Portland Thorns FC right back Ellie Carpenter just finished a standout season on loan in Australia, helping her new team, Melbourne City, to a W-League title with a 1-0 victory on Saturday over Sydney FC. Combined with helping her national team secure a return to the Summer Olympics, Carpenter has enjoyed one of the most successful NWSL offseasons of her career, with the two-goal game she posted on February 20 against the Western Sydney Wanderers adding an individual highlight to her team accomplishments.
Ahead of last weekend’s W-League Grand Final, we caught up with Carpenter on FaceTime, and while a windy Melbourne day rendered the audio from that recording unusable, her answers still give us some insight into what the Australian summer has been like for the Thorns star.