FTC, St Andreu, Sabadell and Olympiacos reach Champions League Final Four

By Gergely Csurka

Last season’s three medallists – Astralpool CN Sabadell, Olympiacos SFP and CN Sant Andreu – return to the Final Four of the Champions League Women, while FTC-Telekom Waterpolo will make the big journey for the first time.

Champions League Women
Quarter Finals, Second-Legs
Saturday, 29th March 2025

Assolim CN Mataro (ESP) 8-11 CN Sant Andreu (ESP)
(Aggregate: 16-24)
Vouliagmeni NC (GRE) 6-7 Olympiacos SFP (GRE)
(Aggregate: 16-18)
Alimos NAC Betsson (GRE) 15-13 Astralpool CN Sabadell (ESP)
(Aggregate: 21-32)
FTC-Telekom Waterpolo (HUN) 8-6 Orizzonte Catania (ITA)
(Aggregate: 19-15)

Assolim CN Mataro (ESP) 8-11 CN St Andreu (ESP)
(Agg: 16-24)

Despite St Andreu’s substantial five-goal advantage from the first-leg, both teams didn’t hold anything back. Mataro came up with an all-in effort, while their local arch-rivals were also aware that laying back would threaten their Final Four berth.

Accordingly, six major fouls were called in the first four minutes, three apiece. While St Andreu’s Elena Ruiz hit the post from a penalty, Martina Claveria opened the scoring for Mataro midway through the first quarter.

It was another Claveria goal that sent the hosts ahead for the third time, converting a penalty 15 seconds before the break to make it 3-2 after eight minutes.

The following period was devoted to outstanding defending at both ends. The visitors missed their first six on five, then Mataro had four in the next few minutes, but wasted them all – St Andreu’s defenders did a great job, while goalkeeper Martina Terre delivered a couple of outstanding saves too.

An army of great shooters kept both goals under constant pressure, but this quarter didn’t see a single goal, so it was still 3-2 at half-time.

In the third, Maria Palacio finished off a six on five, earned in the dying seconds of the previous quarter and that triggered St Andreu’s offence.

After killing a woman-down, they scored three more in a span of 72 seconds, which practically floored the home side.

Mataro were able to respond after a while, but the visitors’ 0-4 rush had done the damage. After the 0-0 second period, 11 goals flew in during the third (4-7), so St Andreu started the fourth with a 7-9 lead, and more importantly, they were up by seven on aggregate.

The fourth still saw some tension – the game produced 29 majors in total – as the other Ruiz sibling, Ariadna, also missed a penalty, but St Andreu’s win was never in danger.

They will return to the Final Four after winning the bronze last year, while Mataro’s campaign ended here, so they were denied a third straight F4 appearance.

Vouliagmeni NC (GRE) 6-7 Olympiacos SFP (GRE)
(Agg: 16-18)

Vouliagmeni, who rocked Olympiacos’ domestic supremacy in their last two encounters, started this second-leg in style. Dutch star Lola Moolhuijzen’s double gave the hosts a 2-0 lead in just 80 seconds, and they were 3-0 up after five minutes.

Olympiacos’ first-leg lead had vanished quickly, so coach Dimitrios Kravaritis called an emergency time-out and a bit later, Stefania Santa broke the ice and put the favourites on the scoreboard.

But Eleni Xenaki’s lethal left-arm sent the ball home in a six on five for 4-1 and the hosts could even kill a six on four before the first break.

Olympiacos needed two more woman-ups to score again, as Abby Andrews pulled one back, however, they were unable to reduce the gap further.

The only piece of good news for them was their defence tightened up and they managed to prevent Vouliagmeni from scoring more.

At least until later in this period, as with 1:16 to go, Vouliagmeni earned a penalty and Xenaki buried it for 5-2 – so Olympiacos were still in serious trouble at half-time.

As it turned out, Olympiacos made very good use of the longer middle break. They came back with more focus and after some initial battling, they launched a tremendous 0-3 rush to level the scores on the night.

Vasiliki Plevritou hit one from action, Foteini Tricha scored a six on five, then Santa netted a counter. In a span of 1:50 minutes, it was equal and that was enough for the home bench to call a time-out too.

It worked, as Moolhuijzen sent the ball home from the following six on five, but they missed a crucial extra in their next possession, which would have given them a two-goal lead again. Instead, Andrews made it 6-6 with 1:41 to go.

The fourth quarter produced a huge battle, but only one exclusion was called at both ends, so the players had to work hard to find a way to score.

And it was Andrews who managed to rifle one in from action with 4:06 on the clock, which gave Olympiacos the lead for the first time in the game.

