Katie was born in 1990 at St George Hospital to parents Andrew and Denise and little sister to Matthew.

Growing up in Lugarno, she spent much of her time with brother Matt & his preschool friends, many of whom played for Lugarno FC - Callan Patrick, Ben Connolly and Steven Zographakis just to name a few. Eagerly wanting to fit in despite being the only girl amongst the boys, Katie was eager to follow in the footsteps of her big brother and play football (soccer back then) with Lugarno FC in bright tangerine.

Joining Lugarno FC in 1996 when there were no all-girl teams, Katie would join the mixed team coached by Alex Cooke & Michael Zagoridis, surely not an easy feat keeping 8 x 6 year old’s in line for a season. Katie would also be joined by two females, Tegan Anning & Michelle Elms, which helped to balance out the team.

Throughout her junior years, Katie recalls her parents playing active roles within the club, with mum Denise managing both Matt & Katie’s teams over the years, providing half time oranges and driving all over the St George area to play on Saturdays. The Junior years were memorable, although often met with mixed and quite vocal opinions, as it was not a common occurrence to see girls playing soccer especially with the boys.

Lugarno FC was certainly on a journey to what the club is today, and seeing so many females and girls playing football for our club is something that Katie is most proud of - to see how far we have come.

Transitioning into her teens, Katie was coached and managed by Life Members Mick Barber and Peter Dalby who were always so supportive of our mixed team as well as when we transitioned into the All Womens teams from Under 14s. Katie would spend much of her weekend playing soccer - on Saturdays in the boys team and Sundays with the girls. Her Father Andrew would often contribute to the girls drinks fund (non-alcoholic of course!) where the girls would enjoy a can of Coke or lemonade after the games on Sundays.

Playing alongside Laura Dalby (now Faulkner) was another memorable moment for Katie. “Laura has and will always be such a passionate footballer, I was fortunate to play alongside her for the 20+ years she has also played for the club. Laura and I have shared the highs and lows winning grand finals and also just missing out on a number of occasions – I’m forever grateful to have played with Laura”.

Mick and Pete led the girls teams to an All Age C Grand Final victory and also the historic win against Kogarah Waratahs in the All Age A competition the year prior to a naming convention change to Premier League Women. The 1-0 win, with an epic goal from Courtney McLoughlin, would be our last premiership win for our women’s team in 2013.

Katie would then continue to be coached by Paul McIntyre, Ivan Jersek, her now husband and biggest supporter Matthew Gorman and last, but certainly not least, Nihad Alemic, bringing her up to what will be her 27th season that commences this year. Katie received her Life Membership in 2020 in a surprise outdoor ceremony to induct her into the LFC life members club attended by friends, family, life members and female footballers of all ages. Regardless of COVID-19 it was something Katie will never forget, especially as being the first female playing Life Member for Lugarno FC is something she holds close to her heart.

In her later years Katie has spent time on the LFC committee helping to support the club’s growth and increasing club visibility and female participation in football. She continues to love playing football, notably alongside the likes of Bec Radcliffe, Nicola Jersek and the entire women’s Premier League team.

Katie has returned this year as club Secretary, alongside Sue Dick. She’s also determined to return to the field after the arrival of her first baby earlier in February - a son named Chase.

Katie’s ambition it to see a wide variety of female footballers come through to achieve playing Life membership with Lugarno FC in the near future, and continue to promote females in football.

“I love that Lugarno FC is a family club. To see my parents introduce me to football and Lugarno FC, then for me to share milestone moments with my now husband as well as so many team mates, friends and fellow life members and now most importantly to be able to introduce our son Chase to the LFC family is more important to me than ever. I Love Lugarno FC”