London Varsity 2023: Saturday, 18th March, Roundup

Sports Editor Laurence-Elliot Key rounds up the third day of London Varsity 2023, with team UCL getting one hand on the London Varsity 2023 series trophy.

After another very close day of Varsity action on Friday, KCL faced their rivals, UCL, on the third day of the 2023 London Varsity Series. Saturday saw the fixtures of Taekwondo, Rowing, Lacrosse and Hockey. Live-blogging coverage came from the combined efforts of Roar Sports Editor Laurence-Elliot Key and Staff Producer Liz, who went to King’s House School in Chiswick, London for Lacrosse. Laurence was supported by Connor Williams, who together went to the Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre to cover the KCL Hockey Men’s and Women’s matches. Both teams were supported with help from colleagues at KCL Radio and KCLSU.

Taekwondo (@kcltkd)

Unfortunately, due to the KCL team having many injuries in their camp, the event did not take place and so the point was awarded to UCL.

Rowing (@kings_rowing)

King’s Rowing were unfortunately beaten in all categories by UCL’s crews and lost the event, 5-0.

Lacrosse (@kcl_lacrosse)

This event occurred at King’s House School in Chiswick, London. With recaps of the matches coming from KCL Lacrosse’s Mark and Eliza. Many Thanks to them!

Men’s Lacrosse: The game started quickly with UCL on the offence, until King’s defence won back the ball and drove it the length of the field to a streaking Arsh, who found the back of the net to put King’s up 1-0. A messy first quarter was highlighted by two big chances for King’s that were saved by the UCL goalie. The second quarter saw the rain come down and took what was already a messy field and turned it into a mud puddle. Still, King’s kept the energy up and found a second goal. King’s led 2-1 at the half and exploded out of the break with two quick scores to make it 4-1. The third quarter became very chippy and at times boiled over with big hits from both teams. Two fortunate goals from UCL made it 4-3 until King’s responded quickly out of a timeout with their 5th goal and got the 6th just one minute later. Final score King’s 6-3 UCL.

Women’s Lacrosse: After an inspiring effort by the men, it was the women’s turn to step onto the already torn-up battleground.

With UCL winning the first draw, the ball was straight down to King’s defensive end – a brick wall which has gone from strength to strength this season. Sadly a nifty goal off of UCL left defender Zoe scrambling in the mud. With another goal from UCL in the first quarter, King’s knew they needed to respond. After a quick midfield transition, it was down with the attacks, with Mid-Attack Amelia stepping up to score the first goal for KCL. Over the next two quarters King’s gave blood, sweat and tears for the game. Sadly the lack of subs for KCL meant they struggled to match the energy of the four fresh pairs of legs for UCL. After conceding two quick goals in the third quarter, KCL responded with two top corner shots of their own. A special mention should be given to Ebele de la Bay-Coffie for a spectacular performance in goal. Her amazing saves were a testament to her hard work and dedication to the sport. Sadly, KCL’s performance wasn’t enough as UCL scored their final goals to give an 8-3 scoreline. Though the loss isn’t what we were aiming for this varsity, the team did themselves proud and put on a spectacular performance for alumni, friends, and family. This team has come so far this season, both on and off pitch, coming third after being promoted to a new league this season. This young squad has a lot of good things coming in the years to come and we can’t wait to follow their success!

Hockey (@kclhockey)

Women’s Hockey: A valiant effort from the women’s hockey team tonight at the Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Club in the Olympic Park. Despite the final score of 5-1 to UCL the match was close, KCL made themselves plenty of opportunities to score but struggled to follow through at the short corners. The team knew this would be a tough game going in, but fought hard to the very last minute. The UCL team got a penalty early in the first half leading to their first goal which was then equalised by a quick counterattack from KCL. After this, UCL made several attempts on goal while scoring twice and leaving the result at 3-1 by HT. The second half saw KCL Ladies team shoot from a short corner three times, but could not make them stick due to a rigorous defence by their opposition. The team saw two more goals pass them in quick succession, making the score UCL 5-1 KCL.

KCL Women’s Hockey player in action

Men’s Hockey: King’s made a bold entrance to their match this evening, scoring a shock goal from a short corner very early on in the game. But the success would not last into the second half. The team kept their lead initially while UCL had four short corners that all missed before HT. The atmosphere was palpable with both teams playing passionately and rivalrous chanting coming from the stands. This led to a second half where KCL had one player sent offside on a green card and another with a yellow afterwards. UCL continued to settle into the game making strong attacks that eventually gained them an equaliser after six short corners. UCL then dominated the second half of the game and showed their hand as a skilled cohesive team. Unfortunately, this left the match ending with a 4-1 win to UCL as they changed the course of the game via a spirited comeback. However, KCL played a fierce game and performed well considering they were up against a side that’s a few divisions above their current league standing.

KCL Men’s Hockey player in action

After day three, the overall score stands at KCL 5-12 UCL. On Super Sunday, we will see the turns of Basketball, Badminton, Athletics, American Football, Volleyball and Medics Rugby. Live coverage will be coming from KCL Basketball at The Regal Court, Black Prince Community Trust.

Thanks must be given to Mark and Eliza from @kcl_lacrosse and Connor Williams for this article.

Photos from the Lacrosse games were taken by Elizabeth Grace.