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For the women of 1. FC Union Berlin, 2023 showed so much progress. Having announced the professionalisation of its women’s first team the previous season and adopted the change for the start of the 2023/24 season, head coach Ailien Poese’s team only lost one competitive match in the entire calendar year.
A strong second half of the season paves the way
2023 began with the signings of twins – and former Union players – Dina and Katja Orschmann, leading towards February’s appointment of Jennifer Zietz as Head of Women’s and Girls’ Football, a vital step on the way to professionalisation.
The first important task of the year came in the top-of-the-table clash with Viktoria Berlin. In a thrilling match played in the rain, Union were deeply unlucky to lose 4-3, a scoreline made only more bitter as the guest’s winner came only from an Union own goal in time added on.
Despite the sadness at the time, no-one knew at this point that it would be the last time they would lose this year. Head coach Ailien Poese’s team won every remaining game in the second half of the season, including a huge 3-0 away win at Türkiyemspor, with all the goals scored by captain, Lisa Heiseler.
Professionalisation leads to the top of the table
Following a fruitful summer, with all players now able to make a living from football and training during the day, the team started the new season where they had left off in the last. They were flawless. Union kicked off with a 6-1 win over Hertha BSC in the derby and then got revenge on matchday four with a very important 1-0 victory over Viktoria. Union then recorded their highest win of the season so far against newly promoted city rivals Berolina Mitte. Maria Christina Lange scored five and captain Heiseler four in the 13-0 win. The second double-digit win came in the penultimate league game against third-placed Türkiyemspor, 11-2.
Four days after the league match, Union women also won the Polytan Cup tie against the Kreuzberg team under floodlights, 3-0. That win was the only cup match this calendar year, following last season’s first-round exit and Mariendorf’s omission from the first round this season giving Union a bye.
Results confirm dominance, but the job is far from done
So, Union have played 11 and won 11, they are top of the table with 33 points and enjoy a goal difference of 68 for, 3 against. At one point goalkeeper Melanie Wagner had gone 872 minutes without conceding a goal, and Union only trailed for a total of two minutes in the first half of the season, that being following a surprise opener for Hertha at the very start of the derby on matchday one.
Both the goals scored, and the goals conceded are the best figures in all five regional leagues. With 20 goals, new signing Sarah Abu Sabbah is also right up there in the race for the top scorer’s crown. Kim Urbanek from FC Viktoria 1889 Berlin is second in a list also including Lange, Heiseler and Dina Orschmann. Lange’s figures are particularly impressive, her eleven goals came in five games and 266 minutes of playing time. Or put more simply, an average of a goal every 24 minutes on the pitch. That eleven different players have scored in the first half of the season, and nine goals have come after substitutions shows the strength in depth of the squad.
Head coach Poese therefore can only look back on 2023 with pride “We are very pleased with how the first half of the season went, we coped brilliantly with the major changes in the summer. The entire team has developed enormously, but it is clear that we are only halfway through, and we will continue to work with full focus on our goal.”
