Western United has secured one of Australia’s hottest young talents, but say goodbye to two inaugural players for the A-League Women’s 2024-25 season.
United announced that Australian under-23 international goalkeeper Chloe Lincoln has signed with the club.
The 19-year-old made her senior debut at 17 and has been a regular in the Australian national team pathway, recently winning a bronze medal with the Young Matildas at the AFC under-20 women’s Asian Cup and currently competing in Sweden with the under-23 national team.
“I am thrilled to be joining Western United next season. It is an amazing club that has had extraordinary success in such a short period of time,” she said.
“I absolutely loved the opportunity to tour the facility recently and was in awe of the vision of the management team and the inclusive way that the men’s and women’s teams are treated as professionals.”
Meanwhile, Hannah Keane and Stacey Papadopoulos will depart after securing overseas opportunities.
Keane scored 24 goals across 40 appearances, winning an A-League golden boot and setting a number of Western United records.
Papadopoulos racked up 35 appearances for United and featured in all 22 matches this season, being one of only three players to do so.
She said the last two seasons had been amazing.
“I want to say thank you to everybody at Western United – from the fans, to the stafo, to all of my teammates – thank you so much.
“I can’t wait to watch the girls smash it, they’ll always have my support. I’ll always be a green and black fan.”
Keane added, “Out of all the teams I’ve ever played on, Western by far has been the biggest family and probably the biggest emotional tie to a team I’ve had.
“I’m so grateful to have been a part of everything here. The kindness that everyone has shown me has been amazing and I feel like I’ve grown so much as a person because of everyone around me.”
