Canberra United can confirm eight additional players have re-signed with the club for the 2026/27 Ninja A-League Women season, with goalkeepers Coco Majstorovic and Eliza Evans, defenders Sasha Grove and Sofia Christopherson, midfielders Darcey Malone and Nanako Sasaki, and young guns Lillian Skelly and Sienna Dale all committing to another season at McKellar Park.
In goal, Majstorovic heads into her fourth season in green, providing valuable depth and experience behind the sticks since her McKellar Park debut in December 2023. Evans, one of the squad’s youngest players, continues her development in the goalkeeping department alongside her.
In defence, Grove and Christopherson give United a genuine burst of pace. Grove made 21 appearances and scored four goals in 2025/26, backing up her reputation for elite recovery speed with a 2025 Sport Australia Hall of Fame Scholarship and Young Matildas selection at last year’s AFC U20 Women’s Asian Cup and FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup. Christopherson, a proud Academy graduate who has spent her entire senior career in green, added 17 appearances and a goal of her own.
Through the middle, Malone and Sasaki give United control and composure. Malone has made 41 appearances across her two seasons at the club, comfortable in a variety of midfield roles, while Sasaki backed up her move from Adelaide United with a goal and three assists in 19 appearances in her first season in green.
And in Skelly and Dale, United retain two of the competition’s most exciting young talents. Skelly arrives into 2026/27 fresh off a premiership with Belconnen United, who claimed back-to-back Capital Football NPL Women’s First Grade titles earlier this month. Dale, who made 15 appearances and scored twice in her first season at the club, was also recently named in the Young Matildas squad for the AFC U20 Women’s Asian Cup.
Head Coach Antoni Jagarinec was full of praise for the group:
“This is a really pleasing group of re-signings for us. Coco and Eliza give us good depth and reliability in our goalkeeping squad, Sasha and Sofia bring genuine pace, Darcey and Nanako give us control in the middle of the park, and Lillian and Sienna are two of the most exciting young players in this squad. Keeping this much of our group together heading into this season says a lot about where this club is at.”
Canberra United’s 2026/27 Ninja A-League Women season begins away at Central Coast Mariners on 24 October, before the club’s first home match against Western Sydney Wanderers at McKellar Park on 1 November in Matchweek 3.
