After a couple of years without a goal, Michelle Briggs broke her scoreless streak last weekend against MBK.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
And it was arguably the most important shot of the entire season.
The Stags FC women's team play in this weekend's Highlands Premier League grand final against Hill Top.
They are one of two Goulburn-based sides to play in Highlands grand finals this weekend, alongside Marulan, but their spot in this weekend's clash was far from certain a week ago.
The Highlands Soccer Association is playing first-versus-second grand finals this season following the COVID-19 lockdown.
Though the Stags were among the top two teams all year, a loss last weekend would have pushed them out of contention.
After 80 minutes without a score from either team, Briggs broke the deadlock with the only goal of the match.
"It was a good time to sneak one in," Stags president Craig Norris said.
"[Briggs] was very excited, as was everybody on the sideline.
"You always like to score important goals, but hopefully she can back it up and keep scoring this weekend."
Scoring ability will be a crucial factor in this weekend's final. Both Stags and Hill Top have seven wins with one loss for the season, with the latter in the top spot by virtue of a superior for-and-against ratio.
The pair have only played once this season, in a round two match which Hill Top won 3-0. Since then, Stags have remained undefeated while their rivals have lost just once, to Robertson.
This might be daunting for many teams, but Norris said the Stags players are very relaxed ahead of the biggest match of the year.
"They're not putting any pressure on themselves, but they believe they can get the job done," he said.
"They seem pretty relaxed, I think the sideline on the weekend was more stressed than they were. They're confident they can win it, and they'll give themselves a fair chance."
Working in the Stags' favour is the variety within the team. They have players of all ages, and a variety of experience to call on.
"It's an interesting squad, there's a lot of experience but also a 13 and 14-year-old in the side," Norris said.
"A lot of experience with a lot of youth, it should be interesting."
While it was hard to know exactly what to expect in the wake of the coronavirus lockdown, Norris said the team aimed for a top four finish from the outset.
"A lot of the girls had played in Canberra, so there was expectations of a top four finish," he said.
"As the season wore on the expectation grew that they could make the final.
"I'd say by mid-season, the goal became the grand final once they'd seen the opposition."
With STFA finals to follow in a fortnight, Norris hopes to get the club's campaigns off to the best possible start on Saturday.
"It's good to have the girls get to the grand final, it should be an exciting start and hopefully we get a win on Saturday and build a bit of momentum," he said.
The Stags women take on Hill Top in the Highland Premier League grand final from 3pm on Saturday, September 26, at Boronia Park.
While you're with us...
Did you know the Goulburn Post is now offering breaking news alerts and a weekly email newsletter? Keep up-to-date with all the local news: sign up here.