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HOLLY Boldiston says she was unsure about what to expect upon joining La Trobe University's women's team in the Bendigo Amateur Soccer League this year.
The Eagles are still very much in their infancy following their formation in 2019 and only having one season under their belt after 2020 was ruined by the coronavirus pandemic.
But the move to the Eagles paid dividends for Boldiston - both as a collective and individually.
In just their second season of competition - albeit a severely disrupted one - the Eagles were crowned women's champions and centre attacking midfielder Boldiston was the winner of the BASL's Loris Browning Medal as the women's player of the year.
"I came in towards the end of pre-season and didn't really know what to expect," Boldiston said this week.
"But instantly I felt so welcomed and there is a real sense of belonging at La Trobe and that's testament to how we played on the field."
Based in Shepparton, Boldiston joined the Eagles having previously played with NPL clubs Calder United and Heidelberg United.
"I'm a student at La Trobe studying physiotherapy and it made sense for me to play locally and La Trobe was the perfect club," said Boldiston, who also captained the Eagles this season.
Like all winter competitions, BASL endured a frustratingly interrupted season caused by COVID lockdown restrictions that ultimately had the competition called off in early September.
The women's competition only got 13 rounds in, with the Eagles topping the championship ladder with 34 points - 11 wins and one draw and a goal difference of +68.
"It was very disruptive, particularly when we were really gelling as a club and playing well, but we had to adapt as all the other teams did," Boldiston said.
"We really made the most of it when we did have the opportunity to play."
On winning the Loris Browning Medal, Boldiston described the accolade as an honour.
"It's a nice personal achievement, but in the scheme of things, I'm just really proud to have been part of the women's team being only our second season in the competition," Boldiston said.
"It's awesome to be recognised for your hard work and it goes hand-in-hand with winning the championship."
Meanwhile, Tatura's Cody Sellwood was the winner of the James Anderson Medal as the men's division one player of the year for a season that began in the midfield before a shift to striker.
"We lost a couple of players about a quarter of the way through the season, so we needed to rearrange the team a bit and I was able to play as striker, which I really enjoyed," said Sellwood, who booted 15 goals.
"I had never played the position before, so it was a good experience."
Tatura ended the season second on the ladder with 24 points - six points behind championship winners Eaglehawk.
The Ibises finished with eight wins and three draws from their 11 games, with runner-up their highest position since joining the BASL in 2017.
"It was a super hard year with the way the season had its pauses," Sellwood said.
"We had a lot of momentum before we had to stop for a second time and the pause really broke it, so it was disappointing we weren't able to play the season out fully. It has that feeling of being unfinished, but it was better than not being able to play at all last year."
Also winning player of the year awards this year were Strathdale's Dia'A Besis in division two and Moama-Echuca's Luka Van De Zand and Shepparton South's Jonathan Kafwija in the youth division.
DIVISION 1 SEASON RESULTS
ROUND 1
Tatura 9 def La Trobe Uni 1
Epsom 2 def Shepparton United 1
Spring Gully United 0 dr Shepparton South 0
ROUND 2
Strathdale 2 def Eaglehawk 1
Shepparton South 8 def La Trobe Uni 1
Shepparton United 2 def Tatura 1
ROUND 3
Strathdale 2 def Epsom 0
Eaglehawk 2 def Golden City 1
Spring Gully United 2 def La Trobe Uni 1
Tatura 5 def Shepparton South 1
ROUND 4
Epsom 4 def Golden City 1
Strathdale 7 def Shepparton United 0
Eaglehawk 6 def Spring Gully United 1
ROUND 5