Indeed, it proved to be the winner, as Vouliagmeni were unable to find a way through again. Credit has to go to Olympaicos’ superb defence and their French goalkeeper Mia Rycraw, as after conceding four in the opening period, they limited the hosts to two goals in the remaining three.

In the Vouliagmeni camp, they might recall the painful penalty miss in the last second of the first-leg which would have made it 11-11, and maybe would have given them a different mental edge going into the second-leg.

However, Olympiacos won both legs by a single goal and after finishing runners-up a year ago, they will have another shot at the title – after reaching the final four times in the last five seasons.

Alimos NAC Betsson (GRE) 15-13 Astralpool CN Sabadell (ESP)
(Agg: 21-32)

Rita Keszthelyi may have opened the scoring after a minute, but Sabadell seemed to struggle to find the right motivation with a 13-goal advantage in hand.

Their next hit came 11 minutes later when Alimos were 4-1 up, and even though the reigning champions pulled two back, the Greeks were far more clinical and led 7-4 at half-time.

Two fast action goals at the start of the third lifted the hosts to 9-4 – but they were still miles away from catching up the Spaniards on aggregate.

Kudos to Alimos that they wanted to offer something memorable to their fans after the demoralising first-leg defeat, and they were focused enough to score five more in the third period, just like they had in the second.

Sabadell tried to raise their tempo in the fourth, netting three in a row to make it 12-11, but the home side didn’t let their lead slip. Three more goals sealed the win and they left the pool with their heads held high.

For Sabadell, they can now get ready for a title-defence. In fact, a three-peat is on the horizon – a feat only Orizzonte have achieved in the history of the Champions League Women, between 2004 and 2006.

FTC-Telekom Waterpolo (HUN) 8-6 Orizzonte Catania (ITA)
(Agg: 19-15)

Missed chances and fine defending froze the scoreboard for more than five minutes, before a steal and a ‘re-counter’ opened up the field and Tamara Farkas put FTC ahead.

The Italians were struggling to find a way through, but they hit two in their last two possessions of the opening quarter. Morena Leone netted a dying extra, then, after denying the hosts in a woman-down for the third time, they forced a penalty and Dafne Bettini converted it four seconds from the first buzzer for 1-2.

Both goalies came up big in extras early in the second quarter before Vanda Valyi sent the ball past Aurora Condorelli from the perimeter, followed by Fradi’s first hit from an extra – it was fast, two goals in 21 seconds.

It could have been more, but the hosts missed two more six on fives and Orizzonte managed to level up again as Gaia Gagliardi’s shot somehow crossed the line.

The finish was a bit different when Eleftheria Plevritou fired one in from action for FTC – but another Italian hit came too, as Australian star Bronte Halligan netted a nice one from the centre, with 0:25 on the clock, to make it 4-4 at half-time.

Dora Leimeter’s six on five goal from an almost impossible angle kicked off the third, while Boglarka Neszmely delivered another huge save in Orizzonte’s extra.

Valyi’s blast gave Fradi a two-goal lead for the first time, it was a second shot in a dying woman-up, though Erica Hardy pulled one back immediately, with a cool finish in a six on five, for 6-5.

After some more battling, Fradi missed an extra after a time-out, then another one – but this time it wasn’t that painful as Orizzonte couldn’t add any more in the last minutes, unlike in the previous two quarters.

Being down by three on aggregate, Orizzonte needed a flawless performance in the fourth – yet they couldn’t score their first extra, and Greta Gurisatti, after several missed shots, finally put the ball away in a dying six on five for 7-5.

Another block denied Orizzonte’s next extra, then Plevritou swam practically to the post and pushed the ball through the goalkeeper’s hands for 8-5.

Neszmely added two more great saves in another woman-down and as the clock was ticking down, Fradi sat more and more comfortably in the driving seat.

Neszmely was unbeatable, she held Orizzonte 0 for 5 in extras alone in this quarter, leaving no chance for the eight-time champions to comeback.

The sixth extra ended in a big miss and as that was just inside the last two minutes, the contest was over.

A late Italian goal denied Fradi’s clean sheet in the fourth, but in the end, it was Fradi who booked a ticket to the Final Final with a double win, for the first time in their brief history.

The Champions League Women Final Four takes place on Friday 2nd May and Saturday 3rd May and the semi-finals will see Sabadell face Olympiacos and FTC clash with St Andreu.

You can watch all the Champions League Women action live on www.euroaquaticstv.com and stay up-to-date with live results/tables and real-time updates through the European Aquatics App. Download it here: Google Play.

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