Day 3 – Finals in Zurich
With nerves high, expectations to the roof and competitive spirits elevated the Alp League final was ready to commence! The day kicked off with the small final of Zurich 2 vs Basel, with Zurich 2 so far having been undefeated by Basel. At the start of the game Zurich took an early lead, but Basel responded with two goals of their own. Zurich then tied the score, but another 4 consecutive goals were achieved by Basel, and it was obvious that the psychology of Zurich was starting to get impacted. Despite Zurich making one last goal, half time still came at 6-3 in favor of Basel, indicating that Zurich had their work cut out for them if they wanted to get that win. Just look at Lieke’s passion trying to coach her team back to victory!
Second half started with Andy scoring, which was a dagger to Zurich’s heart, making the chase for third place an even harder mission. Zurich ended up scoring three long range shots in the second half, but this was still not enough, as Basel carried on their strong offensive performance getting another 5 shots in. The game finished 11-6 with Basel’s team getting 7 of its players on the scoreboard and winning the third place.
And now to the main event of the day- the Final! Everyone was hoping for a repeat of the Day 1 game between Zurich 1 and Lausanne, with high performances from both teams and spectacular korfball being demonstrated. And disappointed we weren’t! Karianne opened up the score early in the game but then Lausanne’s shooting stars, Levi, Inez and Daan scored three consecutive goals. Zurich appeared a little frozen in response, but Karianne was not willing to let her team down, getting another goal in and keeping Zurich in the game. Unfortunately, soon after, Levi injured his knee and had to step out, but not before making one more goal for his team. Pelle then scored another two goals for Zurich, tying the game.
In a final attempt to contribute to his team, Levi re-entered the game for a few minutes and got one final goal before retiring for good, giving the lead to Lausanne once more. Despite Lausanne now having to rely on somewhat less experienced players, to the surprise of everyone they did not let the pressure down, but kept Zurich under control. Nevertheless, Zurich still made some good shots by Anouk, Carra and Pelle, ending the first half 5-8 in favor of Zurich.
The second half started and Zurich may have been leading the score, but the difference was low and it was clear that Zurich was not at the top of its game. And with Daan getting the first goal of the second half in, reducing the difference to 6-8, everyone could tell that the game was still on and very much a derby. That’s when the offensive superpowers of Louise finally kicked in, scoring 3 goals and with Karianne scoring another two Zurich built a comfortable difference. Anouk and Mike also scored one each, locking Zurich’s lead in the game and shattering Lausanne’s dream of becoming the Swiss Korfball champion for the first time.
The final goal of the game came from Inez with only 30 seconds left on the clock but it was still not enough to change the tide, with a final score of 15-8 in favor of Zurich 1. I have to say though, despite Lausanne not getting the place they wanted, I don’t think a single soul was disappointed with the result of the game. The team made an incredible effort, keeping an objectively much stronger opponent at bay for most of the game, although they had to rely on less experienced korfball players to do so. Nevertheless, final results are in with Zurich 1 coming first (whoop whoop), Lausanne second, Basel third and Zurich 2 at fourth place!
More results from the day below:
● Female MVP: Karianne- Zurich 1
● Male MVP: Levi -Lausanne
● Female Top Scorer: Anouk -Zurich 1 (14 goals- also FYI she managed this without even playing on Day 1)
● Male Top Scorer: Pelle- Zurich 1 (13 goals)
● Other honorable scorers:- Levi – Lausanne (12 goals), Carra – Zurich 1 (11 goals),
Inez – Lausanne (10 goals), Andy -Basel (10 goals)
● Most improved player: Diogo- Zurich 1
From the bottom of my heart I want to send kudos to all the players, trainers, referees, organizers and spectators of the Alp League who made such an incredible season happen!
