Despite a shock shoot-out lost in Bremen, Mannheimer HC’s women secured first place in the Bundesliga regular season title and is therefore qualified for the Euro Hockey League 2027.
It was the surprise of last Saturday’s action as ninth place Bremen earned a 1-1 draw in normal time and then added a bonus point in a shoot-out 3-1.
In the first half, it didn’t look like Mannheim would give their opponents any quarter. Verena Neumann gave them a deserved 1-0 lead at halftime, which could easily have been greater.
Bremen had goalkeeper Franziska Hagen to thank in particular for preventing Mannheim from taking a bigger lead. Shortly after the break came the equaliser when Manuela Ghigliotti made a clever run down the left wing towards goal, and her cross was deflected by the MHC defence over the shoulder of goalkeeper Chiara Vischer.
Bremen defended the draw tenaciously until the final whistle. In the shootout, Marie Frerichs, Agostina Lovagnini, and Manuela Ghigliotti secured the 3-1 victory, with Sonja Zimmermann scoring the only goal for MHC.
Ironically, despite the loss, the single point earned was enough for Mannheim HC to mathematically secure their league title. It left them seven points clear with two games to go.