Sydney FC midfielder Amy Sayer wins place at Stanford University with ATAR of 99.25
Sydney FC W-League star Amy Sayer has been rewarded for her hard work with boots and books by earning a place at one of the world’s top universities.
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To study at one of the world’s most prestigious universities or lay a path towards professional football would normally be an agonising choice … so Amy Sayer will simply do both.
The Sydney FC midfielder, who turned 18 a few weeks ago, will relocate to Stanford University later this year, having earned both a place to study and a spot on the university’s roster in the US college system – of which it is the reigning champion.
With an ATAR score OF 99.25, Sayer already had an offer to study law and science at UNSW, which she has deferred “for a few years, in case I need a Plan B”.
But for now her only focus is what awaits her in America, after getting phone call at 4.30am a few weeks ago from Stanford coach Paul Ratcliffe to say she had been accepted to study and play at a university ranked third in the world in 2019.
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“That was the best phone call I ever had and a day that changed my life,” Sayer told Confidential.
“Throughout my whole life it’s been a case of school first – that was drummed into me by my parents and it’s pretty much part of my identity now.
“I had to learn time management skills from an early age, and mostly it’s been OK to manage it all, but obviously this year was the hardest with my HSCs.
“I had to withdraw the from the Young Matildas squad earlier in the year simply because I would have been overseas at the time of my HSCs.
Dec. 11, 2019 | @StanfordWSoccer won the NCAA title in an all-time classic against North Carolina. The victory came on a sudden-death penalty kick after 110 minutes of gritty, scoreless play.
— Stanford University (@Stanford) December 28, 2019
â£#Stanford #YearInPhotos pic.twitter.com/YClNS9Eyr5
“I was told I could do them at international schools probably an hour or two from where we were based at random times, but it would have been too disruptive, and I wouldn’t have done as well.”
Thanks to the structure of the US university system, Sayer will undertake a broad range of studies for the first year before deciding how to specialise.
On the football front she joins a team that is the reigning champion of women’s college football, with a well-worn career path into the professional ranks.
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WANDERERS coach Markus Babbel looked shell-shocked after his side’s loss to Brisbane, and a sense of being stuck in a holding pattern is now gripping the club.
Owner Paul Lederer is in the US, but even when he returns there are no obvious candidates on the ground in Australia to make an immediate impact should Babbel be relieved of his duties.
With Kevin Muscat about to sign a contract with Belgian side Sint-Truiden, even wild speculation about trying to tempt Socceroos coach Graham Arnold back into club management is on hold with Arnold overseas preparing for the Olyroos Tokyo qualifiers this month.
Though the club is believed to have rejected an offer for Keanu Baccus from AGF Arrhaus, the fact that an official from the Danish side was spotted at training in recent days to watch Baccus has further unsettled the players.
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The one bright spot for the Wanderers is the performance of the W-League team, top of the ladder and unbeaten all season.
The impact of their four US imports has made a splash back in the US, noted by the Washington Post, and now Dean Heffernan’s side has been asked to take on China this weekend in a friendly.
Lest anyone accuse the Wanderers of helping one of the Matildas’ opponents at next month’s Olympic qualifiers, we hear the (tongue in cheek) intention is more to try to leave a dent in the China squad’s confidence.
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EAGLE-EYED observers noted the provocative choice of junior club to give the players a guard of honour for the Wanderers ahead of their loss to Brisbane. Macarthur Rams of course play on the doorstep of A-League newboys Macarthur FC, suggesting the Wanderers aren’t ready to cede any territory to their new rivals.