Nick Gandy 1/3/2013

Women’s Lacrosse

Leeds 10-11 Nottingham

Once again Leeds Women’s Lacrosse have proven themselves to be one of the greatest performing teams in the University. They may have lost their BUCS trophy semi match to Nottingham this week but they played an amazing game that really could have gone differently.

The match started in a way the Gryphons may not have been used to, neither side appeared better than the other and they were just testing each other’s abilities. The spectators gathered, waiting for one team to take the risk and go for a goal. The wait wasn’t long as Leeds found their form and sent one straight into the back of the Nottingham net, showing they were here to win.

With the game well and truly under way Nottingham decided it was the perfect time to mount their response to the Leeds strength. They began a full-on blitz on the Uni defence who had more work to do in this one match then they have had all season.

The increased pressure paid off for Nottingham who began a scoring streak that at best put them 4-1 up. The girls seemed to have an answer for the barrage presented by the away side.

The girls left their team talk inspired and they returned to the pitch ready to win. The titan of lacrosse that is Caitlin Baty took the ball and made a decisive move up the pitch giving the girls a good drive that they needed. The move ended in a score but there was still a lot of work left to be done.

The girls knew there was a tall order ahead of them but they rose to the challenge well. Baty scored another goal for the Gryphons closely followed by Fleur Adderley in an improvised play that paid off well.

Leeds were still one goal down and time was running out in the first-half. It was difficult to see what exactly had changed in the girls’ game that made them so dominant on the pitch but clearly it was working.

Another goal was scored which levelled the two teams and no sooner had the restart whistle been blown then Baty had run the pitch and scored a confident goal of her own. As half-time came the message was clear, Leeds wanted to win.

The game restarted after a short pause and Leeds were quick to reaffirm their earlier message with a superb quick goal from Jess Puntan. But Nottingham wasted no time in formulating their own reply with a goal of their own.

This pattern continued for most of the second half with Nottingham never being more than a goal behind, hardly breathing room for the girls.

The real action happened in the final 10 minutes of the game. Nottingham hit the offensive hard and showed that the match was far from over. They levelled the score at 8-8 and although Leeds followed this up with a truly outstanding goal from Bell Hitchcock, they kept pushing out into the lead.

The match ended 11-10 to Nottingham but the Gryphons have nothing to be upset about. They played a truly magnificent game and showed their incredible talent as a squad. It will sting that they are denied the final of the BUCS trophy but have made history by getting further than any other Leeds team before.