Edinburgh University Women's Lacrosse Club

After a 12-4 away win at Warwick last semester, the Edinburgh 1st team girls were hopeful to grab a good few points in their home match last week – they did not disappoint! The first centre draw was successfully won by Charlie Bergqvist and after a few shots on goal from the Edinburgh attack, it was eventually defender Pippa McCosh who scored the first! The early goal flurry continued for Edinburgh who looked set to dominate once again following Laura Hustler-Wraight’s first half hat-trick and a further goal from Tara Human. Warwick started to panic and after a few turn overs of possession and some stunning saves from pseudo-first-half goalie Flo Robertson, they managed to push a few goals through the Edinburgh defence. After a time out called by Warwick, they managed to score again but the Edinburgh attack soon kicked back into gear with a further 4 first half goals coming from Captain Sophie Rajska and Charlie Berqvist to bring the 30 minutes to a close at 8-3 to Edinburgh.
The second half began with another Edinburgh goal, this time from Myrtle Macpherson who also went on to score a hat-trick before the game was out. This was followed by 2 from Flo Robertson and yet another from Laura Hustler-Wraight. A clearly very panicked Warwick captain called yet another time out but this gave Edinburgh a quick break and a chance to emphasise was put on how far ahead in goals we were and how possession and keeping the ball safe were the most important things. After this quick reminder, the defence put on a stunning show and we saw some fabulous saves from the second psuedo-goalie Sarah Whittick. A sudden flurry of Warwick goals brought the score up to 17-7 but the attack soon got themselves sorted again and there were further goals from Sophie Rajska, Myrtle Macpherson and Flo Robertson. The game came to a close with a final score of 19-7 to Edinburgh. A solid home win, 3 separate hat-tricks and 3rd placed in the league – definitely ready to face Durham next week. Well done!!

On the six hour journey down South, Edinburgh knew that on arrival in Birmingham they would be facing strong opposition from the team ranked 2nd in the premier north league. Although lacking a goalie and plagued by illness, we started well, matching Birmingham’s early goal with a corker from Myrtle Macpherson. The hosts quickly scored again, but Lydia Rogers equaled it with a fast counter attack. The rest of the second half saw a strong Birmingham attack score a further eight goals, despite our best defensive efforts and a sterling performance in goal from Laura Hustler-Wraight. With the half-time score at 10-2, we knew we had to come back fighting.

A very ill Anna Sparrow manned up and bravely took to the goal for the second half, as Edinburgh picked up their game. Flo Robertson soon scored, followed closely by a Birmingham goal, make the scoreline 12-3. Edinburgh absolutely dominated the rest of the second half, taking advantage of Birmingham’s vulnerable defence to score a further three much needed goals; two from Laura Hustler-Wraight and one from Flo Robertson. Despite a questionable Birmingham time-out call, and a final goal from their number 6, our spirited defence and attacking dynamism forced the home side to work hard for a full time score of 13-6 to Birmingham.

A score that doesn’t reflect the game, Edinburgh really showed what they are capable of, winning the 2nd half 4-3. A great fight from the girls who should all be proud. Let’s hope that when Birmingham return, Edinburgh can challenge from the offset.

Last week,Edinburgh1sts looked set to dominate theManchester1sts, who were only promoted to the BUCS Premier League this year. However, an easy win is far from what occurred on the pitch.

The games started with a goal fromEdinburgh’s Kitty Synge and everyone sat back for what seemed would be a comfortable game. But before long,Manchesterhad hit back with two goals. Another goal fromEdinburghmeant that at this early stage it was clearly anyone’s game. The game then went from bad to worse. The ball at the centre was won consistently byManchester, who seemed passionate to bring a win home. This possession was converted to into goal after goal and when the whistle blew at half time the score sat at 6-3 toManchester.

At the half time talk it was clear thatEdinburghbelieved they could do much much better. Wild passing and manic jabs for ground balls meant that the standard of Lacrosse had been very scrappy.

