🛒 Shop the best Water Polo Gear now! →
🤑 10% off on selected briefs & merch 🤑
Support the Total Waterpolo mission!
TW-Brandmark-Whitex2
  • News
  • SINGAPORE 2025
    • Men’s tournament
    • Women’s tournament
  • Results

    National

    • Montenegro
      • Montenegrin League 2024/25
      • Montenegrin Cup 24/25
      • Montenegrin League 23/24
    • Nordic League
      • Nordic League Men 24/25
      • Nordic Trophy Men 2024/25
      • Nordic League Women 2024/25
      • Nordic League 23/24
      • Qualifications
    • Slovenia
      • Slovenian League 24/25
      • Slovenian League 23/24
    • Hong Kong
      • Hong Kong 24/25 – Women
      • Hong Kong 24/25 – Men
    • Austria
      • Austrian League 2025 – Men
      • Austrian League 23/24 – Women
      • Austrian League 23/24 – Men
    • Lithuania
      • Lithuanian League ’24
    • Latvia
      • Latvian Championship 2024
    • France
      • French League 23/24 – Men
    • Spain
      • Spanish League 23/24 – Men
    • Hungary
      • Hungarian League 23/24 – Men
    • Italy
      • Italian League 23/24 – Men

    International

    • SINGAPORE 2025
      • Women
      • Men
    • LEN Champions League
      • Men 24/25
      • Men 23/24
    • World Cup 2025
      • Men
    • AWL
      • Alpe Waterpolo League 2024/25
      • Alpe Waterpolo League 2023/24
      • Alpe Waterpolo League 2022/23
    • Nordic League
      • Nordic League Men 2024/25
      • Nordic Trophy Men 2024/25
      • Nordic League Women 2024/25
      • Nordic League 2023/24
      • Nordic Trophy 2023/24
    • NCAA
      • Men’s Finals 2024
      • Men’s Finals 2023
    • Oympic Games
      • Tokyo 2020
        • Women
        • Men
      • Paris 2024
        • Olympic Tournament – Men
        • Olympic Tournament – Women
    • World Championships
      • Doha 2024
        • Women
        • Men
      • Fukuoka 2023
        • Women
        • Men
      • Budapest 2022
        • Women
        • Men
    • European Championships
      • Eindhoven 2024 – Women
      • Zagreb / Dubrovnik 2024 – Men
      • Split 2022
        • Women
        • Men
      • Budapest 2020

    Amateur & Junior Divisions

    • Summer Cup 2025
    • Nordic League U16 2024/25
    • HaBaWaBa Spain 2025 – U10
    • HaBaWaBa Spain 2025 – U12
    • Masters Cup 2025

    Total Waterpolo Arena livescoring app: Stay in the game with real-time updates and stats for your next tournament.

