CUHCW started life in the South Premiership with a historic victory over OxfordFaye Kidd

Cambridge University Hockey Club's Women (CUHCW) enjoyed a fine start to their BUCS campaign on the 12th October*, as they put in a resilient performance to claim a superb 2–1 away victory over their University of Oxford rivals.

Despite a clinical performance in the final third from the Light Blues forward line, it was defensive and goalkeeping heroics that saw the away side over the line at Iffley Road, to secure a confidence-boosting result that shows signs of great promise for next Spring's Varsity match against the Dark Blues. 

CUHCW began the game at a fast pace, firing the ball around with speed and looking to prevent their opponents from settling into any kind of rhythm. And while the width offered on the flanks provided a valuable outlet throughout the game, it was through quick passing in the centre of the pitch that the Light Blues made their mark: with just under 10 minutes gone in the game, the ball fell to the stick of captain Faye Kidd at the tip of the D and her howitzer of a strike clattered into the Oxford goal. 

And while this was an excellent start for the Light Blues, going a goal behind triggered the home side into life; suddenly it was CUHCW having to put up a wall of resistance against Dark Blue pressure, particularly with Oxford attackers Deborah Greer and Sophie Wright looking hungry for goals up front. 

Indeed, it was just before half-time that the Light Blues' resistance was to crumble: after the ball clattered into a CUHWC foot, Oxford took full advantage of a penalty corner to fire the ball past Freddie Briscoe in the away side's goal. 

A key half-time interval followed, with the home side buoyed by their equaliser. Oxford began to monopolise possession and territory, though CUHCW continued to look threatening on the counter-attack thanks to the pace of Sophia Padt. But if the second half will be remembered for any single performance, it will be in respect of the efforts of Briscoe in the Light Blue goal: time and time again, as Oxford knocked on CUHCW's door, the Corpuscle kept them out with a string of superb saves. 

And by keeping her side in the game, Briscoe can be said to have played an instrumental role in her side's victory. With the final whistle edging ever closer, it was the Light Blues who broke the stalemate: sharp tackling in the centre of the field saw the ball fall to Sally Bradley, whose shot was predatorily deflected into the Oxford net by Padt to give CUHWC what would prove to be an unassailable 2–1 lead.

Having earned their promotion to the South Premiership thanks to a superb unbeaten campaign that included a memorable 9–1 victory over the University of Sussex, this historic victory over their perennial rivals represented a real confidence boost to the season for CUHWC. Indeed, Light Blues' skipper Faye Kidd, speaking to Varsity after the game, was full of her praise for her side: "The Oxford victory is the perfect start to our BUCS Premiership campaign. We have just been promoted into the league so it was a dream to play Oxford first and take three points back to Cambridge. We hope to do the same when we play them at home and, more importantly, at the 117th Varsity match on 5th March."

Kidd also paid tribute to the dedication and commitment shown by her team: "After a long pre-season, our hard work is paying off in both our Saturday and Wednesday leagues and it has been a fantastic start to the season. It's an exciting time for Cambridge hockey and we hope the University can get alongside us as we continue our BUCS and East League campaigns. For me personally, it is a real honour to captain such a dedicated and talented group of athletes."

CUHCW have a gruelling 33-match season to come before then, however, with the team balancing their BUCS matches alongside their games in the East Premiership League that are typically played on a Saturday. But, having already amassed nine points this season following excellent performances in the weekend fixtures, the Light Blues look set for success. 

CUWHC: Briscoe, Darling, Moore, Buxton, Corry, Thorpe, Bradley, Kidd (c), Padt, Burrows, Bevan, Shears, Cox, Osbourne

Oxford: Bailey-Williams, Stewart, Taylor, McNab, Brown, Koehli, Wright, Greer, Burnell, Dennison, Kelly (c), Langendries, Spink

Unforeseen circumstances delayed the publication of this report. Varsity would like to apologise to all concerned