On the ball: Queenstown Rovers teen sensation Mary Fraser can’t stop scoring goals
Teen hotshot Mary Fraser is fast proving that Dunedin’s loss is Queenstown’s gain.
The 16-year-old schoolgirl has turned into a ruthless goal machine since joining the Queenstown Rovers women’s team from Roslyn Wakari at the start of this season.
A former New Zealand under-17 international, Fraser has hit the net an astonishing 19 times in her first four league games for the Rovers.
The tally includes a whopping 11 strikes during a record-breaking 38-0 win over Queens Park in Invercargill a few weeks ago.
But Rovers only landed the teen sensation after her former Dunedin club showed her the door because she couldn’t attend regular training sessions.
“I live in Invercargill so it wasn’t practical for me to train in Dunedin because of the distances involved,” Fraser says.
“I was eventually told that if I couldn’t practise then I couldn’t play so I opted for Queenstown instead.
“Obviously, it’s difficult for me to come up and train with the Rovers too but I keep myself fit during the week and get plenty of practice for our games on a Sunday – it doesn’t seem to be doing me or the team any harm.”
Fraser, a year 12 student at Invercargill’s James Hargest College, has been kicking a football around since she was a tot.
She started out as a defender but when handed the opportunity to play up front she discovered she couldn’t stop scoring. The star striker now wants to help Southland Premier Women’s comp leaders Rovers finish top dogs this term – they’ve got off to a flyer, scoring 69 goals in their first four games, conceding only four.
Fraser also has an eye on trialling for the NZ women’s under-20 squad.
“There’s been a lot of talk about all the goals I’ve been getting for Rovers but we have a very good side with some really talented players who are just as capable of getting on the score sheet,” she says. “We’ve got off to a good start with four wins in a row so it’s just a matter of keeping up the good form.”
Fraser and the Rovers play at the Events Centre 1pm, Sunday.
Your say
Transfer
It's a shame Mary wasn't thinking about her team mates goals and points as she was still registered to play for Dunedin when Queenstown played Queens Park. As Mary hadn't transferred to play for Queenstown they lost the game, with Mary loosing her 11 goals and also all the goals from her team mates!!
22 May 2011 09:20PMyonnamalone
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