Jacobs University Women's Football Team

20/02/2019

2nd Place in Paris!!!

The girls competed at 'Les Parisiennes', a tournament hosted by Sciences Po in Paris, over the weekend and came home with a second place finish!

Lots of goals (including a 7-3 win in the semi final) and great play were the highlight of the tournament in which 12 players took part!

Next year, we want to go one better and bring home the trophy again!

18/12/2018

3rd Place in Final Tournament of the Year!

On Sunday, despite having had the Christmas party the night before and finals in the upcoming week, the girls packed their books and hangovers and headed to Neustadt to play in a tournament of 10 teams, 7 of whom were competitive teams who play in different leagues in Bremen and Niedersachsen. 2 hobby teams that we have played before were also there and then there was us!

After finishing 2nd in the more difficult group stage, which included the eventual winners, the Bremen Allstars, Who could count on players from Werder Bremen in their team, we were unfortunate to lose our semi final (which, unbeknown to us, was shortened due to hall booking issues) but thanks to an awesome save in a penalty shootout by stand in goalkeeper, Natalia, who was keeping goal in a real game for the very first time, we were able to reward ourselves with a podium finish! Emilia, Fabiana and Maria all scored their penalties to seal third place and the very nice, and big, trophy!

Merry Christmas from us and see you next year, where we have an action-packed semester planned!

06/12/2018

The girls were busy last weekend!!!

Heinke, Harmonie and Nadia travelled with a mixed team including Rob, Michael, Praj and Mo to a Hochschulsportturnier in Münster and were really unlucky to finish third in their group after winning two games, drawing one game and losing once narrowly! Heinke also scored 4 goals in the tournament!

On Saturday, Dani, AK, Val, Christa, Natalia, Maria, Fabiana and Emilia took part in a tournament in Brinkum against competitive teams from Kreisliga to Landesliga and managed to finish fourth! Emilia even won MVP for the tournament!

We have one more tournament this semester before we get started properly next semester - watch this space for more news! ⚽⚽⚽

23/10/2018

Champions!

Yesterday, the girls played their final game of the Oktoberliga (as our next opponents can't make a team for next week) and not only won but also clinched the title for the competition!

Again, with a few new players from last time, the girls set a high tempo from the beginning and had lots of possession and plenty of chances. This time, they also scored goals to reward the great play. Emilia from the penalty spot and Noemi from a cross made it 2-0 at half time but Heinke, Harmonie and Alicia all could have scored goals.

The second half was even better and despite a breakaway goal just after AK, who otherwise was cold and bored, made a great save, we played even better. Christa could have scored, Alicia hit the post and could have scored two more, Emilia had chances and even Dani ventured forward to give more attacking power!

The team improved during every game and by the end, everyone involved yesterday looked like genuine footballers, even if they have only just started and to have 16/17 different players contribute and more, like Gracey, just come and support for now, was awesome!

We'll see where we go from here but what's sure is that we are champions for now and look forward to three tournaments in December - we'll keep you posted! 🏆🎉⚽

17/10/2018

Today we played our second game as a team, with a couple of new girls from Monday's game. We started really well but couldn't score the goals our good play deserved. As a result, despite having the majority of possession and lots of nice combinations, we conceded three breakaway goals to lose 3-0. But we're a new team that's learning and will get even better. On Monday we already have the chance to make up for today!

15/10/2018

We're back!!!

Today we played our first game of the semester with a new team! We are playing in a new Frauenliga for hobby teams and won our first game 2-1!

Of course, not everything went perfectly, that wouldn't be us! We arrived in good time but with us never playing here before and no one to welcome us, we of course went to the wrong pitch! This resulted in the game starting later and then claims that the game should be voided as it wasn't long enough!

But, with two goals from Heinke, we were able to win fairly comfortably and as well as hitting the post and having a couple of goalmouth scrambles, we made even more chances that we just couldn't finish! The second half was more even but we definitely deserved to win!

We play our second game on Wednesday and will try to get another win!

15/05/2018

Last weekend, the Jacobs University Female Soccer team (along with some other sports teams from our university) participated in the annual in Hamburg at the Bucerius Law School. The girls did extremely well, placing fourth place in the competition. It was our first tournament of the year, and everyone played exceptionally well. We played many great games, with great opportunities. I am very proud of our team and can't wait to see what the next season has to bring.

During our stay in Hamburg, we were able to stay with local university students who were so kind to host us. It was truly an unforgettable weekend playing sports and partying with more than 1000 participants from all over Germany and Europe!

Also, thank you Bucerius Law School for hosting the tournament!

07/04/2018

FC Huchting 7 Jacobs University 0

The girls had their first game as a team after only a few indoor practices yesterday. Our opponents were clearly fitter, a bit quicker and more confident, being in league competition but we really weren't far away and were unlucky not to get a goal or two that our play deserved. We now have something to build on and are looking forward to more games and tournaments to get us ready for the new season!

