Grace Maher's phone started ringing and buzzing as soon as she was named in an Australian Matildas squad, but not even her soccer dream could get her out of school.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Maher was one of five Canberra United players named in the Matildas squad for a three-day training camp at the AIS.
Defender Emma Checker is in the 25-strong national squad a year after rupturing her anterior cruciate ligament, while Hayley Raso, Lisa De Vanna and Michelle Heyman are also in the training group.
But 17-year-old Maher was left to celebrate in silence in her Year 12 Dickson College English class after edging closer to her soccer goal.
"I only had one class [on Monday], and the media release about the squad came out before that so everyone sort of knew," Maher said.
"My phone was going from all my friends saying [congratulations], but I like to keep my football and school separate.
"So at school it was relatively quiet and I'm back at school [on Tuesday] as well, then I'm into camp. It's still a massive shock to me, I've had this dream since I was a kid and now it's becoming a very real scenario at an age I didn't expect."
Maher is one of three uncapped players in the squad selected with one eye on the 2020 Olympic Games and another on next month's Algarve Cup.
Maher's selection comes off the back of a stellar season that saw her pick up the club's Rising Star award after she led the W-League in assists.
An injury to Jasmyne Spencer opened the door for Maher to break into Canberra's starting team in round three and she went on to start every game for the rest of the season.
Her Matildas call up was the latest step in a remarkable six months, which has seen her evolve from not even being in the Young Matildas team to captaining the junior Australian side and making waves in the W-League.
"It's been a bit of a spiral of fortune for me and it's a bit surreal because it's happened pretty quickly over the last six months," Maher said.
"I wasn't a regular Canberra United player for my first two seasons. But I was a standby player for the Young Matildas and then someone got injured so I got a call up [at the end of 2016].
"From there I scored a goal on debut, we did well and then captained the team. I came back ready for Canberra United and now I've got this shot, I want to take it."
Former Canberra star Lydia Williams has also been included after helping Melbourne City win the W-League title last weekend. The world No.6 Matildas will play against the Netherlands, Sweden and China at the Algarve Cup in Portugal.
The Asian Cup, hosted by Jordan in April 2018, is the Matildas' next major tournament, before the 2019 World Cup and 2020 Olympics.
Matildas' Algarve Cup squad: Teigen Allen (Melbourne City), Mackenzie Arnold (Brisbane), Ellie Carpenter (Western Sydney), Steph Catley (City), Emma Checker (Canberra), Alex Chidiac (Adelaide), Caitlin Cooper (Western Sydney), Lisa De Vanna (Canberra), Casey Dumont (Western Sydney), Caitlin Foord (Sydney), Jacynta Galabadaarachchi (City), Emily Gielnik (Brisbane), Katrina Gorry (Brisbane), Amy Harrison (Sydney), Michelle Heyman (Canberra), Alanna Kennedy (Sydney), Sam Kerr (Perth), Chloe Logarzo (Newcastle), Grace Maher (Canberra), Jada Mathyssen-Whyman (Western Sydney), Clare Polkinghorne (Brisbane), Hayley Raso (Canberra), Gema Simon (Newcastle), Kyah Simon (Sydney), Lydia Williams (City).
