The Maitland Magpies will farewell young star Bronte Peel on Sunday in her last game before departing to play college football in the United States.
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In an emotional day for the club players will also wear special jerseys and honour inspirational skipper Sophie Stapleford in the Brain Cancer Awareness Game against Newcastle Olympic which was postponed at the end of May because of rain.
Maitland coach David Walker said it was tough to say goodbye to Peel, who had played a leading role in the Magpies success over the past two years, but everyone was delighted for her to be able to take up such a wonderful opportunity.
In other news
Peel, 20, has earned an all expenses paid scholarship to play Division 1 college soccer with the University of Arkansas Little Rock College and complete the business degree she started at the University of Newcastle.
An inaugural member of the Magpies, she won the competition's Young Player of the Year and was named in the then WPL Team of the Year. She won the Maitland Players' Player for 2021.
"I'm very excited, a bit nervous, but very excited about going over there," Peel said of her year in Little Rock, the capital city and main college town in Arkansas.
"I leave on July 29 and I start in their fall (autumn) semester. I got a full scholarship so they will cover all my costs and basically I will finish off my degree and play Division 1 soccer.
"A few of my friends from when I was playing at the Jets have done it, so I've spoken to them about their experiences and the things that they liked."
Peel played with the Jets junior programs from 13 to year 12 when she took the year off for study. She returned to football with the Magpies in 2021.
She said she has to pinch herself at times to remind herself that she had been accepted to play in the US.
"I start basically straight away. Preseason starts on August 1 and the season starts about 10 days after that.
"I don't have classes until the end of August.
"I'll look at the opportunities over there after I finish college, but at the moment to finish my degree with a high quality education and playing soccer at a really high level is a great opportunity.
"It allows me to escape HECS which is another bonus."
The Magpies are planning on a big turn out on Sunday as they honour skipper Stapleford in her role as a Brain Cancer Awareness Ambassador.
In a moving article which sent a powerful message of hope Stapleford told the Maitland Mercury in April about her life being turned upside down when world renowned neurosurgeon Charlie Teo told her "You have a large aggressive brain tumour" seven years ago.
"These words completely changed my life. Everything suddenly came to a halt, literally I had to stop everything,"
Once told she wouldn't play again, Stapleford has not only returned to the football pitch but has asserted herself as one of the best players in the NPLW competition and in the process raised hope and awareness about the growing incidence of brain cancer in the community.
Victory for the Magpies (fifth, 22 points) will see them leapfrog Olympic (fourth, 24 points) into the top four.
The Magpies rescheduled match against New Lambton at Alder Park on Wednesday night was postponed again due to a wet ground.
NPL Women's season will be extended by one week. A catch-up round has been inserted on September 3. The finals series, to be played over three weekends, now starts on September 17.