This year's National Schools Lacrosse Championship gave the St Mary's teams an opportunity to take on the best lacrosse schools, with teams travelling to Aldershot from all regions of England, Scotland and Wales. The weather was a factor in the competition with some tournaments having to be rearranged. The experience of playing in Nationals is always a highlight for our lacrosse players and they took to the challenge well with many of our teams finishing in the top sections and going to knockouts, including two teams reaching the Semi-Finals and many within the top 16 in the country.

We are delighted to share individual team reports below.

U13

The U13s approached their first National Schools Championship with confidence, as they came into the tournament as runners-up in the Regional final, and were looking forward to playing well at the tournament. The morning started with the team taking on four games in the group stage; it was amazing to see the team take to tournament play so well with quick attacking play and solid defence. The U13s finished the morning play without a loss; winning two games and drawing two, including a 1-1 game against St Albans which saw both teams playing at a level well above their years.

The morning play put the team into knockouts and into the top 16 competition, where they faced Birkenhead. The game was fast-paced with both teams having good moments of attack. Unfortunately, the opposition came out with the win (3-1), the team knew they played well and can be proud of their performances throughout the day. To finish the season as 2nd in the region and in the top 16 in the country in their first National Schools Championship is a great achievement and I am sure we will continue to see more success from this team in the future. 

U15A

The U15A Team have been making great progress with their skills throughout the season, building on their strong teamwork as they worked towards the National School’s tournament. Unfortunately, they drew a hard section with some very good teams but, undeterred, they went into each match with confidence and the belief they could do well. In all games, they had good possession and defended the ball well. They had an excellent win against the King’s School, Canterbury, but came up slightly short against the rest. This left them in 5th place in the table, but kept them off the bottom. Despite the losses, they had a good day of lacrosse and look forward to playing in the Senior tournament next year.

U19A

The highlight of the lacrosse calendar saw the U19A and B Teams travel to Aldershot Garrison to compete in the National Schools Lacrosse Championships. The A Team started their first game well, taking the lead against St Albans, however, the opposition was able to get back into the game and take the win. Although it was not the start we wanted, the team bounced back with a 7 – 0 win against Queen Margaret’s. The remaining group games saw the team lose one, draw one and an impressive 13 – 0 win! The team missed out on the Championship Division by just one point - but this gave them the determination for Day Two in Division One.

The morning started off well with the U19As winning three out of three of their group games against Birkenhead, Stowe and Monmouth! This set the team up for the knockouts where they would face Harrogate Ladies College in the last 16. A good controlled game (4 – 2) put the team through to the next round. St Helen and St Katharine were the next opponents and, having faced them in the season, we knew this would be a close game. The level of play was extremely high with both keepers making saves. In the second half, the U19As took the lead and had to play smart to keep the opposition from having a final shot on goal, leading to a hard-fought win (2 – 1).

The Semi-Final was against Monmouth and, having beaten them earlier in the morning, the team knew they would be out for revenge. The U19As took the lead, 3 – 1, however Monmouth worked well to level the game and, with two minutes to go, they took the lead. The U19As had opportunities in front of goal, however the Monmouth keeper was having an outstanding game and kept us at bay. Although our team were unable to make it to the final, the players came of the pitch knowing they had played as a team and worked well for each other.