De Zaan top, but being hunted down by Donk

March 6, 2023

Bente Rogge of De Zaan.

De Zaan occupy the top spot in the Dutch Eredivisie, at least for now, after two extremely comfortable wins this weekend against PSV (24-3) and Het Ravijn (20-6).

However, with three games in hand, the still-undefeated GZC Donk, know they are still in pole position to finish top of the standings ahead of the play-offs. Ingrid Veenhuis’ side did feature this weekend, but in a comfortable 18-7 rout of De Ham.

Elsewhere, there were tight games involving ZVL, and Lefke van Belkum will take the good with the bad this weekend with one win and one defeat. There was joy on Saturday against UZSC, but despair 24 hours later, with an inexplicable loss at the hands of the league’s bottom side PSV.

2022/23 Women’s Dutch League, Weekend Results

Saturday 4th March

UZSC 9 – 10 ZVL-1886 (0-4, 3-1, 2-2, 4-3)

UZSC: S. Maafi 3, S. Jutte 2, K. van der Veen 1, S. Bijkerk 1, H. Hogerborsy, A. van Rossum, I. Keijzer, K. Haksteen, N. Drewes 2, R. Jutte, L. van Wingerden, A. Klein Langenhorst

ZVL: J. Oosting, D. Kammerman, L. Roeals 1, R. de Kleer 4, L. Verhagen, N. Zwiers, D. Gras 1, A. Pauli 1, L. Terpstra 1, N. van Veen 1, T. van der Meer, J. Joor 1,

GZC Donk 18 – 7 De Ham (5-1, 4-1, 3-1, 6-4)

Donk: S. Keijzer, M. van der Weijden 1, B. Sleeking 1, A. Vermeulen 3, I. van Toorn 2, G. van Dijk 1, M. Keuning 3, S. Vos 3, I. Snoeij, S. Bergsma 2, E. Kraaibeek, E. Volkers

De Ham: A. Collas, R. Damianos 1, L. Rozeboom 3, R. Helmstrijd, A. Rozemeijer 2, M. Hekhuis, R. Stam, R. van t Veer, M. Schipper, L. van Trotsenburg 1, A. van der Horst

PSV 3 – 24 ZV De Zaan (1-6, 0-4, 2-8, 0-6)

PSV: S. Kimenai, A. van Rooijen 1, V. van der Beek, S. Eveleens, M. Rietveld, T. Kemanai 1, A. Rietveld, N. Franse, F. Bouwmeister, E. Bekkers, E. Aldenzee 1, A. Schouten

De Zaan: E. Alander, L. Rogge 5, L. den Ouden 2, M. Schapp 8, T. Sam 1, E. Roijen 1, S. Vleeshakker, M. Koopman 1, D. Sap 3, K. Joustra, A. Plugge, B. Rogge 3, B. van den Dobbelsteen

Sunday 5th March

PSV 12 – 11 ZVL 1886 (5-3, 3-5, 3-2, 1-1)

PSV: S. Kimenai, A. van Rooijen 2, V. van der Beek, S. Eveleens 1, M. Rietveld, T. Kimenai, G. Khalandi 4, N. van der Beek, F. Bouwmeister, E. Bekkers 2, E. Aldenzee 1, A. Schouten

ZVL: J. Oosting, D. Kammerman 2, R. Roels 2, R. de Kleer 1, L. Verhagen 1, N. Zwiers 1, D. Gras 1, J. Van der Graaf, L. Terpstra 1, N. Van Veens 1, I. Hoogerwaard, J. Joor, C. van Leeuwen

ZV De Zaan 20 – 6 Het Ravijn (5-0, 5-2, 6-3, 4-1)

De Zaan: E. Alander, L. Rogge 2, L. den Ouden 1, M. Schapp 4, T. Sam 1, E. Roijen 1, S. Vleeshakker 2, M. Koopman 2, D. Sap 1, K. Joustra 5, M. van Tol, B. Rogge 1, B. van den Dobbelsteen

Het Ravijn: D. Logtens, N. de Vries 2, S. de Vries, N. Scholten, L. Beunk, I. Vrelling, P. Gorter 1, M. Reinders, D. Scholten 3, M. ter Schure, A. Kleinlugtebeld

Three teams – De Zaan, PSV and ZVL 1886 – played two games this weekend, but it was only De Zaan who were victorious in both. They were dominant in both, and took maximum points in emphatic fashion.

On Saturday, Mick van den Bree’s side smashed PSV 24-3, with two Dutch internationals showing their prowess in front of goal. Number four Maxine Schapp caught the eye with an eight-goal game, while skipper Lieke Rogge hit five. Sunday’s 20-6 victory over Het Ravijn was equally as one sided, with Zaan’s returning centre Kitty-Lynn Joustra finishing the game with five of the best.

It wasn’t all doom and gloom though for the side from Eindhoven, and they stunned ZVL-1886 with a 12-11 victory for their first points of the season. Lars van Raaij’s young team never allowed their opponents a moment’s rest, and led by the four-score contribution of Gazizah Khalandi, they stunned the side who featured in this season’s Champions League and Euro Cup. It was a surprise defeat for ZVL, who perhaps showed signs of fatigue from the day before, in their extremely taxing 10-9 victory over UZSC.

While De Zaan are top of the league for now, it’s more than likely that GZC Donk will make up the ground in their three games in hand. An 18-7 win this weekend against cellar dwellers De Ham was never in doubt, with nine players finding themselves on the scoresheet, including hat-tricks from Maartje Keuning , Anouk Vermeulen and Saskia Vos.