Melissa Patterson was an integral part of Mayo Girls and Women’s soccer. She joined Castlebar Town along with her twin sister Belinda aged seven and was one of the first girls through the gates at Moneen when the girl’s side of the club was set up.

At that stage the Mayo league was only getting a girls league set up so the girls played in mini blitz’s and friendly’s up to the age of ten winning the Manulla blitz in 2005 and 2006.

2008 saw the Castlebar Town girls enter the mayo under 12 league but they had to wait a year for success to come and in 2009 the Castlebar Town girls won both their league and cup with the twins playing a starring role with Melissa bagging loads of goals.

In September 2009 the girls entered Davitt College and this helped our club go from strength to strength when the girls went on a major recruitment drive in the school and came out with loads on new friends to join the club.

2010 saw the girls enter the Mayo Under 14 league for the first time and the team had starting to gel together with Melissa playing at right back in most game with Belinda on the left wing.

2011 was a busy year with the girls picking up a list of honours, along with playing for Castlebar Town they had started playing for Davitt College as well as the mayo community games team for Breaffy.

The list of honours for 2011 are as follows

• U14 Community games winners Mayo and Connaught finalists for Breaffy.
• Connaught Schools U14 girls cup winners following this game the girls travelled to Sligo for an All Ireland semi final but came up just short against a strong team from Donegal.
• F.A.I. Schools U16 Mayo runners up.
• F.A.I. Schools U16 Mayo Plate winners.
• U16 Mayo cup winners
• U17 Mayo cup winners (Melissa was player of the match in this game).

Another successful year followed in 2012 with Castlebar Town participating in the Mayo U18 league winning both league and the Mayo cup. The girls won two trophies with Davitt college this year winning the Mayo vocational schools senior girls Indoor soccer tournament and were successful outdoors as well winning the Mayo senior girls cup for V.E.C. schools.

2012 also brought an F.A.I. cup run to the quarter finals losing narrowly away in Limerick.

Also a defeat on penalties in an epic Connaught cup final in Milebush V Salthill was a tough loss to take.

But what a great year when along with Castlebar Mitchells we joined together to travel to U.S.A. as part of TEAM CASTLEBAR to play Soccer and Gaa. The girls played in the Hudson Invitational tournament the girls played four games in this tournament against tough opposition losing the first 2 games 1 nil. But the 2^nd day was a lot better drawing the third game with Belinda getting a goal and winning the last 4 0.

What an amazing trip we had with Melissa especially having a ball. We finished up the trip with a friendly game on the last day and got another draw.

2013 was the year Castlebar Town entered the Mayo Women’s league for the first time and along with the twins a young team with most of the girls 16 or 17 years old stepped up to the challenge. Castlebar Town finished runners up in the League and cup this year along with an F.A.I. junior cup run which they only lost the semi final on penalties.

The Town girls also entered the Mayo U19 league this year and came away as Mayo champs again along with runners up medals in the cup final.

2014 saw the Town girls win the Mayo U19 league for a second time along with being senior league runners up again and shield runners up.

Melissa was named Castlebar Town senior payer of the year 2014. Melissa also played proudly for her county.

At Under 16 level she starred in a team which reached the last four in Ireland. She also represented Connaught at this level in a tournament in Dublin.

At Under 18 level she played right back for Mayo in a team that was only denied tournament success by the dreaded penalties again v Dublin.

This is only a fraction of the things we have done together we have travelled the country playing soccer we played so many games and trained so many times, laughed, cried, fought, hugged and laughed again, there hasn’t been or ever will be another Melissa Patterson her desire, determination and sheer will to win was something special to watch she is sadly missed.

#2 Mel.