Eva Madarang has taken time to thank everyone at the club for their support as she gets set to head back to America following the end of the Belles’ season.
The COVID-19 pandemic has seen the Belles’ 2019/20 campaign draw to an early close, with Eva travelling home to the States to be with her family over the next few months.
Eva made her debut away at Birmingham and West Midlands in September, before making her final appearance in the reverse fixture at Oxford Street in March, and she wanted to send her thanks to all connected with the Belles, and Club Doncaster, for all the support during her time in South Yorkshire.
She said: “I want to send a massive thank you to everyone for everything whilst I’ve been with the Belles, from the players and staff to the fans that welcomed me to the club with open arms.
“Joining a new team in a different country might have seemed quite scary, but my teammates made it such a welcoming environment for me and I can’t thank them enough for that and I’ll be staying in touch with them for sure.
“The fans have been great all season, and the support has been fantastic throughout, through all the ups and downs we’ve had, it’s been very much appreciated.
“Club Doncaster helped me to feel more at home too, I’m really thankful to all the staff I worked with, and I am grateful that I got to see how a football club works from the inside by working in a number of different departments, I saw the passion people have working there and it’s been really inspiring for me.”
Eva joined the Belles last year after playing for Rogers State University in California, as well as playing for the Philippines, with whom she featured at the South East Asia Games in December, helping them to a fourth-place finish in their home tournament.
Eva now plans to study for a Masters degree at the Soccer Management Institute in Rome later on in 2020, and she feels that she can take a lot from playing in England, also thanking Andy Butler and Nick Buxton for their guidance since the turn of the year.
She added: “My experience playing for the Belles has helped me grow as a player, it’s taught me to work hard and stay passionate for the game, playing over here has been a great experience and showed me different aspects to the game which I can apply in the future.
“I’m excited for the future, going back to school in Rome and after playing in England and working at Club Doncaster, I think that really does set me up well for the future, and I’ll be working hard to be the best player I can be.
“When Andy and Nick came in and took charge, they really changed the whole dynamic and culture of the team, they are such positive coaches and helped me fall in love with the game even more.
“They have definitely helped me gain more confidence as a player and it was such a pleasure to play for them, I’ll always be a Belle and I’ll be making sure I keep up with how they get on in the future.”