    Contact Us
    • Champions League
      • Season 24/25
      • Season 23/24
      • Season 22/23
    • International
      • World Cup 2025 Men
      • European Championships
        • Eindhoven 2024 – Women
        • Croatia 2024 – Men
        • Split 2022
          • Women
          • Men
        • Budapest 2020
        • Barcelona 2018
      • World Championships
        • Doha 2024
          • Women
          • Men
        • Fukuoka 2023
          • Women
          • Men
        • Budapest 2022
          • Women
          • Men
      • Olympics
        • Tokyo 2020
          • Women
          • Men
        • Paris 2024
          • Women
          • Men
      • NCAA
        • NCAA Men’s Finals 2024
        • NCAA Men’s Finals 2023
      • Pacific Cup 2024
    • National
      • Montenegro
        • Montenegrin League 2024/25
        • Montenegrin Cup 2024/25
      • Austria
        • Austrian League 2025 – Men
        • Austrian League 2024 – Women
        • Austrian League 2024 – Men
      • Nordic League
        • Nordic League Men 2024/25
        • Nordic League Women 2024/25
        • Nordic League U16 2024/25
        • Nordic Trophy Men 2024/25
        • Nordic League 2023/24
        • Nordic Trophy 2023/24
      • Hong Kong
        • Hong Kong Women’s League 24/25
        • Hong Kong Men’s League 24/25
      • AWL
        • Alpe Waterpolo League 2024/25
        • Alpe Waterpolo League 2023/24
        • Alpe Waterpolo League 2022/23
      • Slovenia
      • Lithuania
      • Latvia
      • Hungarian League 2023 – Men
      • French League 2023 – Men
      • Spanish League 2023 – Men
      • Italian League 2023 – Men
    • Masters
      • Masters Cup 2025
      • VAL League 2024/25
      • Sabac Masters 2024
      • Masters Cup 2024
      • Budva Masters 2024
    • Junior
      • DSV 98 Cup 2025
      • Summer Cup 2025
      • HaBaWaBa Spain 2025 – U12
      • HaBaWaBa Spain 2025 – U10
      • HaBaWaBa Spain Plus 2025
      • Next Generation 2024 – Men
      • Next Generation 2024 -Women
      • HaBaWaBa Easter 2024 (U10)
      • HaBaWaBa Easter 2024 (U12)
      • HabaWaba Spain Plus 2024
      • Plejade
      • Dobri Dupin
  • Transfers
  • Shop

    WearWaterpolo™ Webshop

    • Webshop
    • Men’s Briefs
    • Women’s Suits
    • Apparel
    • Game Balls
    • About

    Partner up with Total Waterpolo, the leading international water polo network worldwide and take your team gear to the next level. Our products are made to endure the harshest conditions from pro leagues around the world to your local squad rivalries. We can't wait to join your team!

    Get Total Waterpolo for your Team
  • Total Player
    • Total Player 2024
    • Total Player 2023
    • Total Player 2022
    • Total Player 2021
    • Total Player 2020
    • Total Player 2019
    • Total Player 2018
    • Total Player 2017
SINGAPORE 2025
Support Us

Mulhouse dream of dethroning Lille in tomorrow’s French Cup Final

January 19, 2023

Louise Guillet celebrates. Photo: WP Inside / Philippe Fretault.

Mulhouse and Lille will contest the French Cup Final tomorrow after seeing off their respective opponents, Olympic Nice, and Grand Nancy, in today’s semi-finals. 

Both teams took different routes to getting past their semi-final opponents. Mulhouse needed a last second winner to defeat Olympic Nice, while Lille were comfortably  better than Nancy in their semi-final bout. 

As much as Mulhouse would love to beat Lille and win the Alice Milliat Trophy tomorrow, they are massive underdogs. A Lille victory seems likely, but Mulhouse fans are holding out hope that anything can happen in the cup final. 

Olympic Nice and Grand Nancy will contest the bronze medal match.

Match Report, Mulhouse WP 12 – 11 Olympic Nice

Mulhouse are into the French Cup final after Vivian Kretzmann-Bahia’s dramatic last-gasp winner from range was the only deciding factor between them and Nice. 

In a thrilling semi-final, the momentum constantly shifted throughout the game, making for an exciting spectacle.

If there was a player who deserved to score the game-winning goal, it was Kretzmann-Bahia, who had an exceptional game prior to her late heroics. The French International, alongside Kinga Mihaly, were unstoppable forces in the match, both totalling four scores each. 

Throughout the game, Nice had opportunities to close the door on Mulhouse, but they ultimately paid the price for failing to seize those opportunities. 

Nice unquestionably contributed to the spectacle’s success. They trailed by two scores heading into the final 90 seconds. With only two seconds remaining in the game, Ema Vernoux tied the score, but in a split second, last minute jubilation transcended into last minute agony. 

Vivian Kretzmann-Bahia scored the match-winning goal in the last second of the game. Photo: WP Inside / Philippe Fretault.

