HB Ludwigsburg advanced to the final four of the DHB Cup women’s division.
HB Ludwigsburg defeated Thüringer HC 36-28 in the 2024/25 DHB Cup women’s quarterfinals held at Salza-Halle in Bad Langensalza, Germany on the 6th (local time).
This is the first time under the name of HB Ludwigsburg, but the team has advanced to the Final 4 for the 8th time in total, having reached the Final 4 seven times under the previous Wittigheim name.
news/cms/202411/08/news-p.v1.20241108.2ae37d4582f34a4b8146908313e250d0_R.jpg" data-width="600" data-height="400" /> Enlarged photo Ludwigsburg’s Jenny Behrend shouting to fight, photo source = Bundesliga
In the beginning of the game, both teams fought fiercely. Veronika Malá scored the first goal to start Ludwigsburg’s attack, and Thuringer HC quickly counterattacked to tie the score at 3-3.
Afterwards, Ludwigsburg’s goalkeeper Johanna Bundsen took control of the game by making several important saves, and Xenia Smits and Jenny Helen Carlson led the attack and led the scoring. .
Ludwigsburg widened the lead to 12-5 by scoring 8 consecutive points in the middle of the first half. In this process, no goals were allowed for almost 12 minutes. Thuringer HC broke the streak of conceding goals in the 20th minute with Natsuki Aizawa’s individual skill.
Ludwigsburg still maintained a strong central defense and minimized the opponent’s shooting opportunities. As Thuringer HC briefly trailed to 13-8, Viola Leuchter scored twice from the right to make it 15-8. Ludwigsburg allowed consecutive goals in the last minute, but ended the first half with a 17-11 lead.
At the start of the second half, Veronica Marla scored the first point again, increasing the lead to 18-11. Thuringer HC changed their defensive tactics to try to keep Xenia Smits in check, but Jenny Helen Carlsson dug into the space created by this, and Ludwigsburg took a 20-13 lead in the 34th minute, taking the lead to 20 points.
Later, in a 7-meter penalty situation, Ludwigsburg replaced the goalkeeper with Nicole Roth, who blocked Johanna Reichert’s penalty shot. Mala’s extra point gave Ludwigsburg a double-digit lead, 25-15.
Afterwards, there was a battle in which goals were exchanged, and Ludwigsburg gave up three goals in a row, narrowing the gap to 29-22, but then goals were exchanged again and no further pursuit was allowed. Valentina Klemencic’s goal at the end of the game ended the game at 36-28, confirming Ludwigsburg’s advancement to the Final Four.
Ludwigsburg led the attack with Jenny Helen Carlsson scoring 6 goals, Mareike Thomaier and Viola Reuter scoring 5 goals each, and three players scoring 4 goals each to secure a comfortable victory. Goalkeeper Johanna Bundsen also contributed to the team’s victory with 12 saves.
Thuringer lost by 8 goals, with Johanna Reichert scoring the most goals in the match (9), but the rest of the players’ scores were not up to par.
Ludwigsburg aims to advance to the final by facing Borussia Dortmund in the Final Four, which will be held at the Porsche Arena in Stuttgart on March 1 and 2, 2025. In another semifinal, HSG Blomberg-Lippe and HSG Bensheim/Auerbach will face off.
Ludwigsburg coach Jakob Vestergaard told Bundesliga: “I am very satisfied with today’s performance and happy to be in the final four again. Playing in Stuttgart is always special. “It is not easy to win against Thuringer, but the team played unitedly today and victory was not threatened,” he said.
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