Fall Headlines

On Friday, Manon scored a hat trick with two goals in the first half and one in the second, despite being heavily defended. Maelle was close behind with two goals in the first half.

On Saturday, both Manon and Maelle scored in the first half and Manon again in the second. Iris showed up in center mid alongside Anto and Elsie dominated the pitch in center mid. Overall the team came together to ramp up the intensity in the second game and made a strong showing.

From Coach Max, post game:

4-4: we played with aggression and determination against a very good The Hague side. Louis scored twice from two headers. Yuta intercepted a ball in a good position to score his second goal of the season. Both teams were going at it hard, the game looked more like a rugby game at times. We led the score four times. Credit to the ASH team for their determination.

3-1: The Hague played their B team and we dominated the game. We managed to give more game time to some of our players and test new positions.

Shout out to Louis for scoring four goals in two games and playing with a really high intensity, leading by example.

The Varsity Girls Volleyball team returned from The Hague with a weekend split against a strong ASH side, earning a 3-2 victory Friday before falling 0-3 on Saturday.

Friday’s five-set win was an important early-season step for the Raiders, who showed the composure needed to stay together and close out a tight match. Serving once again helped drive the performance, with the team continuing to create pressure from the service line throughout the weekend.

Saturday brought a different challenge as injuries forced several players into expanded roles and unfamiliar positions. Despite the changes, all three sets remained competitive against an ASH team that had won the Antwerp Early Bird Tournament the previous weekend.

The weekend provided valuable experience across the lineup while showing the Raiders can compete through adversity. Most importantly, learning how to win a five-set battle this early in the season gives the team another strong foundation to build from.

Coach Ivonne, post weekend - Friday we had an amazing game with a hat trick by Emma and an assist by Fay and scored by Shadi. Our birthday Goalie Laure played a great game with many saves.

Saturday the girls played really well too and kept fighting till the end but very tiring as we only had 2 subs. Again great saves by our goalie Laure who was in the goal for the first time but played like a pro and got many compliments from the hosting schools.

Good weekend of results.

3-3: Game was a little difficult mentally after being 3-1 up and not being able to close out the game. Building on our connections with each other and understanding how we play is still the focus, as well as our mentality in game, is going to take time. Passages of play were very good at times and consistency of this was lacking which cost us goals.

5-2: A positive start for the morning, although we could argue we should have had more. Preparation is key and again, the consistencies here in what we do off pitch, plays a part for the whole team. Proud of the team and how they continued to push towards an identity and maintain that.

Team effort this weekend. No photos were available at press time.

U14 A Girls

London, first game: We started off extremely well against London and saw a game on eye-level. We created our chances, kept the ball away from our goals and worked together as a team. We had a huge chance to go up 1-0, but the London goalkeeper saved a phenomenal ball. However, shortly after we were up 1-0 anyway. London, a team that is quite physical and slightly taller than us, kept pressing us and managed to score two goals. While the first half was still good, despite us being 1-2 down, the second half was not as successful. London spotted our weaknesses and won 1-8 in the end, which was well deserved. We gave our best and worked together as a team, but London managed to keep forcing us to make mistakes, so we could not continue the way we played the first half. Our team kept pushing each other and they tried their best!

The Hague: We played a team that is a lot shorter than us and not as physical. We combined our way through their team and created plenty of chances and responded quite well from the previous match against London. While The Hague managed to score a goal in the first half, the score was 4-1 for us and we kept playing our game until the game was finished. Great teamwork, everybody worked for the ball and wanted to win.

London, second game: A game that we started quite passively and it seemed like from the outside that if we were just watching London play. The desire to win the ball was not existent, and we were completely out of the game, which made us unable to execute our game plan at all. With the final whistle blow we managed to score a goal to make it 1-7, but we started playing great when it was already obvious who was going to win. However, seeing the first half of the first game against London, we all know what we are capable of and are hoping to face London again soon!

U14 A Boys

Friday vs. ASL - boys lost the game before getting on the pitch. Lack of focus, playing like it’s recess and no pride in the shirt sums it up. Thanks to some fine saves from Tom we kept the score down.

Friday vs. ASH - switched the team around to use the full available squad. Much better effort. A fine set piece goal from Yousef. Really we should not have lost this one.

Saturday vs. ASL - total transformation in attitude. The first 25 mins were the best we’ve played all season. Arguably we could have been 3-0 up with a little better luck. The crossbar is still vibrating from Colin’s shot. And clearly he practises the crossbar challenge as his second-half freekick thundered in off the underside. Fitness, then played its part as our defence became porous and gave away two needless penalties.

Across all three matches our press was really effective as we repeatedly won the ball back in the top third. Much more of this will be needed as we move forward with our season. Shout out to Thomas who led our line superbly this morning.

U14 B Boys

We lost against a much more physical and athletic opponent. Our technical gaps made it very hard to build up from the back: we couldn’t play short to keep the ball, so we had to rely on long balls. We still created some chances, but lacked the technique and physical ability to finish them. This group is still at an early learning stage, so we will keep working on the basics in training: coordination, running, ball control, dribbling, passing and possession.

U14 B Girls

A good first half in the first game, with improved defensive structure. Fell apart slightly in the second half.

But our best game so far was on Saturday with the team scoring our first goal! Shout out to our captain Alma S. who scored the goal with a lovely finish after pressing the opponent. Also, amazing performances and grit displayed by Siw L. and Georgina W. in the defensive midfield. Looking forward to our games in Paris next weekend.

The U14 tennis team hosted its first home games against ASH and ASL on a beautiful, sunny weekend on clay courts. The team competed across girls’ doubles, boys’ doubles and mixed doubles, showing plenty of enthusiasm and determination throughout the weekend.

On Friday, the team played several short games that ended in ties (Doubles Team: Lili-Ela (2-2); Keala and Agata (2-2); Eliza and Lili (3-3). These matches show how important it is to fight for every point until the end.

On Saturday, the team enjoyed playing longer games. Four tennis players made their debut in Raiders uniform and played their first double matches: Bo and Rikin (5-8) as well as Headvig and Alice (5-4).

The team is continuing to learn how important it is to support one another during games, encouraging teammates and celebrating each other’s successes, while also taking the younger players under their wings and helping them feel part of the team. Next weekend, the team will travel to ASP in Paris for their next challenge. Go Raiders!