St Stithians soccer player makes selection for the SA U17 team
LYME PARK – South Africa's qualification chances for the 2018 Fifa U17 Women's World Cup just got better.
Local soccer star Sarah Walker has been selected to play for South Africa’s U17 girls’ team.
While the 15-year-old who attends St Stithians Girls’ College calls this one of the big goals in her soccer career, she still has her sights set on SA women’s senior team, Banyana Banyana, and also aims to play for a university in the United States of America, like Banyana captain, Janine van Wyk.
Walker was selected to play at right back in the upcoming qualifiers for the 2018 Fifa U17 Women’s World Cup with the first game being against Botswana on 1 December.
“When I got the message I would play, I told my brother Michael and we just started screaming for joy,” the defender said.
Walker joked that she would still be playing soccer into her 90s because “you don’t have to know people or speak the same language as them to play together and have fun”.
“When I play with boys I have to get more aggressive and stronger. There is extra pressure to play well but I can hold my own. Sometimes a huge boy will knock me down but I just get experience from that.”
Walker described herself as more of a reader of the game and clever passer of the ball, rather than someone who just defends well.
“I guess my role models in soccer would be former Chelsea legend Frank Lampard and the whole of the South African women’s team.”
Also read: All in the water for St Stithians Girls College water polo team
