She is only 15-years-old but Western Sydney Wanderers and Matildas defender Ellie Carpenter has everything going for her.
Currently going through Year 10 in her secondary studies, she faces the task of juggling the sporting and educational side of things, however, has managed it well with online educational technology.
Carpenter already has two international caps to her name, playing in the Asian Qualifying Tournament where the Matildas remained undefeated. She partook in their 9-0 win against Vietnam and the crucial 1-1 draw with China, which saw them qualify for their upcoming 2016 Olympics campaign in Brazil.
The young defender turns 16 at the end of the month and is now hopeful of getting selected for the Australian team in August.
The Matildas have drawn Germany, Canada and Zimbabwe in their group. Germany is currently ranked second in the world and continue to be a powerhouse in Europe. Canada sit 10th and will match up evenly against Australia. Zimbabwe, despite sounding like an underdog, have continued to improve in Africa.
“I’m just really happy about myself, how I’ve progressed in the past couple of months and where I am today,” Carpenter said.
“Potentially going to the Olympics, it would be surreal. I just couldn’t imagine what it would be like.
“I’ve had some sessions to learn more about the Olympics, they showed us the Olympic Village and where we were going to play. It’s inspiring to be there and really cool.
“It’ll be a hard group, but I’m sure we can do it.”
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The Wanderers defender made her senior football debut in Round 1 of the W-League 2015-16 season, continuing to play 12 more games throughout the course of the campaign.
Carpenter revealed she had a dilemma at the age of 12. She was a sprinter before her teenage years, however, chose football over running and in hindsight it looked like a good decision.
The 15-year-old opened up what it was like to play with experienced women in the likes of Lisa De Vanna and Claire Polkinghorne, who are the leaders of the Matildas.
Western Sydney captain Caitlin Cooper was also in the Matildas camp for the Qualifiers in March and Carpenter also admitted it helped having her there.
“What Lisa and Claire have done has just been excellent, they’ve taken me under their wing and given a lot of pointers in terms of what direction to go in and it’s really helped me as a player to grow,” she said.
“Me and Caitlin are really good friends off the field as well, having her in the set-up is really good, she’s kind of like of a big sister.”
Carpenter also believes young gun Stephanie Catley is the future captain of the Matildas.
“She’s one of the most important players in the squad and she’s really developing as a footballer,” she said.
“I think she’ll definitely be the future captain of team.”
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