TESS Clark describes the first time she lined up against men on a soccer pitch as “terrifying”.

Two years on, the mother of two has made national history as the only female to play in an FFA Cup game. Clark was a 70th-minute substitute for Gambier Centrals in their first round clash with Western Strikers last Saturday.

The central midfielder hopes her feat can inspire other women, despite the Lions losing 7-0 to the State League One club in their cup debut.

“It’s pretty unreal I guess,’ Clark, 26, said.

“The whole club was really excited about going up (to Adelaide) to play because it was a new opportunity for everyone.

“Being a girl it’s just that extra bit special to do something no one else has done before. Hopefully now we’ll see more women being part of the FFA Cup.”

Clark has played for Centrals’ men’s sides in the Limestone Coast Football Association since 2014.

media_camera Clark in action for Gambier Centrals. Photo: Supplied.

Football Federation Australia confirmed the Lions are the first of the national knockout cup’s 638 competing clubs to field a female in the tournament’s three year-history.

“A heap of people came up to me after the game and said it was really good to see a girl out there,” Clark said.

“It was obviously a massive step-up for me. It wasn’t so much that it was more physical, they were so much quicker and they didn’t make mistakes.”

Clark followed her school friends into soccer aged 12 and played against boys up to under-17s. The state junior had a two-month stint at the SA Sports Institute before returning home to win six player of the year awards in the south east women’s league.

She was invited to join Centrals’ men’s squad after giving birth to Noah, now five, and Isla, three.

“It was terrifying,” Clark recalls of her first game for the Lions’ reserves. “I didn’t think I did that great but I ended up getting league votes.

“The next week I went straight into the seniors.

“Once I’d played a couple of games, anyone who was a bit unsure about me wasn’t any more because I think I had proved myself.”

Clark played 10 games for the Lions’ first team last season and has been runner-up in the reserves’ best-and-fairest award the past two seasons.