Season Preview: Women's Lacrosse

Following a shaky start to last season, women’s lacrosse picked up dramatically after Christmas, after which the team won the rest of their remaining BUSA fixtures. After a heavy loss to Sheffield in the autumn term, it was extremely satisfying to beat them during a home game, on 'Fortress 22 Acres', and went to show how much the team had bonded and improved. An added bonus was an away victory against old rivals Lancaster, which put York Women’s Lacrosse above their fierce rivals in the BUSA league. These successes didn’t happen overnight; former Lacrosse Club President, Alan Ward, commented “with the help of Coach Gilligan, the girls showed some promising form and results during the middle of their season.”

Not only did the team improve overall, but individual members also became more skilled and really stood out throughout the season. Alicia ‘Lissy Horn’ Hanlon, who played on the attacking wing, was awarded woman of the match several times, and will be one of our most missed players, as well as Daisy ‘Duracell Bunny’ Watts, both of whom graduated from York in the summer. Another key performer from last season was Elsie Blackshaw. She joined women’s lacrosse as a fresher who had never played before, but she quickly showed herself to be very skilful, and became an integral team member during the year, before being elected as the team’s vice-captain for the 2007 season.

However, none of this would have been possible without the dedication of Captain Sophie Close-Smith and Vice-Captain Rachel Cooper. Both Sophie and Rachel were constantly helping less experienced players to find their feet and improve dramatically, as well as coaching and encouraging existing team members. It is due to their hard work that women’s lacrosse has a base of committed members this year; as Sophie has said “the girl’s season went really well last year, with lots of new players which will give us a great start for this season. After good performances all round, player of the year was awarded to Alicia Hanlon”.

This season sees women's lacrosse looking forward to some competitive fixtures, taking on a whole new set of teams in a different BUSA league. As this year's captain Kate Moss has said, 'Having not played any of the teams we are up against this year we don't yet know quite what to expect. Hopefully we can build on what we achieved last year to create some really beautiful play and have a lot of fun. There is everything to play for'. With such a devoted squad already established, there will be many strong players this season. After being injured for quite some time, second-year Harriet Rees is certainly one to watch this year. However, women's lacrosse is still on the look out for new players amongst freshers, including beginnners. The club already has a strong tradition of training those who have never played before and is looking to continue this by organising 2nd Team training sessions.

Out of all this season's fixtures, everyone is looking forward to facing Lancaster at Roses 2008. After a close game in York last May, the team hopes to successfully bring the trophy back to where it belongs.

As a club York Lacrosse is proud of its sporting achievements but also of its social side. The men's and women's teams often socialise together – the obligatory trip to Ziggys every Wednesday after matches, frequently in fancy dress, being a highlight of the week for many of the players!

Last year, the club was also awarded the title of most powerful sports club on campus by the university newspaper Vision. This year's President Sam Waterson looks to build on the successes of last year and move the club forward, hopefully with both men's and women's teams being successful in their respective leagues and winning valuable Roses points for York in the summer.

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