Burkhardt and Van der Elst often strike in the first round of matches

In the men’s competition, Burkhardt tops the list with eight goals on the first round. The Amsterdam striker found the net in four of the five season openers. His tally per opening round ranged from one to four goals, with those four goals being his best performance in the 2024–2025 season.

Van der Elst also has a knack for getting off to a flying start. The Amsterdam forward scored no fewer than nine goals in the first match round of each of the past five seasons. She, too, scored in four of the five opening matches during that period. Her tally: two goals in 2022–2023, three in 2023–2024 and then two goals on two separate occasions.

This means Burkhardt and Van der Elst remain ahead of several big names. In the women’s competition, Frédérique Matla follows with eight goals on the first round, whilst Yibbi Jansen has six. In the men’s competition, Jeroen Hertzberger comes closest to Burkhardt with seven goals.

For Van der Elst, this scoring record also fits into a broader pattern. A strikingly large proportion of her Hoofdklasse goals are scored early in the season: September and October are by far her most productive months. A fast start is therefore certainly no coincidence for her.

Most goals on the first round – women, last five seasons

• Fay van der Elst – 9
• Frédérique Matla – 8
• Yibbi Jansen – 6
• Pien Dicke – 5
• Joosje Burg – 4

Most goals on the first round – men, last five seasons

• Boris Burkhardt – 8
• Jeroen Hertzberger – 7
• Alexander Hendrickx – 5
• Jip Janssen – 5
• Aki Käppeler – 4
• Casper van der Veen – 4
• Miles Bukkens – 4
• Sam Lane – 4
• Zach Wallace – 4