MEET OUR MATILDAS HOPE

YOUNG STAR’S RISE CONTINUES AS KYRA CALLED INTO CAMP

SURF Coast soccer prodigy Kyra CooneyCross has continued her meteoric rise after scoring selection for this week’s senior Matildas training camp.

The 15-year-old winger/forward (pictured) will train with the best Australian-based female soccer players, including some more than double her age, at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra.

Only 18 of Australia’s top players were selected for the camp, putting Cooney-Cross in the selection frame for the 2017 Tournament of Nations.

She is too young to play in the W-League, but has made a stunning debut senior season in the WNPL.

She has netted a staggering 14 goals, including two hat-tricks, from only 20 starts for the NTC in 2017.

The Torquay teen will be one of women soccer’s hottest commodities when she is old enough to play in the W-League next season.

It is not the first international standard soccer Cooney-Cross has tasted.

She pulled on the green and gold last season, playing for the Young Matildas at the AFC under-16 women’s championships qualifiers last August.

A number of Australia’s leading female soccer players are overseas, so this camp will be a chance for Matildas coaches to work with the local talent pool.

“We’ve got 18 players playing overseas, so this camp is a good opportunity to bring some local players in who have been on the fringe and let them experience the environment and demands of national team camp,” Matildas coach Alen Stajcic said.

“Having them be able to train and mix it with some of the more senior players is really beneficial as it is part of the strategy of evolving our team culture and improving our leadership within the group.”