Champions League Women: De Zaan fall again to Sant Andreu as title-holders march on

Day two of the women’s Champions League Group Stage delivered plenty of drama, with the highlights including title-holders Sant Andreu winning by seven away to De Zaan, Olympiacos SFP edging past UVSE Helia-D, and Assolim CN Mataro and Astralpool CN Sabadell both scoring 13 in their respective victories against Ekipe Orizzonte and CN Terrassa.

2025/26 Champions League Women
Group Stage, Day Two
Saturday 8 November

Group A

(Fri 7 Nov) Dunaujvaros (HUN) 19-14 Alimos NAC Betsson (GRE)
Olympiacos SFP (GRE) 9-6 UVSE Helia D (HUN)

Group B

Astralpool CN Sabadell (ESP) 13-9 CN Terrassa (ESP)
Assolim CN Mataro (ESP) 13-8 Ekipe Orizzonte (ITA)

Group C

Vouliagmeni NC (GRE) 18-7 Spandau 04 Berlin (GER)
Rapallo Pallanuoto (ITA) 14-17 FTC-Telekom (HUN)

Group D

ONE Eger (HUN) 10-13 SIS Roma (ITA)
ZV De Zaan (NED) 7-14 CN Sant Andreu (ESP)

Group A

Dunaujvaros (HUN) 19-14 Alimos NAC Betsson (GRE)

Dunaujvaros tore through Alimos’ defence on Friday night, racking up 19 goals and dominated the opening and closing quarters to seal a fine win.

Nikolaos Deligiannis was forced to call his first time-out just four minutes in, with the hosts already 3-0 up. The pause only briefly slowed the Hungarians’ momentum.

After Alimos finally got on the board, Dunaujvaros hit twice more within 72 seconds, and a late goal exchange kept the margin at four after the opening eight minutes.

Chasing the game, Alimos found some rhythm in attack, scoring seven in the next eight minutes, but their defence never tightened up, conceding another six in that same spell.

They closed to 10-8, only for Effrosyni Katsimpiri to strike twice in quick succession to restore the four-goal cushion. It was a thrilling back-and-forth battle, with 13 goals scored in the second quarter alone. Dunaujvaros led 12-9 at half-time.

The third period followed a familiar pattern, with Alimos cutting the gap to two, only for the Hungarians to respond instantly, this time with two goals in 37 seconds. The Greek side again fought back to 15-13, setting up a tense final quarter.

Alimos had a six-on-five chance just 20 seconds into the fourth, but missed it, and that proved to be their last real opening.

A centre shot from Geraldine Mahieu and a rocket by Krisztina Garda killed off any comeback hopes.

Afroditi Bistakou pulled one back with 5:35 remaining, but Alimos couldn’t add another. Garda’s sixth goal, followed by one more from Katsimpiri, sealed a commanding win for Dunaujvaros.

Olympiacos SFP (GRE) 9-6 UVSE Helia D (HUN)

UVSE forced Olympiacos into a gruelling defensive battle, but the Greeks managed to take the upper hand in the end.

The young Hungarians stunned last season’s bronze medallists with two fine goals, while Vasiliki Plevritou missed a penalty.

The home side quickly equalised with a rapid double, but Kinga Alaksza’s well-placed shot in a six-on-five gave UVSE a 2-3 lead after eight minutes.

Adrienn Hetzl’s action goal doubled the visitors’ advantage, and 15 seconds later Eirini Ninou converted Olympiacos’ second penalty, sparking an intense back-and-forth period.

The next five minutes saw a defensive tussle, with one missed six-on-five apiece, before Plevritou made up for her earlier miss with a fine action goal to level the score with 1:38 remaining until half-time.

Deep into the third, she added another to put the Greeks ahead for the first time at 5-4.

UVSE defended soundly but their attack couldn’t break down Olympiacos’ defence. Their scoreless run reached 14 minutes until Tekla Aubeli fired in from the centre, 37 seconds from the last break, to tie at 5-5.

Ninou kicked off the fourth with a blast from the perimeter. The Magyars continued to work heroically, killing back-to-back woman-downs, but they were struggling to create meaningful chances.

When Abby Andrews scored another action goal, followed 44 seconds later by a six-on-five conversion, UVSE’s resistance was finally broken at 8-5.

Despite a late penalty, Olympiacos’ experience and quality prevailed in the fourth, while UVSE managed only one goal per quarter after their initial three in the opening eight minutes.

Group B

Astralpool CN Sabadell (ESP) 13-9 CN Terrassa (ESP)

Sabadell’s path to victory was trickier than expected, despite their perfect 3-0 start.

Terrassa hit back with two goals in just 51 seconds, and Sabadell’s attack faltered, going nearly eight minutes without scoring. Paula Pratz and Martina Fernandez levelled things at 4-4 before Paula Crespi finally ended the drought, putting Sabadell 5-4 ahead at half-time.

Refocused after the break, Sabadell killed two woman-down situations and struck twice in two minutes to go 7-4 up. They then squandered consecutive woman-ups – five shots without success – which gave Terrassa hope.

The visitors capitalised, with five goals shared in the final three minutes of the quarter, cutting the deficit to 9-7 entering the last period.

Seventeen seconds into the fourth, Pilar Pena converted a six-on-five to make it 9-8. Sabadell immediately answered through Natasa Rybanska and then denied Terrassa’s next extra.

Irene Gonzalez’s counterattack goal made it 11-8 with 5:25 remaining. Terrassa’s Irene Casado scored from action for 11-9, but Sabadell quickly earned another woman-up and again fed Rybanska on the 2m line to close out the game.

