Their Championship run ended this Wednesday after an impressive campaign that saw the ladies lacrosse team finish 2nd in their division – the Premier North.
It has been an impressive season for the University of Nottingham women’s lacrosse team. After finishing second in the BUCS Premier North, just 3 points below eventual winners Durham, they went on to reach the quarter finals of the BUCS Cup, before losing at the Headliner against Oxford.
Ultimately, the women’s lacrosse team were on the losing end of a closely fought contest, which saw impressive defence from both sides.
With the score 6-3 at half time, Nottingham had got off to a slow start, but were eager to get back into the game.
Defender Alice Purssell, and midfielder Emily Thompson told us shortly after the loss that, despite fighting back to stay in the game early on, Nottingham had their ‘heads down’ after Oxford extended their lead to 8-4 in the second half. Nevertheless, they were determined to overcome the 4 goal deficit.
“We fought hard, but in the end we couldn’t pull it back”
Nottingham looked the more impressive team at the start of the second half with an early goal energising the home supporters at David Ross Sports Village.
Purssell, who has represented England under 19s, acknowledged that “whenever you get a goal and the crowd are cheering, it’s always going to pump you up, and you always think it’s within you. But then they (Oxford) responded with another goal it made it hard to keep that momentum going.”
Nottingham were undone by the combination of a few missed chances, and Oxford’s clinical performance, which saw them dominate possession as the game went on.
“This result definitely doesn’t show how good we are as a team”
Despite the harrowing loss, there remains a strong sense of confidence regarding the future of women’s lacrosse at Nottingham. Purssell will not be defined by Wednesday’s result, stating “UoN Lacrosse is still going to keep growing. This result definitely doesn’t show how good we are as a team. This is not reflective of our season.”
After winning 8 of their 10 games during the regular season, there are plenty of positives for the team going forward. And with the majority of the starting 12 players coming back next year, an even stronger side will have high expectations for next season.
Although the result was not the one the team would have wanted, there was some consolation in the team’s resilience, keeping the game within reach until Oxford’s 10th goal sealed the victory for the away team. Oxford now advance to the semi-finals, while Nottingham will have some time to reflect on an encouraging season and look towards a very bright future.
Rory Jones
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Featured image courtesy of UoN Sport.
