In their third friendly: BVB women defeat Heerenveen 3-1 | OneFootball

Squad Aside from the four players who remain unavailable – Dana Marquardt, Emilia Pauls, Mia Scholle, and Manuela Zinsberger – head coach Markus Högner had no other absences to report. Unlike in the match against 1. FSV Mainz, new signing Ricarda Walkling, along with Annika Enderle and Melanie Schuster, made the starting lineup.

Match SummaryAgainst the women of SC Heerenveen – who finished seventh in the Dutch Eredivisie last season – the Borussia women went on the offensive right away: As early as the third minute, Annika Enderle scored the opening goal after a beautiful solo run. BVB kept up the pressure and increasingly shifted the play into the opponent’s half as the match progressed. In the 21st minute, Ramona Maier scored the well-deserved 2–0 goal off a low cross from the right.

Out of nowhere, however, the visitors from Heerenveen were then able to celebrate pulling one back: BVB goalkeeper Laura van der Laan was unable to secure a centrally placed ball from the Dutch side – Aymee Altena’s follow-up shot was thus merely a formality.

As in the previous friendlies against Eintracht Frankfurt II and 1. FSV Mainz, Markus Högner sent out a nearly completely revamped team for the second half. The team started with plenty of intensity once again, though both sides initially lacked clear-cut scoring chances.

In the final twenty minutes of the match, both teams picked up the pace again: Deniese Lichatschow made a strong save on a free kick by the visitors that was aimed directly at the goal (78'). Immediately on the counterattack, Annika Enderle found herself alone in front of the opponent’s goal: After Heerenveen’s goalkeeper misjudged the shot, Borussia’s No. 19 found herself in front of an empty net and simply had to tap the ball over the line. The 3–1 score also marked the final result of the preseason match.

Outlook : Three more friendly matches are scheduled before the start of the new Regionalliga season: This coming Sunday (Aug. 2), the Borussia women will face VfL Wolfsburg’s U20 team; a week later, their opponent will be SC 13 Bad Neuenahr (Aug. 9). Both matches will be played at 3:30 p.m. at the training facility in Dortmund Brackel. As part of the big season opener on August 15, Markus Högner’s team will then face the reigning Italian champions, AS Roma (1:00 p.m., Rote Erde Stadium, live on Pluto TV). Click here for tickets.