U14 National Lacrosse Champions
Yesterday saw the return of the National Schools Championships for our U14’s. Having been postponed last Monday due to the weather, the U14’s used their extra week to continue training and preparing for the big day!
With last minute schedule amendments on Wednesday night, we knew we had to top our section in order to safely progress to the quarter-finals. This was not an easy task with the calibre of schools in the section. However, the U14’s rose to the challenge and managed to top their section winning 4/4 games, earning a full 20 points, beating Godolphin 3-1, Wycombe Abbey 2-1, Walthamstow Hall 3-1 and St. Alban’s High School 4-2 on their way.
The quarter-finals, saw Caterham take on Downe House, a team they had narrowly beaten earlier in the season. This was a physical, fast-paced match, but Caterham channelled their nerves and excitement and left everything out on the pitch beating Downe House 5-2.
Progressing into the semi-finals, we were up against St. Swithun’s. The nerves were starting as they had beaten us 2-15 last season. However, after all their hard work this season and sticking with our moto of ‘play lax and have fun’ we beat St. Swithun’s 5-2.
The final saw us take on our rivals St. Catherine’s, the same team who beat us 2-3 in the County finals earlier this year. We were so ready to take on this challenge and put everything into practice that we had perfected this season! Conditions were tough, with torrential rain, but the mood was high, and the final began!
St. Catherine’s came out hard and caused us to go 0-1 down, but we fought back and the score was 1-2 by half time. The second half was a game of pitch sprints with some great saves by both goalies, however we played smart and continued to draw the fouls, including a great interception by A. Paul, causing a turnover leading to a fast break goal from J. Cooper. The last minute of play saw 2 shots on goal for us without success. However, chasing it off the back line, we regained possession and shifted the ball round to J. Lowe. With 2 great drives and 2 fouls drawn J. Lowe saw the advantage flag and used it to gain a better angle for a free position. With 30 seconds left of the game, Jess was calm and composed and scored the final shot. As the ball went back to the draw, the final hooter went and Caterham became National Champions for the FIRST TIME EVER!
Mrs P Burtenshaw
Director of Lacrosse
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