 

Mulhouse WP 12 – 11 Olympic Nice (2-2, 2-2, 5-4, 3-3)

Mulhouse: L. Cruz Mancebo, V. Heurtaux 1, M. Le Roux 1, L. Forgacs, L. Guillet 2, L. Jean Michel, K. Mihaly 4, C. Bouloukbachi, A. Van Dyke, V. Kretzmann-Bahia 4, T. Raspo, A. Daule, R. Edgerton, L. Andres

Nice: M. Chabrier, L. Vernoux, B. Van de Velde 2, J. Kohli 2, K. Noy, A. Grass 1, M. Barbieux 1, V. Tamas 2, E. Vernoux 2, L. Di Fraja, S. Amcher, I. Di Bartolo 1, C. Vidal, E. Cugnart

In the opening moments of the first semi-final, Nice exerted pressure and established a 2-0 advantage. Ema Vernoux scored from close range, and Ilaria Di Bartolo, the former Trapani attacker, with far too much time to measure her shot, found the back of the Mulhouse net.

While Nice certainly started the game with more intent, Mulhouse found their footing after falling behind 2-0, and two goals from Hungarian Kinga Mihaly—one of which came from a 5m penalty—brought Mulhouse level. 

Mulhouse continued to gain momentum in the second section of the game. Despite conceding first through Marie Barbiuex’s near-side shot, French international Vivian Kretzmann-Bahia netted twice to give her side the lead for the first time, the first from Mulhouse’s second penalty of the game before a really excellent pin-point effort from range. 

In the second half, Elie Carreau’s Nice appeared devoid of inspiration, and they were partially stopped by the outstanding saves of Mulhouse’s Canadian goalkeeper Rumina Edgerton. Edgerton could do nothing but watch, however, as Jaqueline Kohli rocketed the ball into the bottom left corner to level proceedings before the break (4-4). 

Both sides found their attacking groove via their early extra-player opportunities in the third quarter; Viktoria Tamas wrong-footed the Mulhouse defence to add her first strike of the match before Valentine Heurtaux made no mistake from a central position. 

Viktoria Tamas (Nice) challenges Andrey Daule (Mulhouse). Photo: WP Inside/ Philippe Fretault.

It was Olympic Nice, however, who made the first significant breakaway in the clash. Nice’s Dutch star, Blom Van de Velde, converted a penalty to put her team up 7-5 after Viktoria Tamas slotted home twice in as many minutes. 

But with a huge shift in momentum, it was Mulhouse who led heading into the last quarter. Louise Guillet struck twice, the first on a swift counter-attack move, before pulling off a delightful lob from the left. Captain Morganne Le Roux of Mulhouse outmuscled her defender and tapped in a goal from close range, and Kinga Mihaly’s third goal of the match, a vicious cross-cage shot, put her team 9-8 ahead with eight minutes of water polo to play.

Into the last, Mulhouse looked home and dry. Van de Velde momentarily equalised for Nice with an awe-inspiring shot off the bar, but Mulhouse were awarded a penalty in the subsequent attack, and Kretzmann-Bahia sent the Nice keeper, Chabrier, the wrong way. 

After a short pause in the game, Mulhouse finally added another score to give them a two-goal buffer, and once again, it was Kinga Mihaly who found a way past the Nice defence.

Ema Vernoux of Olympic Nice. Photo: WP Inside / Philippe Fretault.

Nice’s chances of winning the game were diminishing quickly, and Ema Vernoux’s missed penalty didn’t help. 

But the game was far from over. 

With 90 seconds left, Nice’s Marie Barbieux got her team half-way to parity, and then with just 0:02 remaining, Vernoux redeemed her earlier penalty miss to seemingly send the game to penalties. 

However, the excitement wasn’t over yet. With only a second remaining, Vivian Kretzmann-Bahia, from a great distance away, rifled a bouncing shot goalward, which snuck under the arm of Chabrier in the Nice goal to secure a late, dramatic victory.

