Football Victoria (FV) crowned the second-ever joint winners of the NPLW Gold Medal on Monday, September 5 with FV Emerging’s Sarah Cain and Box Hill’s Sofia Sakalis both finishing on 21 votes at the conclusion of the vote count.
The amalgamation of the Victorian Soccer Federation and Victorian Women's Soccer Association witnessed the birth of the NPLW Gold Medal in 1999. The medal is which decides the league’s best player is voted on by match officials after each match.
The crowd in attendance was given updates of the leader board after rounds 10 and 18 with the two eventual winner trading vote for vote until the final game when they couldn’t be split.
Box Hill United superstar Sofia Sakalis was on top of the leader board after the first 10 rounds and her consistently allowed her to stay on top of the leader board until Sarah Cain made a late charge for the medal.
The 20-year-old Perth Glory midfielder said she was "very honoured" to share the NPLW Gold Medal award with her A-League teammate, Sarah Cain.
"There were so many great players this season, Sarah (Cain) had an amazing season, I was definitely expecting it to be very close," she explained.
"I am so glad to be sharing this with you."
In her first season at the club for seven years, Sakalis was incredibly grateful for the support he received from her teammate and club.
“All the girls have been amazing, despite where we ended up on the ladder,” she said.
"It was a courageous season, we put forth great performances it was unlucky where we ended up."
Sakalis who will suit up alongside Cain for Perth in the upcoming A-League Women’s season expressed her anticipation of possibly coming up against many NPLW talents in the upcoming season.t
“There are so many players in the NPLW who will get a chance to play in the A-League women’s this season,” it’s great for the competition,” she said.
“It’s so exciting for women’s football, but also Victorian women’s footballers.
“I am excited to see other girls out there on the big stage.”
FV Emerging’s Sarah Cain was two votes behind with three rounds remaining and with one round to play she managed to steal the lead before Sakalis fought her way back to guarantee two medals would be handed out.
The young gun claimed winning the award was "very unexpected" with the long list of talented players in the league.
"It is a big privilege (to win the award)," Cain said.
“It’s been a great season, a really fun year.”
The 22-year-old FV Emerging captain thought it was fitting to share the award with her A-League teammate.
“There are so many good players in this league, "I also knew Sofia (Sakalis) had a good season, so it is no surprise to see her up here too,” Cain said.
“It is an honour to share an award with her she is such a good player
"There are so many good players in this league and everyone had a good season and I just show up every week and try to do my best for the team.”