By Katie Henshaw
Playing as a part of the Lacrosse team, Varsity 2019 was very interesting for me as it was my first time competing away in Lincoln, so it was a completely different environment. The early morning start to Varsity, I think everyone would agree, was a very long and arduous experience. Which resulted in a coach full of exhausted students. However, when arriving in Lincoln, everyone’s spirits were completely lifted as we were determined to get wins for the University. It did take a while to get to the pitch we were playing on, however, both lacrosse teams were excited. This showed by the amount of music we were playing on the coach, it was raising our eagerness and team spirit which helped calm the nerves slightly. The whole of Lincoln probably heard us coming, with how loud we were singing our hearts out. When we got there, the pitch wasn’t quite as nice and professional as we were expecting, they had us playing next to a cow field, which was quite different to what we are used to, usually playing at the West Campus Swamp.
Before our game, a lot of our second team were incredibly nervous, especially due to some of us not having even played a game before. Myself, being in a goal, which is something I had only tried twice in training before was admittedly quite scary, however, I found it interesting nonetheless. I actually felt like being in goal made it easier to have an overview of how the game was going, which was helpful to see which opposition players for Lincoln were a dangerous threat. Emotions and frustrations did run high in the match as both teams really wanted the win. It was enjoyable to play in such a competitive environment. Beating Lincoln proved to be a very difficult task, they were very quick in their play, making some really quick phases of play with some amazingly placed passes, which made it difficult for us. We, unfortunately, lost 14-2, which was frustrating, however, we had only played together once or twice before.
However, our women’s first team got retribution by getting an emphatic 14-4 win which was our second win of the season. The first team girls really did play incredibly well. The Men’s first team also lost, but they too played incredibly well.
Overall, I did enjoy playing at Varsity 2019, it was a fun yet competitive experience. We may have lost Varsity 2019, but I am proud of our University teams and it was a great experience. I’m very confident that not only will the Hull University Lacrosse teams; but the whole University, next year, will get revenge on Lincoln and once again win Varsity.
