So close yet so far

Following a hard fought victory over Swansea in the semis, Imperial Men’s Lacrosse faced up against Leeds Met Carnegie in the BUCS Trophy final in Sheffield on the 17th March. Leeds had narrowly beaten Birmingham in their semi and, having lost against Birmingham 20-0 two years previously, Imperial knew that this would be the most difficult match of the season. However, in the two years since that crushing defeat the team has improved vastly and confidence was high on the long trip up North.

The pre-match talk was focused on avoiding penalties as there were to be four officials rather than the usual one but this did not stop Imperial giving away a number of soft early penalties. Leeds failed to capitalise on their early man-up plays but took the lead as Imperial were slow to start. The reply was quick in coming however and the inevitable nerves seemed to settle afterwards. The first quarter was fairly even and the teams reached the end of the first quarter level.

The start of the second quarter saw a multitude of penalties from both sides but unfortunately more from Imperial. This resulted in Leeds dominating possession for the remainder of the quarter and they scored a number of goals in quick succession. Imperial were struggling to regain the ball and went into half time significantly behind.

Imperial came back out fighting, forcing Leeds into making mistakes

Following the ten minute break Imperial came back out fighting, forcing Leeds into making mistakes and this quarter it was to be them who spent more time in the penalty box. Imperial managed to get some goals back through Captain Jeremy Webb and the formidable crease man Tomas Bym who would eventually finish top scorer. Leeds were not helping themselves by arguing with each other and the referees, and even though Imperial’s defence was down to just four men at one point they held strong and went into the last quarter just one goal behind.

After the restart both teams were clearly tiring resulting in sloppy mistakes and the play became end-to-end. The teams were alternating scoring until Imperial’s Ian Hunt scored three beautiful goals; one brushing the post and bar on its way into the top corner. This gave Imperial the lead going into the final five minutes but when they should have held possession they pushed for the killer goal which resulted in a turnover of possession to Leeds who levelled the game again. Imperial pushed for the winner in the dying minutes but a number of dropped passes let Leeds score their 11th and 12th goals and time eventually ran out for Imperial with the match finishing 12-10 to Leeds.

It was Imperial’s best performance against the strongest opposition they had faced in the three short years the Men’s team has existed, but it was Leeds’ ability to hold the ball when a man down and their efficiency in converting when a man up that was the difference between the sides in the end. Although disappointed in letting the game slip away at the end, Imperial should look back and be proud at what they have achieved in such a short time, and think about how far they have come since the 20-0 defeat to Birmingham in their first season.