Nasza zawodniczka strzeliła pierwszą bramkę, a potem drugi zawodnik podał jej piłkę.

Because nasza has to agree with zawodniczka in gender, number, and case.

• zawodniczka is feminine singular nominative
• so the possessive adjective must also be feminine singular nominative
• that form is nasza

Compare:

• nasz zawodnik = our male player
• nasza zawodniczka = our female player
• nasze dziecko = our child

So nasza simply matches the feminine noun zawodniczka.

Zawodniczka is the female form of zawodnik.

It can mean:

• athlete
• competitor
• player

Which English word fits best depends on context. In this sentence, because it talks about scoring a goal and passing a ball, player is the most natural translation.

So:

• zawodnik = male player / athlete / competitor
• zawodniczka = female player / athlete / competitor

Strzeliła is the past tense form for a feminine singular subject.

The subject is nasza zawodniczka, so the verb has to match that.

Compare the past tense:

• strzelił = he scored
• strzeliła = she scored
• strzeliło = it scored
• strzelili / strzeliły = they scored

In Polish past tense, verbs usually show the gender of the subject in the singular, which is something English does not do.

Because bramkę is the direct object of strzeliła, and after strzelić the object goes in the accusative case.

The dictionary form is:

• pierwsza bramka = nominative

But in this sentence it becomes:

• pierwszą bramkę = accusative

Both words change because they are feminine singular:

• pierwsza → pierwszą
• bramka → bramkę

This is very common in Polish: the adjective and noun both change to match the case.

Yes, bramka really can mean goal in sports.

Historically, it is related to brama = gate, and bramka can also mean:

• a small gate
• the goal frame
• a goal in sports
• even a gate/checkpoint in some contexts

But in football/soccer-type contexts, strzelić bramkę means to score a goal.

So here pierwszą bramkę means the first goal, not a literal small gate.

Here a potem means and then.

• potem = then / afterward / later
• a is a very common conjunction that can mean and, but, or just mark a transition between two clauses

In this sentence, a is simply linking the next event:

• Nasza zawodniczka strzeliła pierwszą bramkę, a potem...
• Our player scored the first goal, and then...

So although a does not always match English and perfectly, here and then is the best way to understand it.

Because drugi agrees with zawodnik, which is masculine singular nominative.

So:

• drugi = second
• zawodnik = male player

Together:

• drugi zawodnik = the second player

A learner may wonder whether this means another player. It can sometimes feel that way in translation, but literally drugi means second.

If Polish wanted to emphasize another / different player, it might use words like:

• inny zawodnik = another / different player
• kolejny zawodnik = the next player

Podał is the past tense masculine singular form, matching drugi zawodnik.

Compare:

• podał = he passed / he handed
• podała = she passed / she handed

Since zawodnik is masculine, the verb must be masculine too.

Also, podać often means:

• to pass
• to hand
• to give

In a sports sentence with piłkę, it clearly means passed the ball.

Here jej is in the dative case and means to her.

The verb pattern is:

• podać komuś coś = to pass/give something to someone

So in this sentence:

• jej = to her
• piłkę = the ball

This is why the sentence means:

• the second player passed the ball to her

A useful mini-pattern:

• podałem mu piłkę = I passed him the ball / I passed the ball to him
• podałem jej piłkę = I passed her the ball / I passed the ball to her

Because piłkę is also a direct object, so it is in the accusative case.

Dictionary form:

• piłka = ball

In this sentence:

• piłkę = ball, as the object of podał

So:

• piłka = nominative
• piłkę = accusative

This is the same kind of change you saw in bramka → bramkę.

Polish word order is much more flexible than English word order, but some orders sound more natural than others.

In this sentence:

• podał jej piłkę

is the most neutral and natural order.

Why?

• short pronouns like mi, ci, mu, jej often appear before the full noun object
• Polish tends to place unstressed pronouns relatively early in the clause

Other orders are possible, but they may sound more marked or emphasize something:

• podał piłkę jej = more emphasis on to her
• jej podał piłkę = stronger focus or contrast

So the original order is the normal, neutral one.

Yes. Both verbs here are perfective:

• strzelić = to score / to shoot, as a completed action
• podać = to pass / hand, as a completed action

That matters because the sentence describes finished, single events:

• she scored a goal
• then he passed her the ball

If you used imperfective verbs, the meaning would change:

• strzelała = she was shooting / used to shoot
• podawał = he was passing / used to pass

So the perfective forms fit the idea of a sequence of completed actions in a match.

Because Polish often does not need subject pronouns.

The sentence already tells you the subjects through:

• the nouns: nasza zawodniczka, drugi zawodnik
• the verb forms: strzeliła shows feminine singular, podał shows masculine singular

So Polish normally omits extra pronouns unless they are needed for emphasis or contrast.

For example, Polish usually prefers:

• Strzeliła pierwszą bramkę.

rather than:

• Ona strzeliła pierwszą bramkę.

unless you specifically want to stress she.

Grammatically, yes, but it sounds too literal in English.

Polish often makes gender explicit through noun forms like:

• zawodniczka = female player
• zawodnik = male player

English usually does not need to do that unless the gender matters.

So the most natural English translation would usually be:

• Our player scored the first goal, and then the second player passed her the ball.

Or, if the context is a team sport like soccer:

• Our player scored the first goal, and then the second player passed the ball to her.

So when reading Polish, it is good to notice the gender, but you do not always need to force it into English.