 

Match Report, LUC Metropole 13 – 6 Grand Nancy

Lille easily dispatched Grand Nancy in the French Cup semifinals, and they’ll defend their crown against Mulhouse in the final tomorrow. 

With four goals, Erica Hardy led the way for the defending champions, who cruised to a comfortable victory. There were also two-goal performances from Gabi Fitaire, Orsolya Hertzka, Maddy O’Reilly, and Nikki Meijer. 

It’s fair to say that Lille were the better team throughout, and while Nancy made things interesting in the first half, Anestis Pesmatzoglou’s squad pulled away in the second. 

Despite losing to the superior team today, Marko Damjanovic’s Nancy will back themselves to beat Olympic Nice and win the bronze medal game. 

Erica Hardy bagged four goals for Lille today (Photo: WP Inside/ Philippe Fretault)

LUC Metropole 13 – 6 Grand Nancy (3-1, 2-2, 4-2, 4-1)

Lille: M. Rycraw, M. Ouchache 1, L. Baes, G. Fitaire 2, E. Hardy 4, G. Deike, O. Hertzka 2, M. O’Reilly 2, N. Meijer 2, A. Kochetova, E. Lefebvre

Nancy: L. Council, A. Sabouriat 3, C. Moreira, C. Hanzo, L. Bachelier, P. Vizcarra 2, S. Pacheco-Herce, L. Fanara 1, K. Benlekbir, A. Gabriele, P. Martineaud-Peret

It took a few minutes for both teams to find their footing, but once they did, it was Lille that stamped their authority on the game. 

Orsolya Hertzka, Nikki Meijer and Myriam Ouchache put the reigning champions 3-0 up. Anais Sabouriaut netted inside the last minute of the first, but Nancy had clearly started second best in the game. 

Quickly, Nancy cut into Lille’s lead by scoring themselves, thanks to Paola Vizcarra’s neat, instinctive goal. Lille, however, started to stretch their opponents; American left-hander Maddy O’Reilly finished well on the breakaway, before Erica Hardy found a good finish from 4 metres. 

Lille didn’t quite go for the throat though, with Anna Kochetova passing up a good opportunity from a 5m penalty. As the halftime buzzer sounded, Grand Nancy’s chances were still very much alive thanks to a conversion by Lucie Fanara (5-3).

Charlotte Moreira of Nancy (Photo: WP Inside/ Philippe Fretault)

After a solid first half, Lille completely dominated the second. 

Lille began to flex their muscles in the third with some incisive attacking play. One of Lille’s most important players, Erica Hardy, added two scores early in the period; an excellent strike from the top, before rounding off another counter-attack. 

Nancy hit back with some decent scores from Vizcarra and Sabouriaut, but Lille began to capitalise on their dominance in the match. Meijer added her second, and Fitaire pulled off a quick finish at centre.  A penalty save from Nancy’s keeper, Lou Counil, was only a few moments to celebrate towards the end of the third quarter. 

Into the last, it was three times lucky for LUC from the 5 metre penalty line, with Erica Hardy making no mistake. The eleventh goal scored by Lille was the final nail in Nancy’s coffin; Maddy O’Reilly’s shot appeared to be heading harmlessly into the grasp of Lou Counil, but the ball somehow wriggled under the arms of Nancy’s goalkeeper.

Marko Damjanovic’s team rallied for some pride in the final run-in with Vizcarra and Sabouriat adding to Nancy’s tally. But those scores never threatened Lille’s prospects of making the final.

Read more about French Water Polo

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

 

 

 

TW Press
TW Press

Related posts

Photo: Vasas Vizilabda

July 16, 2025

[CONFIRMED] Varnai, Fernandes, Foskolos, etc. to Vasas


Read more

Photo: Nikola Krstic/European Aquatics

July 13, 2025

Italy shines in final of European U16 Championships and wins gold with perfect record


Read more

Photo: Nikola Krstic/European Aquatics

July 12, 2025

Italian and Hungarian cadets to battle for European crown


Read more

SUPPORT US ON PATREON

If you share our passion for water polo worldwide, consider becoming a cherished contributor to our cause, with as little as 5$/month.

