Skierniewice, Poland hosts its second EuroHockey club event of the year as the Club Challenge II Women comes to town.
The hosts KS Start Brzeziny are in Pool B, meeting Finland’s Porvoo, HC Luxembourg and Portugal’s leaders GD Viso. Pool A, meanwhile, has Gibraltar’s Europa, Croatia’s HK Zrinjevac, Türkiye’s Metpack Alanya Stars and Sweden’s SLF Mesaicos.
The top two from each four-team group advance to one of the two finals on Monday.
** To view the tournament fixtures, tables and results, click here
EuroHockey Club Challenge II Women – team by team overview
Pool A
Europa (Gibraltar)
How Qualified: National Champions
Despite only being formed in 2020, the club have already won four successive national championships in Gibraltar and this season have also added the cup title.
A year ago, they missed out on gold at the hands of HAHK Mladost via a shoot-out in Porto in Challenge III having won 2-0 against SLF Mesaicos in the group stages. Alex Casciaro is a key figure to their performances.
HK Zrinjevac (Croatia)
How Qualified: Third overall but second in league system
The Croatian runners-up are playing in Europe for the first time outdoors since 2012 having finished second in the Croatia regular league last term. This season they sit in a share of second place alongside HK Zelina.
Given the gap, each player is new to this type of competition, especially as eight of their panel are aged 18 or under. Captain Andrija Rituper brings the main volume of experience along with Jasna Bužančič.
Metpack Alanya Stars (Turkiye)
How Qualified: National runners-up
The Alanya Stars are contesting their second European competition having won gold in 2022 in Challenge III. They qualified for this year as Turkish runners-up and they ended in the same position after a second place finish in the six-team playoffs completed last week.
Kübra Güzelal (18 goals) and Ayla Esen (17 goals) are the sharp-shooters in the side while Zeliha Kendir is a strong addition this season having moved over from Gaziantep Doruk.
SLF Mesaicos (Sweden)
How Qualified: National champions
The team of SLF Mesaicos is a melting pot of nationalities and hockey talents The team includes EuroHockey newcomers Isabell Imbeck, Lotta Platen, Maddalena Bin, Marion Kretzschmar, Pia Callmer and Salome Steinke while Ellen Harju, who recently joined the team to take part in the Swedish outdoor competition.
They combine with seasoned Eurohockey “veterans” Aimee Mackenzie, Carmen Chan, Charlotte Zwart, Hannah Deprez, Hanna Bruining, Elijn Kroese, Lisa Rooze and Nathalie van Wees. With Coach Siya Baskiti leading the charge and team manager Nils keeping things running smoothly, the team sees every member as a piece of the puzzle.
Their challenge is they have yet to restart their outdoor season for 2024 with their team photo being taken in sub-zero temperatures!
Pool B
HC Luxembourg (Luxembourg)
How Qualified: only club in Luxembourg
The club are playing in European competition for a third successive year following trips to Alanya for Challenge III in 2022 and Vienna last year for Challenge II where they finished seventh overall.
They finished third in the top six phase of Belgium’s National League Division 3. Vital to their performance are the likes of Luxembourg internationals Diane Krüger (2nd Euro event) and Daniele Holper (national captain – third Euro event) as well as Heather Yanusas and Elena Castagnino.
KS Start Brzeziny (Poland)
How Qualified: National Champions
KS Start Brzeziny continue to be the leading force in Polish hockey as they have a perfect record in the Polish competition to date, winning five out of five matches in the championship pool thus far.
It is their second tournament hosting of 2024 as they welcomed the Indoor Club Trophy to Skierniewice in February, finishing in third place.
This will be their outdoor Euros since winning the Challenge III title in 2010 and so each of their number will be earning their first caps on this stage this weekend.
Experienced players like Monika Polewczak, who has already played through three seasons in the German Bundesliga, creates the perfect environment for younger players.
She lines up with Paula Sławińska and Anna Gabara who were selected for the FIH Hockey5s World Cup in Oman where they won bronze as well as in the EuroHockey Indoor Championship in Berlin where they landed silver.
GD Viso (Portugal)
How Qualified: National Runners-Up
Last season’s runners-up in Portugal, they look to be soaring to the title this year following a perfect league phase of the season with six wins from six, building a 12-point lead over Lisbon Casuals. As such, next week they will play for the title.
Leading the front lines are Ana Nogueira and Cecelia Muro in the league with the former captaining the side in Poland. Twelve of their panel have prior Euro experience, including last year’s run to the final of Challenge III in Porto.
Porvoo (Finland)
How qualified: 2022 national champion
Porvoo are making their third appearance on the European club stage following indoor outings in 2019 and 2020, making it their outdoor debut. They qualify as the 2022 Finnish champions as their summer season did not end until September 2023, moving into a new qualification realm.
But while it is their first time, there is nine of the panel who have played with ABC.
