A 17-year-old goalkeeper has signed for Everton Women’s Under-23s from Lancaster City Ladies, in a first for the local side.
Darcy Cowperthwaite was a key player last season for LCFC Ladies, who won promotion as champions of the Lancashire FA Women’s County League Championship, with Cowperthwaite keeping seven clean sheets across the campaign.
The ‘Dolly Ladies’ went unbeaten in the league, winning 17 and drawing one of their 18 games.
They also enjoyed runs in two cup competitions, reaching the semi-finals of the Lancashire Women’s Senior Cup and the quarter-finals of the Lancashire County Cup.
Cowperthwaite first got involved in football when she played in goal for her brother Sami’s team Bellefield Academy, aged 11.
Last season was her first in open-age football, after moving from Preston North End’s Under-16s last year, so to move to a side whose first team play in the Women’s Super League – the highest level of women’s football in England – is a huge achievement.
“My grandad saw something online that they were having trials,” said Cowperthwaite. “They were down at Finch Farm (Everton’s training ground) and Goodison Park, and anyone can register for the trials, but they have to choose from about a thousand people. There was me and then five other keepers that they chose.
“We're going to be training, I think it's five times a week, and as well as that we’ll have a matchday. It’s a step-up from what I’ve been doing physically, but I’m really looking forward to starting training.”
If she progresses through the club, she may have the opportunity to play at Goodison Park, where Everton Women have played since last September, after it was the men’s team’s home ground for 133 years.
The young keeper added: “Everyone’s really excited, my dad especially. He's supported me through every team I've ever been to. He never wants to miss a game ever and keeps pushing me, that's the reason I am where I am today. My time at Lancaster City was amazing, they’re a great bunch of girls. Preston and Lancaster have been my two favourites.”
On her best qualities in goal, Cowperthwaite said: “I'm good with my feet, I like playing out from the back – that's probably one of my main attributes.”
Lancaster City Ladies’ head coach Kyle Young, who was also her coach at PNE, is extremely proud of Cowperthwaite’s progress and admits she will be a big loss to the newly-promoted team.
“It's massive progress,” said Young. “When we first received the email for Darcy to come and have a trial at Preston, she was in the Under-16s. I think within half an hour, I looked at the lad who was helping me, and even though his daughter was our goalkeeper at the time, we both said, ‘We can't miss out on this one’. The goalkeeper coach came across straight away and said the same.
“There was just something about her. She'd come into the session, and she was just so vocal, so confident, wanted to play from the back, and she just suited our style. To watch what she's done within less two years with us, and to see where she's going is just phenomenal. She deserves it.
“She's a great kid, so chatty, always happy, bubbly, confident. She does beat herself up sometimes, but then she does pick herself back up because she knows she's young, she's going to make mistakes at that age, and that's what we try to say to her.
“Overall, we couldn't be more proud of her. She and her parents have become really good family friends too, so to see a friend do that, and for them to see their daughter do that, it was really nice.”
Cowperthwaite says Young has been a big help to her career. “No matter whether I've played well or badly, he's always supportive,” she said. “If I've not had a good game, he's always lifted me back up, and I've appreciated it loads. He's also pushed me a lot.”
Young says that he hopes this is the first of many of his players who can make big steps up the football pyramid. “For us as coaches, as much as you sit back and you're absolutely devastated because, obviously, we have to rebuild now in that position after a lot of success, we have to look at the bigger picture and where we are, compared to where they're going.
“For us, for them to go even to below the WSL, to maybe the Championship level - which is still like three or four leagues above us - it's massive and gives us a bit of recognition for what we're doing. We've played a little part in Darcy’s career by trying to guide her into open-age football and hopefully put her in a good position when she does make that step up.
“I would love for players to go on and succeed in those leagues because we have some good’uns, but I can’t afford to lose any more! Even though our stats over the season – and Darcy's stats personally – were phenomenal and of a really high standard, we did have some tough games in our division and it just shows there are kids or young girls at our level that can go and compete there.
“Because of the area we live in sometimes, we’re little old Lancaster and we're a little bit away from Everton, Liverpool, Manchester City and United, people and clubs might not really pay much notice, but there’s so much talent.”