WA goalkeeper Katelyn Smith reveling in hat-trick to help ParaMatildas win IFCPF World Cup final

Not many people can say they have scored a hat-trick in a World Cup final. Even fewer can say they have done it while playing goalkeeper. But Perth’s Katelyn Smith can, having co-captained the ParaMatildas to an International Federation of Cerebral Palsy Football Women’s World Cup win last week. It was the first time any Australian national football team of any age or gender have won a World Cup, and the world number-one ranked ParaMatildas did it in style, going through the tournament unbeaten. Despite going down 2-0 early in the final to the USA, Smith led the comeback from between the sticks, scoring a long-range free-kick before adding a penalty and another, more spectacular free-kick to complete a 6-2 turnaround. Smith said the days since the historic victory had been a blur. “The reality still hasn’t kind of sunk in. It’s getting there, but I’m definitely feeling on top of the world,” she said. “I’m trying to re-imagine the final. Watching it back, all those emotions during the game started come back.” The ParaMatildas’ victory was especially sweet for the Australians, given they had lost the previous World Cup final to the United States team. “We all had the fire in us, especially after the 2022, loss, but we just needed to to get that fire going and we definitely did over the last two years,” Smith said. “We knew what they’re capable of and we knew that it wasn’t going to be an easy run. “There’s always has been a rivalry between us and America, being the top two nations. “The rivalry is there, we’re good friends off field, but to beat them in the final and second time around was just great.” After falling into a hole early against the Americans and trailing 2-0, Smith pulled one back with a speculative effort she admitted was wind-assisted, before hitting the bar with a penalty. But she made amends with another spot-kick before she found the net with another free-kick to seal her hat-trick — a feat she modestly described as “ help Australia establish a stranglehold on the match. “The good thing about the small-sided football we play is the scores can change in the flip of a switch, and it showed in the second half,” she said. “It was just about trying to keep the girls calm and and knowing that we were 2-0 down, but it can quite easily change, and just getting them to relax and knowing that it is doable, and keeping my head straight. “I knew I had a long boot, I knew that I could do it, but the first goal was just the wind..I would say ‘Eloise (Northam), run’ and she knew that meant run to the goal and every time I said that, I kicked it long and it went in the goal. “I can’t even describe the feeling. The last 12 minutes was a bit daunting. When we went into extra time, it was just hold the ball and and just do what’s comfortable, we knew how to play around them, just to hold the ball, but that final whistle we all just went off. “I don’t know how it happened, or what, but we just all came together as big group.”