The women’s team of 1. FC Union Berlin have extended the contracts of eleven players for the next season. Alongside the captain, Lisa Heiseler, Elisa Schindler, Celine Frank, Latoya Bach, Luca Scheel, Hannah Kratz, Naika Reissner, Zita Rurack, Melanie Wagner, Ginger Schulz and Sophie Trojahn have signed new deals.
Heiseler has played for 1. FC Union Berlin for ten years. During this time, the 24-year-old, who stepped up from the youth to the women’s first team in 2015, has not only become a key player, but also a real identification figure. In 108 games for Union, she has scored 81 goals. The attacking midfielder was made captain at the start of 2022/23, and with 24 goals this season, she is once again not only Union’s top scorer, but also second in the league.
Elisa Schindler is another Union veteran, having played in Köpenick since she was seven years old. Indeed, they are the only club she has ever known. The central defender finally made the first women’s team in 2015, and now has 62 competitive matches under her belt.
Celine Frank is another player who feels like a part of the furniture at Union, having been promoted from the U-17s to the first team alongside Heiseler and Schindler in 2015. Then, having played in the first team for two-and-a-half years, she took an 18 month break to go abroad. In the summer of 2019, Frank, who plays in defensive midfield, returned to Köpenick and immediately established herself again. The 24-year-old has made 56 appearances for Union, scoring an impressive 14 goals.
Latoya Bach joined the first team in 2017, also rising from the club’s youth sides. Since then, the 23-year-old, who is mainly used at full-back but can also play on the wing, has played 58 competitive matches for 1. FC Union Berlin. She has scored five goals so far.
Naika Reissner moved from the 2. Liga’s TSG 1899 Hoffenheim to Köpenick last summer. The 18-year-old winger quickly established herself at Union, and has played 14 games so far, scoring twice. She has already won the hearts of the fans with her ability to dribble past opponents at pace and her tireless creativity. She has already represented the Austrian national U-19s this season.
Melanie Wagner also signed for 1. FC Union Berlin last summer. The 21-year-old goalkeeper came from VfL Wolfsburg II after four years and immediately made her mark in Köpenick. In 24 Regionalliga games, Wagner has kept 13 clean sheets and conceded only 20 goals.
Luca Scheel initially moved to Union’s 2nd team in the summer of 2019, stepping up once again the following year to the senior XI, for whom she has now played 23 times. Scheel was largely played as a defensive midfielder, but her season ended with a torn cruciate ligament in the last game before the winter break. The 21-year-old has been out of action ever since, but is making great progress in her rehabilitation.
Hannah Kratz also comes from Union’s youth set-up. The 19-year-old has played 21 times since her debut for the first team in 2021, scoring three goals. Most recently, Kratz celebrated her comeback after months of injury, which caused her to miss almost the entire second half of the season.
Zita Rurack may have only been at Union since last summer – having joined from FC Internationale Berlin – but in her debut season she immediately started attracting attention through some impressive performances. The 18-year-old has quickly established herself, partly thanks to her adaptability. This season, Rurack has played both as a left-back and as a centre-forward, and has scored eleven goals in 16 games.
Ginger Schulz, meanwhile, became the youngest player in the women’s squad last summer. The 16-year-old, who made her debut at the age of 15, is considered to be a great prospect in central defence. Schulz, who has also continued to represent the B-youths this season, has already been called up for the German U-17 national team. However, she has also gained some vital experience in the Regionalliga Nordost through her five league appearances so far.
Sophie Trojahn makes up the group. The 19-year-old midfielder came to Köpenick from FC Turbine Potsdam II in the summer but had to wait a few months before making her debut due to injury. However, she finally made her first appearance for Union in December 2022, and has played every game since. She has scored four goals in 13 games.
“We are delighted with the extensions, which are important for achieving our sporting goals,” said Union’s head of women’s and girls’ football, Jennifer Zietz, on the new deals. “We have a great squad and don’t want to lose the faces people identify with from the team.”