Over the 10 months, things have moved quickly for Carpenter, a W-League senior debut for Western Sydney Wanderers with a total of 12 games and now holding three international caps to her name.

Australia thumped Vietnam 9-0 and subsequently the 1-1 draw with China which guaranteed a spot in the Olympics. The Wanderers defender also partook in the 2-0 victory against New Zealand in the friendly in Ballarat, regional Victoria.

Having to choose between athletics or football at the age of 12, Carpenter said she always had the dream of competing in the Olympics.

“It’s just crazy really and overwhelming, it doesn’t feel real and I can’t wait to get over there and start our campaign off,” Carpenter said.

“To be involved here this quickly, everything has just happened so fast, my W-League debut then my Matildas debut and it’s just been amazing, I couldn’t ask for anything better.

“I always wanted to go to the Olympics, every athlete as a child has the dream of going to the Olympics, so when I was younger I really wanted to go.

“Watching Sally Pearson win gold just made me more motivated and she was a big inspiration for me and worked towards that and here I am going to Rio.”

With just the one game in Australia so far, Carpenter said the experience of playing in front of the home fans was just too surreal.

In addition to, the final games which were played before the Matildas will fly off to Brazil in the next coming weeks. Various players in the squad were in training for the past three weeks in Canberra, including Carpenter herself.

She admitted the selection process was playing on her mind, but simply said she was just doing what she could to get selected.

“I knew it was going to be a difficult selection at the end of this week and I just gave it my all in the last couple of weeks, tried my best and it’s all paid off now which is exciting,” she said.

“It felt really cool to play in Australia with all the fans and the support which was amazing, to play in front of a home crowd, which was really cool and pretty much what football is about – playing in front of big crowds.

“After the game signing the autographs and taking photos for little girls was just amazing.

“They were vital games for our squad, to prepare for our Olympic campaign, I think we learnt some lessons from those two games and for me as a player, what I had to improve on, so I think it was good we had those two games leading up to Rio.”

Carpenter may well be the utility of the Matildas in the near future, being able to play a variety of roles including all along the backline as well as a centre defensive midfielder.

In the 2-0 win against the Football Ferns, coach Alen Stajcic boldly dubbed Carpenter as “one of the best athletes and best tacklers” he had seen and “an important number six for the Matildas one day as a right or left fullback”.

With the Matildas boss playing his cards right, the Matildas look reinvigorated under Stajcic and still remain undefeated since late last year.

“I think that’s really nice to hear that from Staj, I guess that’s an extra motivation for me to keep working hard and inspiring to hear that from him,” she said.

“He’s probably one of the best coaches I’ve had, he brings out the best in everyone and I think he’s just very good at his job.”

Despite Wanderer’s teammate Caitlin Cooper missing out on the selection, Carpenter admitted she was disappointed she was not selected but admitted Chloe Logarzo was like a mentor to her.

“(Cooper) being my closest friends inside and outside football and a Wanderers teammate was a bit disappointing,” she said.

“But Chloe Logarzo, she looks after me and takes me under her wing, like a big sister to me and she’s been there for me the whole time, keeps me going and supports me when I need it and I can’t thank her enough for that.”

Carpenter is still in Year 10 and the 16-year-old sets her sights on playing abroad in the next few years.

She added: “One of my goals is to play overseas, I’m looking to play in Europe, maybe the French league and competing in the Champions League, that would be one of my ideal goals in the future.”