Cambridge treated their supporters to a stunning 17-6 victory over Imperial College this WednesdayLouis Ashworth

University of Cambridge 17
Imperial College London 6

BUCS Premier South, St John's College Sports Ground, Grange Road

The Cambridge University Women’s Lacrosse Club (CUWLC) recoded an emphatic 17-6 victory against Imperial College London Women’s 1sts in the BUCS Premier South on Wednesday afternoon at St John’s pitches. Coming into the game on the back of a narrow 8-5 loss league to Oxford, the victory provided some much needed momentum going into the Varsity Match and ensured the Blues closed the gap on table-topping Exeter to just two points. A sorry Imperial side, meanwhile, were cut further adrift at the bottom of the division, with zero wins in eight consecutive BUCS league matches so far this season. 

Cambridge still had a job to do, though, and their attacking intent was evident from the outset as they set the tone for the rest of the encounter, opening the scoring within the first two minutes through Katie Lehovsky. The Light Blues pressed high up the pitch right from the face-off, with Julie Wise winning possession to help her team work the ball skilfully around the attacking third. Cambridge took their time to work the ball into some space before Lehovsky left the Imperial ’keeper for dead with a thunderbolt she could do nothing about. 

Then the floodgates opened. Goals flying in left, right and centre were almost impossible to keep track of. Co-captain, Julie Wise soon doubled the Blues’ lead, and Mia Lewis made it three shortly after before Lehovsky doubled her goals tally for the afternoon. Imperial struggled to gain a foothold in the game, unable to deal with the speed of Cambridge’s attacks and the quality of their passing. Some more scintillating attacking play and another ‘give and go’ later, Delphie Veys scored the Blues’ fifth – all before Imperial had even managed to test Emily Coales in the Cambridge goal.

Louis Ashworth

As the half drew on, Imperial seemed to gain in confidence with the Imperial number 31 opening the scoring for the Londoners ,only for Amelia Miller to restore Cambridge’s five goal advantage within 90 seconds. A quick-fire double salvo from Veys and co-captain, Ayesha Nicholls made it 8-1 to Cambridge and ensured that the match was simply a formality from then on.

Imperial rallied late on in the first half, twice testing Blues’ goalkeeper, Coales, who proved more than a match before being beaten by a scrappy goal on the verge of half time to leave it 8-2 going into the break. Perhaps the most impressive aspect of the Blues’ game in the first half was their high pressing and determination to win the ball back in the odd instances they conceded possession.

The gulf in class between the teams was evident throughout the first half and there was to be no respite for Imperial in the second as it more or less followed the same script as the first with Cambridge dominance interspersed with the odd Imperial foray into the Cambridge half. Lewis scored her second and Cambridge’s ninth goal of the game before goals from Wise, Miller, and Felicity Villar made it 12-2. Both Villar and Veys continued their fine form in front of goal with the latter completing her hat trick mid-way through the second half.

Louis Ashworth

Villar soon joined her, scoring perhaps the goal of the game following a slick, swift passing move in the middle of the pitch. Cambridge won back possession in their own defensive third and moved the ball adeptly through the sticks, switching play between the left and right flanks, and setting up the Cambridge 39 who only had to slot past a helpless Imperial goalkeeper to complete her hat-trick and notch up the Light Blues’ 15th goal of the match.

If there was any fault in the Blues’ game it’s that they were perhaps guilty of easing up towards the end of the second half as they allowed Imperial to score three perfectly avoidable goals, but the result was long beyond any doubt as the Blues ran out deserved victors 17-6, having thoroughly outclassed Imperial throughout the match.

Focus for the Blues now turns to the Varsity Match on February 25th. Speaking exclusively to Varsity after the game, co-captains Julie Wise and Ayesha Nicholls were optimistic ahead of what will be the decisive fixture for the Cambridge and Oxford teams, with both recording one victory each in the league. Nicholls was in a buoyant mood following the victory. “It was great to have loads of different scorers”, she said, “we’re really confident of a positive result for Varsity.” Wise added that the win would provide a “good morale boost” ahead of what should undoubtedly be a hotly-contested affair later this month.

CUWLC: Coales, Caka, Lehovsky, Miller, Benson, Birch, Lewis, Everden, Eno, Crawford, Wise, Rodgers, Peters, Nicholls Terelak, Villar, Gillespie, Veys