_PNG.png)
Womens 1s vs Nottingham 3s: 13-10
Wednesday saw the much-anticipated battle for league dominance between the Women’s 1st team and Nottingham 3rds.
It was a game some would compare to the England-Croatia semi-final in terms of the weeks of apprehension, the burden of a possible league victory on our shoulders, and the unbelievably cool, well dressed captains leading the team (Gareth Southgate had nothing on us)
Where England collapsed under the pressure, Warwick 1s stepped up to the plate, battling back and forth with Notts to reach a half time score of 6-6.
Some smooth transitions and fantastic goals by debutant Anna brought us up to 10-10 with 8 minutes left on the clock.
What ensued could only be described as a masterclass in mid, with pensioner 4th years India, Sophie and Bella creating a channel from centre to goal that resulted in 3 goals in the final 5 minutes.
A final score of 13-10 to Warwick left us in tears of joy (and mostly relief) on the side lines!! Even the bus company running 2.5 hours late to pick us up and some frankly terrible fresh factor performances from Frisbee couldn’t dampen our excitement.
#WINTHELEAGUE!!!!
Womens 2s vs Leicester 1s: 7-13
This week the 2s played Leicester 1s for the first time since our victory against them during a preseason friendly; with the opposition having been top of the league last year, we were prepared for a hard fight! Rachel Bucklow started off strong scoring within the first couple of minutes of the match, encouraging every member of our straight attack to follow suit. The first quarter saw us score four consecutive goals, striking fear into the hearts of their coach, and resulting in them calling an emergency time out a mere five minutes into the match.
Unfortunately, the initial glory led to a civil war that would go down in history, with defensive player Stephanie Courtney launching a violent attack on her own teammate and being sent off the pitch. In the strongest case for DOD that Warwick Lacrosse has ever seen, this was followed by an own goal by Warwick, putting Leicester back in the game.
By the third quarter, the score was tied at 7-7 after a Leicester staged a comeback to rival Istanbul 2005, putting the pressure on both teams. Despite great play from Warwick, and some exceptional saves from goalie Beatrice Petrescu, time was called with a final score of 13-7 to Leicester. Spirits were still high with one thing on everyone’s minds, in the words of our very own welfare sec Rachel Bucklow, “we’ll get ‘em next time!”
Man of the Match was awarded to Ashika Morar not only for her heroic re-defence in the midfield, but for proving that some degrees can be useful in the real world, tending to ball-to-face related injuries on the side-lines
Mens 1s vs Nottingham 2s: 6-1
It is long rumoured that the gun capital of England is Nottingham. That was certainly true when their Men’s 2s travelled down to Warwick, however, it was only the Warwick Men’s 1s that were popping shots left, right and centre through the visitor’s defence. Insert “Skrrrratt, pap pap pap” sound clip here After a slow first half, and a number of good saves from Nottingham’s keeper, Toby Collins finally found the net, following Sam Pearson’s open goal miss from six feet. We went into the half-time break feeling hard done by for our efforts with only a 1-0 lead. I don’t know what their inspirational Captain (Charlie ‘Inspiration Quotes’ Mann) said to them at the break, but it must have been good, four goals followed from Ryan McGrath (2), Henry Ling, and Sam Pearson. This helped to bring Nottingham into disrepute, citing reffing as the only reason for their formidable demise. The fourth quarter was messy and witnessed some of the worst lacrosse from both sides but that doesn’t matter because Chatfield consolidated the win with another goal. Final Score: 6-1 to the Boys in Red
MOTM: Josh ‘Anthony’ Arnold, for extending his shaft to 6 feet and wielding it with such majesty and confidence against Nottingham boys that they could only gasp at his capabilities. Balls dropped. DOTD: Sam Pearson for missing the openest of open goals and nibbling several times at their defence. [Insert Crab emoji here]
Mens 2s vs Oxford 2s: 2-6
On Wednesday, Warwick 2s played Oxford 2s at home. It was a huge first game for some members of the squad, and with many players injured and ailing, it was an uphill battle from the outset. Nevertheless, Warwick brought the fight to the field with many spectacular plays and acts of aggression to match.