Eaglehawk 12 def La Trobe Uni 0
Golden City 2 dr Shepparton United 2
Epsom 3 def Spring Gully United 0
ROUND 6
Strathdale 1 def Tatura 0
Epsom 11 def La Trobe Uni 1
Spring Gully United 1 def Shepparton United 0
Eaglehawk 2 def Shepparton South 0
ROUND 7
Shepparton United 2 def La Trobe Uni 1
Shepparton South 5 def Epsom 1
Strathdale 7 def Golden City 1
ROUND 8
Strathdale 1 dr Shepparton South 1
Eaglehawk 4 def Epsom 1
La Trobe Uni 4 def Golden City 1
Tatura 2 def Spring Gully United 0
ROUND 9
Spring Gully United 2 def La Trobe Uni 0
Shepparton South 6 def Golden City 2
Tatura 5 def Epsom 0
Eaglehawk 3 def Shepparton United 1
ROUND 10
Epsom 4 def Shepparton United 0
Spring Gully United 2 def Shepparton South 1
Tatura 10 def Tatura 0
ROUND 11
Eaglehawk 6 def Strathdale 4
Shepparton South 5 def La Trobe Uni 0
Tatura 1 def Shepparton United 0
ROUND 12
Strathdale 9 def La Trobe Uni 0
Spring Gully United 2 def Golden City 0
Eaglehawk 5 def Tatura 2
ROUND 13
Strathdale 2 def Spring Gully United 0
Shepparton South 3 def Shepparton United 1
Tatura 10 def Golden City 0
Eaglehawk 5 def Epsom 1
ROUND 14
Tatura 4 def Shepparton South 0
Eaglehawk 7 def Golden City 0
WOMEN'S SEASON RESULTS
ROUND 1
La Trobe Uni 8 def Tatura 0
Shepparton United 10 def Epsom 2
Spring Gully United 3 def Shepparton South 2
Strathdale 2 dr Strath Colts United 2
Golden City 7 def Swan Hill 0
Eaglehawk 1 dr Moama-Echuca 1
ROUND 2
Strathdale 2 def Eaglehawk 1
Shepparton South 2 dr La Trobe Uni 2
Moama-Echuca 12 def Epsom 0
Shepparton United 7 def Tatura 1
Spring Gully United 10 def Swan Hill 0
Strath Colts United 14 def Golden City 0
ROUND 3
Strathdale 17 def Epsom 0
La Trobe Uni 3 def Swan Hill 0
Eaglehawk 4 def Golden City 1
Spring Gully United 1 dr Strath Colts United 1
Shepparton South 9 def Tatura 0
Shepparton United 3 def Moama-Echuca 2
ROUND 4
Golden City 8 def Epsom 1
Strathdale 2 def Shepparton United 1
Moama-Echuca 4 def Tatura 0
Spring Gully United 3 def Eaglehawk 1
Shepparton South 24 def Swan Hill 0
La Trobe Uni 3 def Strath Colts United 2
ROUND 5
Strathdale 4 def Moama-Echuca 0
La Trobe Uni 6 def Eaglehawk 0
Shepparton United 10 def Golden City 3
Spring Gully United 15 def Epsom 0
Strath Colts United 6 def Shepparton South 1
Tatura 12 def Swan Hill 0
ROUND 6
Spring Gully United 1 def Shepparton United 0
Strathdale 8 def Tatura 0
La Trobe Uni 19 def Epsom 0
Strath Colts United 17 def Swan Hill 0
Eaglehawk 1 dr Shepparton South 1
Moama-Echuca 6 def Golden City 1
ROUND 7
La Trobe Uni 7 def Shepparton United 2
Shepparton South 10 def Epsom 0
Strathdale 5 def Golden City 0
Eaglehawk 6 def Swan Hill 1
Spring Gully United 6 def Moama-Echuca 0
Strath Colts United 8 def Tatura 0
ROUND 8
Moama-Echuca 5 def Swan Hill 1
Strathdale 2 dr Shepparton South 2
Eaglehawk 11 def Epsom 1
La Trobe Uni 10 def Golden City 0
Spring Gully United 3 def Tatura 0
Strath Colts United 4 def Shepparton United 1
ROUND 9
Strathdale 7 def Swan Hill 0
La Trobe Uni 2 def Spring Gully United 0
Shepparton South 8 def Golden City 2
Epsom 3 def Tatura 2
Eaglehawk 3 def Shepparton United 1
Strath Colts United 8 def Moama-Echuca 1
ROUND 10
Shepparton United 8 def Epsom 0
Shepparton South 3 def Spring Gully United 1
La Trobe Uni 9 def Tatura 1
Golden City 4 def Swan Hill 0
Strath Colts United 4 def Strathdale 2
Eaglehawk 15 def Moama-Echuca 1
ROUND 11
Strathdale 3 def Eaglehawk 0
Moama-Echuca 3 def Epsom 0
La Trobe Uni 4 def Shepparton South 0
Shepparton United 0 dr Tatura 0
Strath Colts United 9 def Golden City 1
Spring Gully United 12 def Swan Hill 0
ROUND 12
La Trobe Uni 3 def Strathdale 1
Spring Gully United 9 def Golden City 1
Eaglehawk 3 def Tatura 1
Shepparton United 3 def Swan Hill 0
Shepparton South 5 def Moama-Echuca 0
Strath Colts United 21 def Epsom 0
ROUND 13
Spring Gully United 4 def Strathdale 2
Epsom 4 def Swan Hill 0
Shepparton United 2 dr Shepparton South 2
Tatura 2 def Golden City 1
La Trobe Uni vs Moama-Echuca
Strath Colts United 5 def Eaglehawk 2
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