Terrassa went for a desperate seven-on-six, only for goalkeeper Isabel Williams to score into the empty net, sealing a 13-9 victory.

Assolim CN Mataro (ESP) 13-8 Ekipe Orizzonte (ITA)

Meanwhile, in Mataro – some 40km away – Orizzonte drew first blood after three minutes, but the Spanish reply was emphatic, a 4-0 run in just two minutes of the opening period.

The Italians missed consecutive six-on-five chances and soon trailed 5-1 before Dafne Bettini broke their barren spell with two quick goals.

They also killed two woman-downs, but couldn’t stop a third, as Clara Espar converted for a 6-3 half-time lead.

Orizzonte stayed competitive through the third, with Bettini’s fine action goal seven seconds from the buzzer cutting the gap to 8-6.

Roberta Marletta reduced it further early in the fourth, but Mataro struck back hard – Jewell Roemer and Espar scored on consecutive extras, and Matilda Kearns added another from action for 11-7.

That 90-second burst blew away the Italians’ resistance. Though they managed one more, two missed extras proved costly, as Mataro added two late goals to secure their second group stage victory.

Group C

Vouliagmeni NC (GRE) 18-7 Spandau 04 Berlin (GER)

Vouliagmeni made light work of Spandau, settling matters by half-time with an 11-1 lead. A 5-1 opening quarter set the tone, the Germans scoring their only goal of the half with just two seconds left in the first period.

Spandau were shut out completely in the second and nearly in the third as well, only managing one goal with 1:27 remaining. Vouliagmeni’s own scoring slowed, adding just once in that quarter.

The Greeks rediscovered their rhythm in the fourth, firing in six more goals, though their defence also eased off, allowing five.

After 14 goals across three periods, the final quarter alone produced 11, as Vouliagmeni cruised to an 18-7 win.

Rapallo Pallanuoto (ITA) 14-17 FTC-Telekom (HUN)

These two sides produced a 31-goal classic, although FTC’s win was never in doubt as their unstoppable offence clicked almost flawlessly.

The first decisive moment came late in the opening period, when the Hungarians scored three straight goals after a 2-2 stalemate. Two action goals in 20 seconds and a buried penalty gave Fradi a 2-5 lead.

Rapallo responded with a 3-0 run to level within three minutes, only to be hit by another storm, a 0-4 burst that included three counter goals, two by one of the world’s fastest players, Vanda Valyi.

The Italians gained some ground, but FTC always replied, first through Rita Keszthelyi and then, with 0:02 on the clock, by Valyi again, to give the visitors a 7-11 lead at half-time.

The gap widened in the third quarter. Bea Ortiz quickly converted a six-on-five, and Rapallo could not get within four goals. They scored occasionally, but Fradi always had the answers.

When Rapallo ran out of steam, Keszthelyi struck her fifth 18 seconds from the period’s end to make it 10-16.

Early in the fourth, Verica Bakoc netted two in 23 seconds, but Dorottya Szilagyi immediately converted an extra for 12-17.

Fradi surprisingly did not score in the final six minutes, yet their victory was never in danger, despite Rapallo adding two late goals.

Group D

ONE Eger (HUN) 10-13 SIS Roma (ITA)

Although the Italians opened the scoring, Eger matched them throughout the first half. The home side took the lead six times, but SIS equalised on each occasion to keep the score 7-7 at half-time.

Eger could not extend their advantage, and the match turned sharply early in the third when Maxine Schaap scored twice in 37 seconds.

The hosts fought hard but could not reply, as Chiara Ranalli added a third consecutive action goal for a 7-10 lead. A 0-4 run following a 7-6 score left Eger without a goal for over six minutes.

Roma maintained their three-goal advantage into the final quarter (9-12). Eger had desperate chances, but the Italian defence remained impenetrable.

With 2:22 remaining, Ranalli buried a penalty for 9-13, and Bibor Pogonyi’s subsequent action goal could not alter the outcome. Roma’s dominant third quarter ultimately secured them three crucial points.

ZV De Zaan (NED) 7-14 CN Sant Andreu (ESP)

De Zaan knew from previous encounters, including the Super Cup final last month, that preventing the Spaniards from building momentum would be crucial.

The Dutch started strongly, jumping to a 2-1 lead, but St Andreu responded with a four-goal burst, three from the perimeter.

De Zaan also missed two woman-ups, repeating mistakes from their loss in Barcelona three weeks ago. Ariadna Ruiz converted a six-on-five early in the second to make it 2-6, and from that point, De Zaan faced an uphill battle.

They managed to reduce the deficit to two goals three times in the middle periods, but St Andreu’s relentless pace soon wore them down.

De Zaan could not score in the last five minutes of the third, or in all eight minutes of the fourth, as the Spaniards dominated at both ends.

They forced a penalty, converted by Aussie ace Alice Williams, and Ariadna Ruiz buried the final two six-on-fives of the third to make it 7-12.

These three connecting goals ensured the champions were controlling the game. De Zaan’s attack had completely fizzled out, while St Andreu added two more in the fourth to stretch their winning margin to seven (the same as in the Super Cup final, which they won 17-10).

Watch all the Champions League Women action on European Aquatics TV

For full Champions League Women fixtures, results, stats and tables, click here or download the European Aqautics app

Stay tuned to the European Aquatics Water Polo social media accounts for more news and live updates on Facebook and Instagram

Watch water polo highlights and previews on our YouTube channel

Gergely Csurka for European Aquatics

The post Champions League Women: De Zaan fall again to Sant Andreu as title-holders march on first appeared on European Aquatics®.