19/03/2018

We're back!!! After a nearly three year absence, the girls are back! A new team of 18 players from 11 different nations are building a team to compete in the Bremen leagues next season! We will introduce the players individually very soon and bring you photos, reports and action from our upcoming friendlies as well as the Champions Trophy in Hamburg in May! ⚽🏆⚽

08/06/2015

No luck in final game of the season

On the day before graduation, SG Findorff were our last opponents of the season. They were good enough to put the game forward and move to campus so that the families of the graduating girls could see them play one time. Unfortunately, we were without Sarah, Laura and Erica, something that probably ended up being the difference between finishing the season with 4 wins in a row and giving it our best shot and just coming up short.

With only eleven girls, including Martina, who had a foot injury and Melissa, who had a whole body injury, the team started cautiously and tried to soak up the pressure from the young team from the city. Findorff had more of the ball but were constantly stopped by the orange wall, especially Rici and Felly, that stood in front of Gaby in goal. On only one occasion was there a glitch and this resulted in a goal for the visitors but as in the last few weeks, this didn't get the girls down and cheered on by what sounded like 400 Finnish family members (thanks Aila's family!), the girls, at times playing with only 10 due to the pain being too much for Martina or Melissa, started to make chances. On 3 occasions, it could have been 1-1, Aila even went around the keeper only to have her shot blocked by the defender on the line - it would have been the fitting end to her time at Jacobs, but it wasn't to be.

Half time came and went, Playing with effectively somewhere between 9 and 10 players was beginning to take its toll but again, the orange wall stood firm, with Melissa even helping out at some point! When they did get through, Gaby was flying across the goal to keep them out, much to the delight of her selfie-stick wielding mum! Every last ounce of energy was used trying to get that one chance to put a nice end to the last game for some of the girls who helped create this team and have been there during all three years but it just wasn't to be. Perhaps a fitting end - fighting against the odds with important players missing and just missing out - to the three years that the girls gave us.

This meant the final score was Jacobs University 0 SG Findorff 1 - beaten but by no means disgraced. The eleven girls on the field were all winners.

Now, graduating seniors Gaby, Adriana, Aila, Martina, Erica, Laura and Sarah leave us to take on their next adventures in life. We thank them for all their efforts for the team and wish them all the best for the future. Hopefully, we'll see you on the field again one day!

03/06/2015

Jacobs University vs ESC Geestemünde

On Sunday, ESC Geestemünde came to campus for our penultimate game of the season. While we had a strong squad to choose from, our opponents from Bremerhaven only had 10 players available. Immediately, the girls decided that they would also play with 10 players so that they didn't have a numerical advantage over the other team.

The excellent young referee got the game underway and it was only 2 minutes old when Aila burst into the box and was bundled over by a defender. The referee had no choice but to point to the spot. Then came the first surprise of the day, Rob shouted over to Laura to take the kick as she, despite playing often a very important role in the team over the last two years, has never scored a goal in an official game. Was she nervous? Rob was, 'please don't miss, please don't miss!', but Laura strolled up and slotted the ball to her right (as she apparently always has all her life) to give the girls the lead!

Only 3 minutes later, ESC equalised and this was a sign of things to come. Sarah, who was sick, made it 2-1 with a nice finish after only 8 minutes. Then she was done! Off she came for a banana and a rest! but it wasn't to be her last contribution of the day...

A full 30 minutes passed without another goal until Adriana fired in for 3-1, which was the score at half time but it could have been quite a few more. For the fourth week in a row, the passing and movement from the girls was something to behold. The girls were showing such confidence and even ending the half with Sarah, Dana, Aila, Laura and Celina having been taken off, they were in control.

We wanted to put the game to bed early in the second half but it didn't start too well. One of the two impressive girls in the ESC team pulled it back to 3-2 after less than a minute of the restart before Jasmin and then Sarah, back since half time, made it 5-2 and gave some breathing space. Now the girls were completely on top, but also started to lose concentration. Aila was literally alone in front of goal with only the keeper to beat and no opponent in sight but she simply had too much time to think and somehow shot wide. Rici could also smell goals and moved forward. Her big moment also came where, from 8 metres, she rattled the ball against the bar. The rebound also fell to her but was blocked on the line...so close, she'll never come so close to scoring her first goal!

Then, of course, if you don't take your chances, you get punished. In the 61st and 67th minute, ESC got it back to 5-4 and it was unnecessarily tight again. Do we bring on player 11? No, we just to move back up a gear or two and this is what happened. A period of pressure was rewarded with Aila getting her first goal but again the girls were pegged back with only 8 minutes to go. What score was it? Rob had to ask around, it turned out to be 6-5 to Jacobs with only minutes left. It was still tight until the 88th minute when Sarah, who has been on fire recently, completed her hat-trick and seal the win.

