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22 March 2018
Having been rescheduled from its original date thanks to The Beast from the East, National Schools was finally played on Sunday 11th March and Monday 12th March at Wycombe Abbey School.
As a team LEH enjoyed fantastic results on the first day of competition. In our pool games, we were one of only 3 teams to retain a 100% record, convincingly defeating Queen Anne’s, Shrewsbury, Westonbirt, Peter Symonds College, St Bartholomew’s, Haberdasher’s and Bedford. This meant that we secured our place in the championship division with the best goal difference of all teams.
Unfortunately, due to overnight rain, the pitches on Monday were unplayable, resulting in the cancellation of much of the tournament. However, Wycombe Abbey fortunately have an all-weather astro turf which meant that the Championship Division could still go ahead with a rescheduled format, straight into the tense knockout rounds.
In the last 16 we played against St Paul’s. This match set the tone for the rest of the day, with an attacking masterclass resulted in a convincing 8-0 win. Progressing to the quarter finals we faced Guildford High. Having taken an early lead, we were able to resist a late comeback and triumphed 4-3. Next in the semi-finals we played Berkhamsted. Initially we went 0-1 down but we showed mental resilience and with the help of several key defensive turnovers, were able to win 4-1.
In the final we faced St Catherine’s, a team who were yet to concede a goal on the second day of the tournament. The game was initially dominated by strong defense and proved to be a cagey affair and so we went into half time at 0-0. Early in the second half we took the lead, only for St Cat’s to respond soon after. Testament to our great coaching and thorough preparation, we were able to keep our cool and with less than two minutes remaining, execute an attacking move to take the lead 2-1. With minimal time remaining, we secured the final draw and when the whistle went, LEH became National Champions for the first time in 30 years.
By Hannah (UVIG) – Lacrosse Co-Captain
