On the last day of the group phase of women’s football the favorites played well enough to secure a place in the quarterfinals and a chance to discover the best university team in Europe. Unfortunately, football was overshadowed by the horrific events that took place in Nice.
GROUP A
An exciting game was played at Zagrebello between the University of Innsbruck and the University of Zagreb, marking Group A’s third round of women’s football at the European Universities Games Zagreb – Rijeka 2016.
The Austrian players dominated in the first half, and were in a position to take the lead after they were given a penalty in the 16th minute, but the ball went past the goal. They managed to capitalize on their dominance when Givana Prugger scored in the 20th minute. After the break, the game was very tense, and the players from Zagreb got lucky after Lisa Appel touched the ball with her hand in the penalty box. However, they also missed the penalty shot. This was the most promising opportunity for the hosts to secure a draw, and the Austrian players brought the game to its end and won with a score of 1:0.
The coach of the University of Innsbruck, Teresa Brückner, said that she was happy with her team’s performance, adding: ‘We should have been calmer and more focused and used the opportunities presented to us, because we could have been punished.’
GROUP B
Footballers from the University of Frankfurt and the University of Valencia competed for first place in Group B.
Despite a great support from the fans and several good attempts, Frankfurt did not score a goal. However, the players from Valencia scored two goals, one in the fourth, the other in the seventeenth minute of the first half. They maintained this score untill the end.
The team from the Norway School of Economics supported the Frankfurt team. Even though they had played with both teams, they said they were rooting for Frankfurt because they played better and fairer.
‘We are tired because we have a tough game behind us. Frankfurt are a great team, but we played with our whole hearts and we really tried. We are happy to be first in our group and we are looking forward to the rest of the competition.’
The girls from Valencia continued their celebration in the bus on the way to the athletes’ village, and they will spend tomorrow’s day off visiting Rijeka.
GROUP C
There were sad looks on the faces of competitors and spectators at the game at FC Kustošija when the judge’s whistle marked a minute of silence, rather than the beginning of the game. At the start it seemed as if the French players had found a decent match in the team from the University of Lausanne from Switzerland. However, after a short warm-up the University of Montpellier showed their dominance once more, winning with a whopping 5:1.
After 20 minutes of even play, Chloe Nicaty scored the first goal to ensure the French lead of 1:0. The University of Montpellier needed only a small advantage to begin developing moves worthy of some of the biggest clubs. They scored they second goal in the 20th minute – the scorer was Virginie Clivaz. A minute later, Chloe Nicaty scored her second goal for a 3:0 lead.
After half-time, the University of Lausanne had some good moments and attempts. The French quickly put a stop to that as Nadia Clerc scored their fourth goal in the 37th minute.
Any hope for the Swiss players was gone after Chloe Nicaty scored a hat-trick for 5:0 in the 40th minute. The Swiss did not lose hope, continuing to breach the French defense. One such attempt resulted in a goal in the 42nd minute, when Laurie Bangols scored, reducing the advantage to 5:1.
The ref’s last whistle was heard just as the Swiss were starting to find their feet.
‘I am happy with our game. With the result so much in our favor, I am even more motivated any time I look at it. We are confident that we will leave this tournament as winners,’ said hat-trick scorer Chloe Nicaty from the University of Montpellier.
GROUP D
In the second match of the day, the University of Caen played against the Portuguese team from the University of Porto. The game was overshadowed by yesterday’s attack in Nice, which was marked by a minute of silence before the start of the game.
‘What happened yesterday was a tragedy. Even if we stay focused on our tournament, our thoughts are with Nice and our nation,’ said the downhearted coach of the Caen team after symbolically placing the French flag in the middle of the football court.
Even though the University of Caen won thanks to a goal from Manon Ryba, it was not easy for them to maintain the lead. While the French players focused on their defense, the Portuguese team tried to level the score.
Porto’s defeat, which meant they would be leaving the tournament, was met with tears from the majority of the team. Despite that, the players shook hands after the tense game, and the French team escorted their rivals from the University of Porto with a round of applause as a sign of respect.
