Genesis coach pleased with team’s performance

GENESIS coach Percy Mataio says the revamped Women’s National Soccer League (WNSL) has been an interesting journey for his side, most of whom are development players.
Mataio said when the season kicked off last December, the players didn’t know what the competition would be like.
But players like goalkeeper Leah Loi, defender Cynthia Pulou and forward Rayleen Bauelua had stood out all season.
“These are women who had no prior experience in competitive football,” Mataio said.
“But this experience has given them the avenue to shine and we’ve seen a lot of improvements from these young women.”
The former Rapatona player led his team to top the Southern Conference and qualify for the WNSL semifinals, which was postponed indefinitely due to the surge in Covid-19 cases.
“When we started, our mission was to top the conference and from the very start, we’ve embarked on this journey by taking it one game at a time,” Mataio said.
“We were focusing on how we can overcome each hurdle as we progressed through the season and it has worked for us.
“We’ve come this far to top the conference and it all goes back to the support we have and the commitment of the players.”
Mataio said going forward, his side would continue to be a defensive team – a strategy they’ve capitalised on all season.
“We continue to talk about our defensive system because that’s what’s working for us and we will not change what we do,” he said.