Lacrosse cap superb week with four victories

Warwick Men’s 1sts 12-5 Loughborough Men’s 2nds

On a day of sunshine, the Warwick team was able to welcome Stephen Blaylock for his first-team debut having played in Canada for several years beforehand. Captain Rhys Hill joined him in attack, swapping his defensive duties to aid the goal scoring capacity of a strong Warwick team.

The match began with the hosts on the front foot, working the ball around in the opponents’ half. However, after several attempts on goal by Warwick it was Loughborough who opened the scoring with a swift counter-attacking goal. The lead did not last long, with Sean Pillai scoring and Rhys Hill notching a quick-fire two goals to take the score to 3-1.

Further pressure from Warwick led to several chances with Stephen Blaylock and Jono Fernandopulle unlucky to further the lead. Loughborough managed to score a soft goal before the quarter-time whistle, frustrating the hosts to leave the score 3-2 after the first quarter.

The second quarter began with Loughborough probing the Warwick defence to little avail, with Josh Privett in particular showing his tactical prowess to intercept several of the Loughborough passes. At the other end Rhys Hill continued to weave through the Loughborough defence adding another goal to complete his hat-trick.

Although Warwick had spells of dominance throughout the quarter, individual errors and drops in concentration and intensity allowed Loughborough back into the game with two soft goals taking the score to 4-4 at half time.

The surprise of drawing with a considerably weaker team injected an animalistic motivation in the Warwick team. From the start of the third quarter Warwick controlled possession and penetrated the Loughborough defence with Stephen Blaylock opening his Warwick account and Hill increasing his tally to five with another two goals. Edward Morris then scored a brilliant solo effort, dodging past his defender and scoring a rare left-handed goal to the delight of his captains.

Warwick’s defence also outmuscled Loughborough’s attack with big hits from Thomas White, Dave Lamprell and Thomas O’Neill ensuring the score remained 8-4 when the whistle blew.

The final quarter began as the third quarter had ended with Warwick continuing to dictate play. Hill continued to torment the Loughborough defence and took his match total to eight with another three goals, including an outrageous solo goal with a D-pole. Loughborough scored a consolation goal but Fernandopulle added the final nail to the coffin, ending a superb team goal with great play from Paul O’Connor and Michael Engelen.

A special mention must be made to the terrific Richard Gold, who won 18 of the 20 face-offs he was involved in and showcasing the significant improvement he has made as a player through his dedication and hard work.

All in all a positive, albeit expected, result for Warwick and with the next match against local rivals Birmingham next week, the chase for promotion continues.

Team: Deelan Maru; David Lamprell, Thomas O’Neill, Joshua Privett, Huw Davies; Sean Pillai, Richard Gold, Edward Morris, Thomas White, Sam Hill; Rhys Hill (captain), Jono Fernandopulle, Stephen Blaylock, Michael Engelen, Paul O’Connor.

Other results:

Women’s 1sts 12-5 Oxford Brookes
Women’s 2nds 10-6 Leicester
Men’s 2nds 10-7 Nottingham