West Canberra Wanderers' Alexandra Hinson has not let a goal past her this season.
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She remains the only NPL goalkeeper to keep a clean record, after another team was left goalless on Sunday.
The Wanderers ran away 2-0 winners in round three against Wagga City Wanderers to continue their winning streak, and Hinson's perfect record between the posts.
A first half corner in injury time broke the deadlock between the two teams at Melrose Synthetic. West Canberra midfielder Ginger Oliver took a short corner, got the ball back and sent it into the box.
Oliver's cross flew over the sea of red, black and white shirts to find skipper Sarah Whitfield at the back post unmarked. The defender made no mistake with her head to make it 1-0 going into the sheds at half-time.
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Whitfield said they knew a one-goal lead meant nothing heading into the second half but she was always excited to score.
"My head's all I've got out there. I used to be striker, so I try and push myself up there every now and then," she laughed.
"But it's really nice to see our team starting to come together and meshing.
"It's a nice complement to how hard we're working."
The home side was causing havoc down the right-hand side in the second half through Hattie Cram. Her speed gave her a head start on the Wagga defence, but the young winger could not convert her chances.
All of her shots, alongside her teammates' efforts, were millimetres away from extending their lead but Wagga's goalkeeper Ebony Warner-Chilstone made sure to keep them out.
West Canberra doubled its lead in the 63rd minute. The side's midfield pounced on a stray touch during Wagga's play from a goal kick, with some sharp triangle play to find Tara Cannon on the edge of the box.
The striker took a touch on the outside of her right boot to set herself up, before firing into the top left-hand corner to give the home side a 2-0 lead.
Consistent steady hands from Wagga's Warner-Chilstone made sure the scoreline did not stretch out to three. She stopped a long-range shot from Demi Nikias from finding the back of the net in extra-time.
Sunday's defeat marked the visitors' closest battle this season, following two double-digit losses in the opening rounds to Canberra Olympic and Canberra Croatia, respectively.
Wagga coach Sam Gray was impressed with his goalkeeper's performance, and the rest of his side's efforts.
"The start of the season was challenging for us with the two top teams straight up, it was always going to be difficult," he said.
"COVID affected us, and a few injuries, but today we stepped up. We started to play more of a team game, we started to look for each other and our communication was better.
"The challenge for us every week is consistency."
AT A GLANCE
NPL women's round three results:
- Canberra Croatia bt Tuggeranong United 5-0
- Canberra Olympic bt Belconnen United 3-2
- West Canberra Wanderers bt Wagga City Wanderers 2-0
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