So, what score was it in the end? There were definitely 12 goals, 5 different scorers for the Jacobs team and we were definitely the better team.

We didn't score as many goals as we could or should have and weren't as concentrated as we should have been at times but again it was fun and we did enough to get our third win in 3 games!

Final Score: Jacobs University 7 (SEVEN!) ESC Geestemünde 5

Player of the match: Sarah scored 3 in only 55 minutes of playing time but today that wasn't enough. Today it goes to our tough tackling, mild-mannered midfielder who we now know can score penalties. Laura got her first ever goal just in time for graduation to cap off a great performance after also being fantastic during the last few weeks.

The girls (or those who are still on campus!) play their last game of the season at home tomorrow (Thursday) looking to try to make it 4 wins in a row but more importantly, to play one last time together and say goodbye to our graduating girls. Kick off is 7.30pm on the soccer field.

27/05/2015

SC Borgfeld III vs Jacobs University

On Wednesday 27th May, the Jacobs girls played their last away game of the season. The day started strangely, with not last minute drop outs but last minute...what is the opposite of drop outs??? Call ups? Anyway, Sarah and Laura were in, and Erica declared during the afternoon that she was going to be back from Amsterdam in time to come (we didn't know what state she would be in!) - suddenly we had a new problem, we needed to find another car to take everyone! Luckily, Lillan came to the rescue and her half-packed car had just enough room to make sure that we could break our record for number of players at an away game!

The game started on a nice evening, perfect for playing football and after settling in for the first 15 minutes, boy did the girls play football! On paper, we were playing SC Borgfeld III but in reality, we were playing a mixture of Borgfeld I, including the very good goalkeeper, Borgfeld III and probably some Borgfeld II and youth mixed In - there were very few faces from the game last semester. But this didn't matter, at every opportunity the girls got the ball on the floor and played quick, attacking football with movement off the ball everywhere - we would have given anyone a game today. Be it Rici at the back or Celina or Adriana in midfield, the ball was being played around calmly and confidently. Sarah was playing striker today and being a real nuisance, her pace and movement causing our opponents all kinds of problems.

Unfortunately, Aila was sick and after only 15 minutes, she had to come off, to be replaced by Dana but our opposing trainer team gave her a painkiller to help make her feel better. On the pitch, Sarah had a couple of chances but was always thwarted by the keeper, However on 28 minutes, she broke free of her marker, closed in on the keeper and shot over her as she came out. A really nice goal! A beautiful Oscar-acceptance-style speech followed - 'I couldn't have done it without you girls!'. Before half time, we could, and should have scored 4 or 5 more goals. The game was one way traffic and Borgfeld were only half dangerous on their breaks, which were few and far between. Most balls were headed away by Felly or swept up by Rici, both girls were always in the right place at the right time.

Half time arrived, the mood was great and for the third time running, everyone was having fun...if only it had been like this all season! Two changes were also made. Adriana was given a rest, as was Theresa, replaced by Darlina and Lillan, both making their last appearance of the season before they go home in the next days.

For the first 10 minutes of the second half, we lost concentration and lost two avoidable goals as Borgfeld put on some pressure. A long free kick and a soft second goal amazingly put Jacobs behind for the first time. With half an hour to go, Aila was feeling fit enough to play a little more so came back on with Adriana and Theresa. As all 3 were involved in the two goals that won the game, you could argue that the coach might actually know what he is doing sometimes :-) Within 6 minutes, Theresa scored her first ever goal for the team! A nice pass from Aila was slotted over the keeper as Theresa cut inside. One minute later, Adriana powered past two players, hit the post but was the most alive and got the ball over the line with her head or foot or something.

The game had changed now and again Jacobs were on the front foot. The dominance should have been used to put the game to bed but instead, more chances were missed and Borgfeld had some dangerous set pieces.

The girls held on to win their second game in a row and move up to 8th place in the league. Final score:

SC Borgfeld III 2 - Jacobs University 3

Player of the match: Today, Sarah was buzzing. Leading the team from the front, she was dangerous throughout the whole game, tenacious (I have to mention that she got a yellow card for aggressive play!) and infectious. She was pushed very close by Theresa, who was again great, Celina, who covered more ground in one half than most players did in two, and Erica, who despite enjoying the sights, etc of Amsterdam up until a couple of hours before kick off was just brilliant in both defence and attack. Sarah wins though, due firstly to her goal and also her awesome stepover in the second half. Unfortunately, we didn't get it on video but it looked quite a lot like this - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78dYqBOo9TA

On Sunday, the girls welcome ESC Bremerhaven for the penultimate game of the season, looking to make it 3 wins in a row! Kick off is 11.00 so come out and support the team!

trying to bust a move..but then fails :P