and possession of our girls could be seen to frustrate them. South’s second goal came yet again from the corner, this one maybe not quite as pretty. The corner kick came into the area and there were a lot of players in the box. Everyone was trying to get boot to ball to either score or clear it. Jade Feakes got the last touch as the ball went over the line where the keeper grabbed it and bought it back into the field of play. The referee took some time before awarding South the goal. It was an encouraging result in the toughest match of the tour thus far.
Talking to smfc.com.au goal scorer Jade Feakes reflected on the game saying “I thought we reacted well to them pressing us on the ball. Our performance today is going to set us up well for the next tournament. As Coach Soc said, it’s going to be a lot more physical and the girls are going to be tougher. We are going to need to learn how to get the ball back quickly and contest against girls who have been training for college for years.”
“It took us until the latter stages of the first half to start playing our passes smarter and a bit quicker. The whole team played well today, I think everyone contributed strongly today in a tough match. Alexia Karatzikos in goal did really well, best game I’ve seen her play. Her distribution was great in getting the ball out wide allowing us to easily play out from the back. I think Pinellas County lifted today because of who they were playing. They knew a little about us as they had watched us play our two previous games. I felt this also made us lift our game and how we responded to how physical they were.”
Also talking to smfc.com.au was goal keeper Alexia Karatzikos detailing her thoughts on the encounter saying “It think it was a well fought game today, probably the hardest games we’ve had out of the three. They really took the game to us so it wasn’t easy for us like the last two matches. They knew we were breezing through and wanted to give us some physicality. At the start it was hard for us to get into the game. It was hard to get our mojo, get it together and concentrate. There was a drink break, we talked and started getting it together, passes were well thought out and then we got our first goal. That really settled us. There was a lot more talking out on the pitch today, especially from a goal keeping perspective we were talking more to get our defenders and rest of the players together in the right places. The last two games has been really quiet. Today was a really good game but hard fought.”
“Our midfielders played well for us today, Catherine Forte-Oddo and Rachel Jarvis especially. They had to really keep possession today and find the right opportunities to push forward to the strikers. Our defenders today were spot on. No headers were missed with good passing around the back third. For both Coco Majstorovic and I in goal, I think our distribution was good today. Coco was great, taking the touches, controlling the ball and getting it out to the defenders. We were playing out from the back, we were really relaxed, not stressed and we kept the ball right from the get go. Our opposition Pinellas County were excellent. I spoke to the team we played yesterday, Tampa Bay, and they beat them 4-0. Tampa said they were really off their game and didn’t play to their usual standard. Today they really bought their A game and gave it to us. It wasn’t easy. We thought we’d go out there, score four goals. Pinellas were very physical with us, especially when they got frustrated. They were pushing us off the ball a lot, they really wanted possession. We gave as good as we got and I was really proud of the team” she said.
Tournament Review by Coach Socrates Nicolaidis
“The last three days have been a wonderful experience for the girls. We had two fantastic training sessions preparing them for our first game. Not knowing what style of we were going to be up against we focused on our own performance, our own style which is a short passing game, many combination plays, rotations in the attacking third, plenty of overlaps and when we don’t have the ball the whole team pressed collectively.”
“Our first game was an excellent performance and we scored many goals. Our second game was very similar. Our third game was probably our toughest game. The opposition were very strong, very dirty, the refereeing was probably at its worst. Our players were pushed off the ball, knocked off the ball and there was no intent from the opposition to actually go to the ball, but the girls prevailed. In the second half we started to move the ball faster, our passing got better, the other team got weaker and it could have easily been five or six nil.”
“Coming now into Disney we are playing the number one ranked team in Rhode Island, they won their division last year here at Disney. This will probably be our biggest challenge for the tour.”
South Melbourne FC Coach Socrates Nicolaidis
Disney Girls Soccer Showcase
Match #1 :: 31 Dec 2016 vs Bayside FC (Rhode Island)
Match #2 :: 1 Jan 2017 vs Lake Norman SC (North Carolina)
Match #3 :: 2 Jan 2017 vs Clay County SC (Florida)
South Melbourne FC Under 19 (USA International Tour Squad)
South Melbourne FC Under 19 (USA International Tour Squad)