SUPPORT US


Custom Team Gear

LEARN MORE

Shop Now

Looking for something?

✕
  • Champions League and Euro Cup Draws: Replay of 2025 CHL final possible in Group Stage
    July 28, 2025
  • Draw for European cups: 20 teams in Champions League, and 21 in Euro Cup pots
    July 26, 2025
  • Spain clinches fourth world gold with furious finish
    July 24, 2025
  • Home
  • Water Polo News
  • WearWaterpolo Shop
  • Contact Us
  • Project Superstar – TW Camp
  • BIWPA
  • Custom Team Equipment
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
© 2021 Total Waterpolo. All Rights Reserved.
✕
CroMasters '24
Support Us
  • News
  • SINGAPORE 2025
    • Men’s tournament
    • Women’s tournament
  • Results
    • Champions League
      • Season 24/25
      • Season 23/24
      • Season 22/23
    • International
      • World Cup 2025 Men
      • European Championships
        • Eindhoven 2024 – Women
        • Croatia 2024 – Men
        • Split 2022
          • Women
          • Men
        • Budapest 2020
        • Barcelona 2018
      • World Championships
        • Doha 2024
          • Women
          • Men
        • Fukuoka 2023
          • Women
          • Men
        • Budapest 2022
          • Women
          • Men
      • Olympics
        • Tokyo 2020
          • Women
          • Men
        • Paris 2024
          • Women
          • Men
      • NCAA
        • NCAA Men’s Finals 2024
        • NCAA Men’s Finals 2023
      • Pacific Cup 2024
    • National
      • Montenegro
        • Montenegrin League 2024/25
        • Montenegrin Cup 2024/25
      • Austria
        • Austrian League 2025 – Men
        • Austrian League 2024 – Women
        • Austrian League 2024 – Men
      • Nordic League
        • Nordic League Men 2024/25
        • Nordic League Women 2024/25
        • Nordic League U16 2024/25
        • Nordic Trophy Men 2024/25
        • Nordic League 2023/24
        • Nordic Trophy 2023/24
      • Hong Kong
        • Hong Kong Women’s League 24/25
        • Hong Kong Men’s League 24/25
      • AWL
        • Alpe Waterpolo League 2024/25
        • Alpe Waterpolo League 2023/24
        • Alpe Waterpolo League 2022/23
      • Slovenia
      • Lithuania
      • Latvia
      • Hungarian League 2023 – Men
      • French League 2023 – Men
      • Spanish League 2023 – Men
      • Italian League 2023 – Men
    • Masters
      • Masters Cup 2025
      • VAL League 2024/25
      • Sabac Masters 2024
      • Masters Cup 2024
      • Budva Masters 2024
    • Junior
      • DSV 98 Cup 2025
      • Summer Cup 2025
      • HaBaWaBa Spain 2025 – U12
      • HaBaWaBa Spain 2025 – U10
      • HaBaWaBa Spain Plus 2025
      • Next Generation 2024 – Men
      • Next Generation 2024 -Women
      • HaBaWaBa Easter 2024 (U10)
      • HaBaWaBa Easter 2024 (U12)
      • HabaWaba Spain Plus 2024
      • Plejade
      • Dobri Dupin
  • Transfers
  • Shop
  • Total Player
    • Total Player 2024
    • Total Player 2023
    • Total Player 2022
    • Total Player 2021
    • Total Player 2020
    • Total Player 2019
    • Total Player 2018
    • Total Player 2017

We use cookies to enhance your browsing experience and provide personalized content. By clicking "Accept All Cookies" or continuing to browse this website, you consent to the use of cookies in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities...
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT