Americans lead HB Koge to Danish crown and UEFA Women's Champions League qualification
- by Mike Woitalla @MikeWoitalla, Jun 10, 2021
HB Køge, with a roster that included eight Americans, won the Danish Women's Elitedivisionen within two years of American George Altirs taking ownership of the club when it was in the second tier. A 3-1 win over record 12-time champion Brondby on the final day of the season clinched the league title and qualification for 2021-22 UEFA Women's Champions League season.
Introducing the new Danish champions!
Congratulations to @hbkogedk who have won the Elitedivisionen title for the first time ever #UWCL https://t.co/ic5IjfVcUU
— UEFA Women’s Champions League (@UWCL) June 5, 2021
With 18 goals, Kyra Carusa (right) won the Danish Elitedivisionen scoring crown. The Californian who played youth ball with the San Diego Surf won the 2017 NCAA Division I title with Stanford and reached the semifinals with Georgetown as a grad student in 2018. Carusa, fellow South Californian Kelly Fitzgerald, who starred at Cal Berkeley, and goalkeeper Kaylan Marckese (University of Florida) were named to the season Best XI.
HB Køge's Americans
Kyra Carusa: 28 games/19 goals
Maddie Pokorny: 29/12
Kelly Fitzgerald: 24/4
Lauren Sajewich: 24/1
Kaylan Marckese: 15/7 shutouts
Stephanie Ribeiro: 15/7 goals
Makenzy Doniak*: 13/10 goals
Emily Boyd* : 8/2 shutouts
* returned to NWSL in December
