WARWICK LADIES SEASON REVIEW (SO FAR!)

Warwick women’s 1st Lacrosse team began the season with the ongoing excitement of last year’s achievements. Although placed 6th in last years BUSA Midlands Conference 1A League, Warwick regained confidence and self-belief in the Trophy knockouts to attain a sensational second place to Edinburgh 2nds, losing by 1 goal in the last 30 seconds.

As a result the team morale and spirit were high at the start of term, and this was aided by the influx of new players to the team, with Warwick gaining a total of 11 new players to the 1st team squad.

The first match of the BUSA draw was set against Oxford Brookes, a team that narrowly beat the Warwick side by 1 goal last year. Yet this year was different; despite it being an away game the team had a large support from fellow Warwick Lacrosse members, and totalled a victory of 18-4 against there opposition.

With a walkover from Oxford 2s, Warwick were determined to continue their winning streak against Cambridge, and succeeded, with Warwick taking a 12-3 victory to maintain their success.

Disputes about the Loughborough game left Warwick infuriated. A 13-12 win which was claimed as a draw of 12-12 by the Loughborough crowd, and left unmonitored by the Loughborough umpire, resulted in a BUSA protest and the match being put forward for a re-play. However this did not create any form of set back for the Warwick Women’s 1st team, who continued strong in their play and showed the rest of the league what they were able to achieve through their 21-4 conquest over Nottingham, a game in which they were seen – from last year’s scores – to be the underdog.

With 5 of the seasons games behind them, Warwick were looking towards the toughest match yet, Birmingham 2s. Rivalry had built up between the two teams, due to the Warwick coach, Rebecca Roberts-Gawen, being a previous Birmingham lacrosse player, and both teams were desperate to prove their superior ability on the pitch.

With encouraging team talk from all players and a fine display of skill and expertise on the field, Warwick once again pulled off a thoroughly convincing 17-2 triumph, leaving Birmingham second to Warwick in the league table.

With only the repeat Loughborough game, and matches against UEA and Northampton to be played, league victory looked hopeful for Warwick. With UEA handing the team a walkover, Warwick were given increased motivation for their match against Loughborough, with the prospect of not only winning the league, but also winning it undefeated, in sight. The game was fraught and nerves were high, impinging slightly on the usual high standard of Warwick play that has been seen throughout the season, but nonetheless the team pulled off another great 13-6 victory to bring them to the final straight.

The ultimate game against Northampton was everything the team had expected; violent, aggressive and a low level of play, with dangerous tackling and play being called up numerous times on the side of the Northampton players. Yet with such a goal in sight as the undefeated victory of the Midlands 1A BUSA League Conference, Warwick refused to drop to their level and succeeded in obtaining an astonishing 28-0 win.

Now the team looks forward to their next target; Oxford 1sts this coming Wednesday. A tough game that will hopefully bring the team’s highest game to the surface and see them put yet another win up on the scoreboard. With such a fantastic few months of game play behind them, Warwick Women’s 1st Lacrosse team are riding on an unbelievable high, and don’t feel ready for it to end just yet!