Going into the 2^nd halfEdinburgh vowed to bring it back. The first goal however came fromManchester. With a 7-3 lead, they then tried to slow the game down which frustrated theEdinburgh side severely. Each team proceeded to score once more again, the much neededEdinburgh goal coming from centre Charlie Bergqvist. With only 10 minutes of the game left to goal and the score sitting at 8-4 to Manchester Edinburgh suddenly switched on. This was not a game they were prepared to loose. A stream of goals then started to flood in from Edinburgh’s Myrtle Macpherson, Laura Hustler-Wraight, Sophie Rajska and Charlie Bergqvist.

9 goals in the final 10 minutes brought the game to a close at 12-9 toEdinburgh.

Men of the Match:

Claire Coll (New Edinburgh 1sts Goalie and 1^st BUCS match in goal)

Charlie Bergqvist

Having lost away toGlasgowthis season already, the 2s were more keen than ever to secure a win at Peffermill this week! With a slightly depleatedGlasgowteam, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to get back those much needed points for the league table.

The first half opened with some rather messy play – it definitely took a few moments to get into the swing of things but goals from Abi Hehir, Bex Bentley and Katie Kelleher started the ball rolling in attack and Edinburgh were soon 4-0 up.  A few silly errors combined with some strong Glasgowattacking resulted in 2 goals for the away side.  When Glasgowcalled a time-out, Captains Bex and Sarah were relieved to be able to have a few minutes for a team-chat to iron out the errors and make a few tactical changes.  They seemed to work and despite two more Glasgowgoals, Katie Kelleher, Poppy Royds, Cara Baestlein and Abi Hehir all scored some terrific goals, bringing the first half to a close at 10-4 in our favour.

Another motivational chat at half time and a few words from the umpires warning against dangerous play on both sides meant that the second half was a much different game.  Passing and catching was tighter, tackles were cleaner and there seemed to be much more fluidity in the transition up the field.  A change of goalie from Glasgow and a slight alteration in tactics for their defence meant the Edinburgh attack had to work harder than ever to keep hold of their lead, especially following three more Glasgow goals. Despite the pressure however, some fantastic set-plays from Edinburgh resulted in goals from Poppy, Abi, Katie and Hannah.  Unfortunately, after 52 minutes play, Edinburgh defender Davina Hill was injured in an attempt to save a goal and she together with the 2 captains had to abandon the game and rush to A and E with a potentially broken foot!  Despite this loss to the team, the team maintained their lead and when the final whistle sounded, the game ended 16-7 to Edinburgh.

A good win for the team – bring onLeeds in the knockout next week!

Having beaten Stirling 11-1 in the first match of the season, the Edinburgh 2s were hoping for another strong victory last week Within minutes of the first quarter, Edinburgh established a 4-0 lead with a goal from Abi Hehir, one from Georgia Macneal and 2 from captain, Bex Bentley.  The transitions up the field looked confident and despite a few counter-attacks from Stirling, the defence, led confidently by captain Sarah Aldous, held strong and at quarter timeEdinburghhad a substantial lead.  The second quarter saw an increase in attacking set-plays, some strong settles and fantastic cuts, resulting in goals from the gazelle-like Emily Clixby, Hannah Nicholas, Cara Baestlein and 2 more from Georgia Macneal.  Just before the close of the first half,Stirlingcalled a time out and adjusted their defensive tactics.  A much improved performance from the home team resulted in two fantastic goals from Stirling number 5, however they were soon countered by theEdinburghattack and after 30 minutes, anotherEdinburghgoal from Cara brought the second quarter to a close at 8-2 toEdinburgh.

The second half saw some excellent defensive play, in particular from Laura Goble and captain Sarah Aldous who skilfully kept theStirlingattack out.  At the other end, 3 more goals for Georgia Macneal, 5 more for Bex Bentley and a stunning further 8 from Abi Hehir secured theEdinburghwin. Despite this,Stirlingdid score a further two very well-deserved goals in the final few moments bringing the game to a close at 36-4.  A fantastic win for theEdinburghgirls- bring onGlasgownext week!

