With their 2-1 victory over Germany today, Netherlands women have taken their points tally to 37 points from 13 games in the FIH Hockey Pro League 2022/23 season, which is an unassailable number for all the other 8 teams in the league, making Netherlands the champions of the FIH Hockey Pro League for the third time in the 4-year history of the tournament!
Netherlands’ campaign began on 13 December 2022 in Santiago del Estero, Argentina in a mini-tournament that featured Great Britain, Argentina and Netherlands. Netherlands registered a 2-1 victory against Great Britain in their first game and followed that up with three further wins to complete a perfect mini-tournament picking up all 12 points available.
The next time we saw them in action in the FIH Hockey Pro League was in June 2023, in their home mini-tournament at Eindhoven. This mini-tournament featuring China, Australia and Netherlands. Netherlands looked ominous winning the first three matches to make it 7 wins in 7. While Australia managed to draw their final game against Netherlands and take the bonus point, the Dutch team had still managed to collect 22 of the possible 24 points from their opening 8 matches of the season.
The shoot-out loss to Australia proved to be a minor blip for the reigning World and Olympic champions as they proceeded to win their next five games, including the one against Germany earlier this evening, taking them to 37 points in 13 games, with 3 games still to go.
With the title already sealed in style, Netherlands can now chase history. The highest points total ever accumulated in a season of the Pro League is 45 points, by Netherlands themselves in the inaugural season in 2019, where they won 15 and lost 1 match. With 3 more wins in the upcoming 3 games, Netherlands can take their points tally to 46 points and end the season without losing a single game in regulation time, a feat the Argentina women also achieved in the previous season on their way to the title.
Along the way Netherlands have produced some thrilling hockey, with one of their best goals showcasing the cerebral connections shared throughout their team. They also boast the best attack and defence in the tournament having scored a mammoth 51 goals already with 3 games to go, while conceding just 13 goals. Yibbi Jansen is far and away the leading scorer in the tournament with 11 goals so far, while Frédérique Matla also now possesses the record for the all-time top goal scorer in the Pro League, overtaking Olivia Merry and taking her tally to 29 goals in 40 games.
With this title, Netherlands are now the reigning Olympic, FIH Hockey World Cup and FIH Hockey Pro League champions!