Due to our inability to account for clocks changing, it was a game of thirds. By the end of the first, things were not looking bright for the home squad. With Warwick 4 goals down, an inspirational speech from the captain was vital for them to succeed. This did not come to pass, however that didn’t stop the squad from setting up properly and finishing the second third with a 1-1 draw with Oxford. Hopes were high and feelings of elation flooded the air, until Louis the keeper came tumbling down with a hand injury. All was lost, until newcomer Connor stepped up, and agreed to stand in the line of fire as interim goal keeper. As darkness set in, Warwick persevered and played some excellent lacrosse, with some equally impressive saves from the new keeper. The final score was a 6-2 defeat for Warwick.
We’re still unsure whether it was Jack Barker attempting to live up to his parents’ expectations to play for Oxford Uni, or just his stick not functioning properly… He sent Reece to the floor with a single swoop, which was enough to secure him DOTD. MOTM goes to Connor Buckenham for doing a fine job in goal, when no-one else could.
Mixed vs Birmingham Med Soc: 6-5
Warwick Mixed Lacrosse, the efficient well-run side that we are, managed to turn up for our first away at Birmingham Med Soc’s pitches before the home side had even arrived. Unfortunately, when they did arrive, due to lack of players Med Soc had to forfeit the game. So first game of the season; 10-0 to Warwick!
As we all love the game so much, we decided to take a few players off and play a friendly against the Brummies anyway. With El Presidente Tom Salmon in an unfamiliar position in the cage and a host of blokes who had yet to really pick up a women’s stick, this was very much a practice game for us.
However, the first half saw a dominant performance by the gutsy Warwick side with 2 beautiful one-handed goals from our resident PG student, Jorge, who manages to defy all conventional wisdom that the stick is designed for two hands. Goals from both halves of everyone’s favourite Laxing couple Muca (Lillie?) as well as Pearson saw Warwick 5-2 up at the end of the first half.
But, the game was not done yet. The medics put on a serious fight in the second half of the game, clawing the score back to 6-5 to Warwick with about 5 mins left on the clock. This was where a strong defensive performance led by Chloe really came into play to deny a very strong Brummie attacking force.
Final score 6-5 to Warwick!
Special mention to those who helped out to drive us all to the game as well all of those who played their first game for Warwick Lacrosse –Mohja, Natalie, Chloe & Jorge.
Next game Warwick V Birmingham at Cryfield pitches this Sunday!
Mixed vs Cambridge: 2-13
Today was the big one for Warwick Mixed Lacrosse. We were up against Cambridge who were in first place, just ahead of us on goal difference with a huge surplus of 50 after just 3 games. Hence, nerves were high, but the Warwick Warriors were very much ready to rumble. Sadly, the first quarter did not go our way. Cambridge were well trained (3 training sessions more per week than us!), well-oiled and frankly, had more calls and plays than our men’s first X BUCS team. They put a series of goals past us early on before our relatively fresh team had had a chance to get into the game and heads looked to be dropping. The first quarter ended 8-0 and it looked like this was to be a game almost as embarrassing as watching Ron Cvek getting pied off every week in pop. However, a rousing speech at the end of the first quarter that was widely likened to Mel Gibson’s freedom monologue in Braveheart led to a Warwick resurgence. The second quarter saw a defensive domination from the Warwick team led by women’s vice Georgie Lane and ably assisted by Mohja and newbie Edward as well as a ridiculously solid performance from keeper Becca. The strong Cambridge attack were kept out for the whole of the quarter and Leonard Ozeel managed to get one back for Warwick to leave the score 8-1 at the half.
The second half was another strong performance from Warwick with Cambridge increasingly becoming more and more frustrated. Another goal from Leo managed to keep Warwick in the running. Sadly, the Warwick Warriors began to run out of steam under the relentless Cambridge assault and the final score ended up being 13-2 to Cambridge. Special thanks to all those who played their first mixed game this week and I hope you’ll all be back for another home game against Birmingham Med Soc next Sunday! MOTM – Edward Butler-Caddle for one of the most hardworking debut games I’ve seen and for breaking down the stereotype that PHD physicists have no athletic ability. DOTD – Jorge Mendoza García-Pelayo for back chatting the ref (@Neve I’ve got your back).