A number of injuries preventing key players making the long trip to Aberdeenmeant the 2s were more than nervous ahead of Wednesday’s knock-out match.  After an early start and a long drive however the squad of 14 reached Aberdeenin time to do a few drills and warm-up stand-in goalie Debbie Stebbing before the game began.
The first goal went toAberdeen within the second minute of play and nerves began to escalate but theEdinburgh team soon turned everything around and following 2 goals from Georgia Macneal and one each from Izzy Souster and Bex Bentley, the first quarter was brought to a close at 4-1Edinburgh.

Not wanting to become complacent, the team headed out for the second quarter even stronger and despite an a few Aberdeendrives to goal, the defence stayed strong.  Some fantastic transitional play and forceful drives resulted in commendable Edinburghgoals from Hannah Nicholas, Georgia Macneal, Lucy Henshall and Sarah Aldous.  By this point the Aberdeengirls were getting rather frustrated and as play became scrappier, Aberdeencalled a time-out.  This was a perfect opportunity for captains Bex Bentley and Sarah Aldous to congratulate the team on their efforts so far but also to urge them not to let things slip.  Two more minutes play of the first half saw an Aberdeengoal and a fantastic shot from Edinburghman of the match, Charlotte Horler.  Unfortunately the goal was disallowed but this did not dampen spirits and the first half was brought to a close at 9-2, giving Edinburgha strong advantage.
Needless to say, Aberdeen came out fighting strongly in the second half not wanting to be knocked-out of this important BUCS competition, but despite their efforts, some fantastic play from Edinburgh resulted in 2 more goals each from Bex Bentley and Izzy Souster and yet another from top scorer of the day, Georgia Macneal.  The defence held out strongly in the third quarter but a tactical change from Aberdeen in the final 15 minutes produced 3 goals against the Edinburgh side.  When the final whistle blew however, the match ended 16-6 to Edinburgh, who now go on to face Leeds University 1^st team in the last 16.  Congratulations everyone and good luck against Leeds!

The first XII faced their toughest match of the season against the notoriously strong Durham team on Wednesday. As Durham gained the lead with some fast breaks Edinburgh was quickly learning how to assemble the defence to prevent these predictable goals. Edinburgh proved their competitiveness was more than an equal match for Durham by winning the majority of the ground balls, which had been practised in Mondays session. A fantastic goal by fresher Lydia Rogers towards the end of the first half gave Edinburgh the spur on they needed to fight back. The second half began with Edinburgh having most of the possession causing Durham to panic and let their aggression get the better of them giving away quite a few penalties. Our goalie Justine was having an excellent game and saved some very hard shots much to Durhams’ annoyance. A lovely goal from Flo Roberston came next bringing the score to 9-2. The game quickly turned around and further shots came from Kitty, Laura, Whitney and yet another one for Flo. The score was now 9-5 and Durham really were getting frustrated. Edinburgh defence kept a solid barrier that Durham couldn’t break through. Unfortunately after running some set-plays Durham managed to gain back their confidence finally bringing the score to 14-5. Overall a great effort by Edinburgh who did not make it an easy match for Durham.

The Edinburgh 1^st team girls were gathered on the Tuesday afternoon in George Square, all set with overnight bags and prepared for the long 6 hour drive down to Warwick, for the first away game of the season. Over excited cheers of ‘Let’s go Edinburgh!’ and shouts of encouragement for our minibus drivers Sophie Rajska and Kitty Synge (embarking on her first ever minibus drive) could probably be heard from the library. But as dusk set in there was one character missing… “where is Justine guys?”  – Justine Sullivan, who has come over from the States for one semester, has brought a lot of skills from across the pond to the Edinburgh team. One might even say that she is irreplaceable, particularly because she plays in goal…ah. It turns out that Justine has to stay in Edinburgh in order to present for her course. Panic sets in – “oh my god what are we going to do?!”. A quick call to 2^nd team player Poppy Royds, asking if she would like to leave for Warwick IMMEDIATELY to represent the 1^sts, meant that we were back on the road! Laura Hustler-Wright and Pippa Cullingworth each volunteer to protect the goal for a half each and so things are looking back up.

