Albany soccer talent Larissa Walsh wins highest honour in NPLWA after unprecedented season with Perth RedStars

Albany-raised soccer star Larissa Walsh has put the icing on the cake of a perfect season with Perth RedStar FC, winning the league’s most prestigious individual honours at the National Premier League WA awards last Friday. Walsh won the NPLWA Gold Medal for women’s player of the year, also earning the Golden Boot for the most goals scored across the home-and-away season. Walsh netted 21 goals in as many games, six clear of runner-up Jaime Duncanson from Perth Soccer Club. The 28-year-old was also part of a RedStar team that went undefeated in the league and won the Night Series trophy, Top Four Cup and Hyundai Women’s State Cup in an unprecedented sweep. It is the first time in competition history a team had achieved the quadruple and it came in RedStar’s first season operating under their current name. Before the 2022 season, the Northern Redbacks merged with ECU Joondalup to form Perth RedStar. Walsh said the awards were a fitting way to end an unforgettable year. “Getting the awards at the end of the season was a great way to top everything off,” she said. “We finished second last year when we could have finished first so we had a bit of revenge in a sense for this season. “To go undefeated and win all four trophies was amazing and then to top it off by getting Golden Boot and the Gold Medal, it was great.” It was Walsh’s first time winning the Gold Medal and her second time winning the Golden Boot after finishing as the league’s highest scorer last season. But the Albany product said team triumphs were the most memorable moments of the season. “I think the highlight was winning the State Cup. It was a tough game and it was the second time we played Perth,” Walsh said. “We knew it was going to be a tough game and we went a goal up and they equalised so we almost let it slip away.” RedStar finished 2-1 victors in the State Cup final and accounted for Balcatta Etna 4-2 in the Night Series final. They recorded comfortable 3-0 win over Hyundai NTC in the Top Four Cup decider. RedStar finished on 63 points in the NPLWA women’s competition with 20 wins and three draws in a dominant league campaign. Walsh said it became more and more difficult to maintain an unbeaten record as the season went on. “Towards the end of the season, the results were a lot closer,” she said. “At the beginning of the season we come out really strong and by the end of the season, you could tell that every team really wanted to beat us. “Each weekend was a highlight in its own sense.” The versatile winger, who has been playing for RedStar since 2012, said the camaraderie between her teammates was a driving force of their success. “I moved up from Albany after high school and I’ve been playing at the same club ever since,” she said. “I think that’s what contributed to such a good season — there are four or five other girls who I’ve been playing with for the past 10-odd seasons.”