Matchday nine of the women’s Serie A1 championship delivered a spectacular finish to the first half of the season, offering high scoring, individual brilliance, and decisive movements in the standings that sealed the Coppa Italia Final Six qualifiers.
The round opened with a convincing away win for L’Ekipe Orizzonte, who defeated Smile Cosenza Pallanuoto 14–8. Catania immediately stamped their authority on the match, racing to a 5–2 first-quarter lead. A four-goal surge straddling the end of the third and start of the fourth quarter (13–7) put the result beyond doubt. Miller led all scorers with four goals, while Meggiato and Tabani each completed a hat-trick. With a game in hand, Martina Miceli’s side now sits on 19 points—well within reach of the league leaders.
Trieste made light work of Brizz Nuoto in their 19–9 victory at home. After opening with a commanding 6–2 first quarter, the Giuliane accelerated again in the fourth period to close with another 6–2 run. McDowall was simply unstoppable, scoring eight goals in a dominant attacking display that anchored Trieste’s fourth win in five games.
AGN Energia Bogliasco 1951 picked up a valuable 13–7 away win against Nautilus Civitavecchia at the Federal Center in Viterbo. The match stayed competitive through the first half, but Bogliasco broke away decisively with six unanswered goals between the third and fourth quarters. Hardy produced a standout performance with four goals, guiding the Ligurian side to double-digit points in the table.
In Padua, SIS Roma earned a crucial 16–11 win that preserves their position at the top of the standings. Despite the five-goal margin, the match stayed balanced deep into the final quarter. Ranalli proved decisive once again—scoring five goals, all from penalties—maintaining Roma’s unbeaten march and setting a strong tone heading into the break.
At the Rapallo municipal pool, Luca Antonucci’s side dominated the bottom-of-the-table derby, defeating Iren Tauride Locatelli Genova 28–5 to keep pace with Roma. Di Maria starred with seven goals, supported by Giustini and Vukovic with five each, while Galardi added four. Despite the scoreline, Genova goalkeeper Avenoso delivered admirable moments, saving penalties from Cabona and Willemsen.
With Matchday 9 complete, the first half of the season now confirms the six teams who advance directly to the Coppa Italia Final Six: SIS Roma, Rapallo, L’Ekipe Orizzonte, Trieste, Smile Cosenza, and Plebiscito Padova.
L’Ekipe Orizzonte will face AGN Energia Bogliasco 1951 on Wednesday, December 10th at 15:00 in the rescheduled Matchday 7 encounter. The league then pauses for the European Championships in Funchal, running from January 26th to February 5th, before returning on February 11th.
Matchday 9 Results
Smile Cosenza – L’Ekipe Orizzonte 8–14
Trieste – Brizz Nuoto 19–9
Nautilus Civitavecchia – Bogliasco 1951 7–13
Plebiscito Padova – SIS Roma 11–16
Rapallo – Locatelli Genova 28–5
Standings
- SIS Roma – 23
- Rapallo – 23
- L’Ekipe Orizzonte* – 19
- Trieste – 17
- Smile Cosenza – 16
- Plebiscito Padova – 15
- Bogliasco 1951* – 10
- Brizz Nuoto – 6
- Nautilus Civitavecchia – 3
- Locatelli Genova – 0
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