Roster
Five days before the start of the league season, coach Markus Högner – who is still without Dana Marquardt, Emilia Pauls, Mia Scholle, and Manuela Zinsberger – fielded a 21-player squad. The team was led by new signing Alex Popp, who was named captain of the BVB Women team yesterday, Friday.
Match Summary
The match quickly turned into a hard-fought contest: Both teams had their first scoring chances as early as the fifth minute. As early as the 17th minute, BVB suffered a bitter blow when Yasu Wöhrn had to be substituted due to injury following a defensive play. Frederike Kempe came on in her place.
In the minutes that followed, the visitors from Rome repeatedly posed a threat in front of goalkeeper Laura van der Laan’s net, but the Black and Yellows also created chances: A long-range shot by Alex Popp was only secured by visiting goalkeeper Lukasova on her second attempt. At the other end, things got dicey again after about half an hour when Roma could have taken the lead with a five-for-one chance (!) – van der Laan and the goalposts each stood in the way. In an eventful match, the teams went into halftime scoreless after further chances by Popp (37’) and Rita Schumacher (41’).
For the second half, Markus Högner brought on two fresh legs: Jenske Steenwijk and Ronja Leubner. As the rain began to fall, both teams remained fully focused, which led to the much-celebrated 1-0 goal for the home team in the 57th minute: After a free kick by Schumacher from the left edge of the penalty area, new signing Lara Schmidt was on hand to head it in!
In the final quarter of the friendly, the teams slowed the pace of the game slightly; both coaches used this phase to make several substitutions. The opponents posed a threat once again from set pieces, but to no avail. Laura van der Laan also managed to thwart a solo run by the Roman team in stoppage time. In the end, it was a hard-fought and cleverly defended 1-0 home victory against the reigning Italian champions and cup winners.
Quote
Coach Markus Högner: “It became clear—at the latest after we weathered Roma’s five-for-one chance– that we might have something to gain here today. In the first twenty minutes, we lost the ball too quickly on several occasions; later on, we were better able to combine boldly going forward. AS Roma wanted to settle the match quickly, but we kept our composure well into the second half, which allowed us to secure a well-deserved victory in the end.”
Outlook
This coming Thursday (20 August, 19:00), the Black and Yellows kick off the 2026/27 Regionalliga season: Arminia Bielefeld, third in the standings last season, will be the visiting team at Rote Erde Stadium. Tickets for the season opener are available online in the ticket shop.
BVB Women: van der Laan – Wöhrn (17. Kempe), Walkling (64. Günnewig), Maier (46. Steenwijk), Schumacher (77. Böger), Popp (77. Willeke), Ito (64. Reimann), Meißner (46. Leubner), Enderle (77. Maier), Vogel (64. Ostermeier), Schmidt (64. Schuster)