CATLEY COMMITS TO SEASON 7

W-League

Football Federation Victoria and Melbourne Victory has confirmed premiership captain and Australian international Stephanie Catley has signed for the 2014/2015 Westfield W-League season. The 20-year-old Victorian arrived in Melbourne yesterday after her debut season in the US National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) with Portland Thorns, and joined her teammates at training this morning. Catley said she was thrilled to put pen to paper and captain Victory for a second successive season. "It feels amazing. I love Melbourne, this is my home and I'm excited to be leading Melbourne Victory again," Catley said. "It was great to be among the girls today. Obviously there have been some changes in the group, but we've added more depth and the squad is really coming along together nicely. It's a really exciting time for the team, especially with the club championships (International Women's Club Championship in Tokyo) to look forward to as well." Melbourne Victory head coach Joe Montemurro said he was delighted to have the back-to-back Westfield W-League Young Player of the Year re-commit for the title defence. “We couldn’t be happier to have Steph back on board,” Montemurro said. “She took all before her in her first season as captain, taking on the role at just 19 years of age and handling it with aplomb. “That’s a testament to her maturity at such a tender age, and there’s no doubt that she’s one of the best players in the country. Her signing will be met with lots of excitement by our fans.” Catley logged five assists in 14 matches with Portland and was the only Australian named in the NWSL's Second XI, a squad selected by journalists, club officials and NWSL players. The left-back missed Portland's semi-final loss to Kansas City with an ankle injury, but said she would be available for the Round 1 fixture away to Newcastle Jets on September 13. "Playing in the US was a great experience. I had only played in Australia prior to that, so to branch out and play alongside some of the best players in the world was amazing," she said. Catley’s signing follows the loan deals of Seattle Reign FC duo Elli Reed and Lauren Barnes - two internationals who won’t be available until Round 3. The current squad of 16 features nine Victorians - Catley, Gulcan Koca, Amy Jackson, Tiffany Eliadis, Maika Ruyter-Hooley, Alexandra Natoli, Brianna Davey, Beattie Goad and Cassandra Dimovski - with the full playing roster close to being finalised.