At the game the next day, Captain Sophie Rajska and Vice-Captain Kitty Synge geared the team up saying “We get the first centre and we score the first goal”. The first centre draw was successfully won by Charlie Bergqvist and movement up the pitch resulted from a hard fast goal from Sophie Rajska. Mantra complete, the next goal came from Charlie Bergqvist and the Edinburgh team looked set to dominate. Warwick started to panic and after a few turn overs of possession and a few stunning saves from pseudo-goalie Laura Hustler-Wright, they managed to push a goal through the Edinburgh defence. After a 90 second time out called by Warwick, they managed to score again. With the game suddenly changing from 2-0 to 2-2, the Edinburgh ladies kicked into gear, maintaining the majority of the possession for the rest of the half and further goals from Lydia Rogers, Sophie Rajska and Kitty Synge bring the first half to a close at 6-2 to Edinburgh.

The second half began with another Edinburgh goal, which was followed much as in the first half with another 2 goals from Warwick. This time it was Edinburgh’s turn to call a time out. Emphasis was put on how far ahead in goals we were and how possession and keeping the ball safe were the most important things. After this quick reminder, the defence put on a stunning show. Particular mention must be made for Georgia Palfrey and Bryher Francis, who both denied cutting and covered bodies with great determination and skill. Pseudo-goalie number 2, Pippa Cullingworth, managed to make some great left handed saves and let no further goals in the rest of the game. The game came to a close with further Edinburgh goals, including a hatrick from Laura Hustler-Wright.

Final Score was 12-4 to Edinburgh. A solid win away, we wonder what you can do with the goalie girls?

After a long wait to the start of the season following the cancellation of the Newcastlematch last week, the newly formed first squad were keen to prove all their hard work training had paid off! This became evident right from the first draw with an early goal from Edinburghnumber 5, Laura Hustler-Wraight.  Loughborough were quick to respond however and despite some strong defensive play, the score-line was soon even again.  It quickly became obvious that neither team would be satisfied with anything less than a win and despite an impressive hat-trick from Loughborough number 19, the Edinburghsquad fought hard to regain possession.  Some fantastic transitional play and adventurous set plays resulted in further first half goals from man of the match Kitty Synge and fresher Lydia Rogers, then following another Loughborough goal,  Laura went on to secure her own hat-trick putting the home team back in the lead.  However just before the half time whistle, a sudden Loughborough surge resulted in two more goals bringing the first half to a close at 7-5 to Loughborough.
A motivating half-time team talk led by captain Sophie Rajska and ex-England player Pippa McCosh gave the team the necessary confidence to go all out in the second half and regain the lead in this crucial first match.  Despite some impressive early second half goals from Charlie Bergqvist, Sophie Rajska and Flo Robertson, Loughborough maintained the lead until the final ten minutes when Whitney Flynn scored an equaliser from an impressive drive to goal all the way from the half way line! Tensions were high in the final ten mintues and when Laura Hustler-Wraight scored her fourth goal of the match, the second team supporters on the sideline could hardly contain themselves! But there were still eight minutes to go and despite the defence’s best efforts to keep the Loughborough attack out, a late equaliser brought the score even at 11-11 all with six minutes to go!  Both teams fought so hard but at the end of the day it was Edinburgh who came out on top with a fantastic goal from fresher Flo Robertson.  A brilliant first result for the squad and good luck next week inWarwick! Same again pleaseEdinburgh!!