MOL Women's National Championship I: UVSE and Fradi won the derby matches
In the 8th round of the MOL Women's National Championship I, the defending champions UVSE won in Dunaújváros, while the current leaders Fradi emerged victorious in Eger in two tough matchups. KSI, to everyone's surprise, defeated III. Kerület in a penalty shootout.
The women's championship continued with two significant games, where the top four teams from the past two years faced off against each other. The matches in Dunaújváros and Eger were both intense battles.
In Dunaújváros, UVSE took the lead, but the home team responded with three goals while the visitors failed to score for almost eight minutes. Then, in a span of 38 seconds, Aubéli Tekla scored twice and Hajdú Kata converted a penalty to level the score at 3-3 for the defending champions. Moreover, Magyar Alda saved a penalty shot from Garda Kriszta, and Varró Eszter scored from the center to put Újpest in the lead. Dobi Dorina converted the next penalty, but two more goals by UVSE followed, putting the visitors ahead at halftime (4-6).
After a quick exchange of goals, the teams battled each other for three and a half minutes before Katsimpiri reduced the deficit with a goal from a penalty. However, in the next attack, Faragó Kamilla restored the two-goal lead, scoring from the five-meter line.
UVSE took a three-goal lead for the first time with Peresztegi-Nagy Kinga's field goal, which seemed significant early in the fourth quarter. Especially after Janki Csenge's field goal, the home team also capitalized on their lead, with Faragó scoring in the final seconds (7-10). A similar scenario repeated with one goal from each side three minutes before the end, making it seem like a confident victory for the champions. Indeed, that's how it turned out, as Dobi netted a crucial goal at 1:31 and after a man-down situation, Újváros failed to score from two attempts, with Dobi sealing the win with another goal at 0:03, leaving no chance for DFVE.
The FTC-Telekom, who had won all their matches this season like their male counterparts, continued their excellent run in Eger. Although the home team made it challenging, leading 3-2 at the end of the first quarter, the Fradi defense tightened up, and they scored two goals upfront, leading 3-4 at halftime. Through Gurisatti Gréta, they extended their lead to two, and after 16:04, Eger finally found the net again. Furthermore, Eve Weston equalized shortly after, but Felkai Sára's field goal gave Ferencváros the advantage at the beginning of the final quarter. However, Katona Zsófi leveled the score again after 64 seconds, and for the next three minutes, both teams had opportunities to take the lead. Eventually, the more experienced visitors managed a breakthrough, earning two five-meter penalties within 40 seconds. Neither Gurisatti nor Plevritou missed their chances, and the Eger team remained goalless in the last seven minutes, allowing the league leaders to claim another three points.
In a surprising turn of events, the newcomer KSI not only secured a draw against III. Kerület, who excelled in European tournaments, likely fatigued from the Eurocup battle in Trieste but also managed to win with five-meter penalties.
The Valdor-Szentes team convincingly defeated Szeged – despite the close final score suggesting a tough match, the hosts were leading 9-5 in the fourth quarter before Szeged scored twice in the last minute and a half.
Similar to previous rounds, Tatabánya couldn't put up much resistance against their stronger opponents, with BVSC winning comfortably this time; after three quarters, the score was already 10-2, with three goals each in the final quarter, giving a slightly better finish.
MOL Women's National Championship I, Round 8
Dunaújváros–UVSE Helia D 10-11
KSI–III. Kerületi TVE 11-11, penalties: 5-4
Tatabánya WWP–BVSC-Manna ABC 5-13
(click on the matches for statistics)
