Deputy Editor-in-Chief Kiren Graziano previews one of the more niche Varsity competitions, assessing the chances of the lacrosse teams.
If you’re looking for a competitive, high energy and fast paced environment this Varsity season, lacrosse looks like an excellent bet. With both the Men’s and Women’s sides raring to go up against their UCL counterparts, this competition will definitely be one to remember.
Looking at the respective seasons of the Men’s and Women’s Lacrosse, we see two very different stories. The Men’s team have had a rough go, losing many star players to graduation last year and playing in a particularly competitive league. But the team have worked hard to turn this around and “make a push to stay up”, Lacrosse President Mark Naslund says. On this late-season upswing, KCL Men’s Lacrosse is hoping to continue their Varsity winning streak against UCL.
At last year’s competition, the Men’s team managed to maintain control and bring home a 6-3 victory in what Mark concedes was a “pretty sloppy and rough game”. They pulled out a win against UCL the year before as well. Having gone two for two in recent years, the third-year players on the Men’s team are eager to earn a clean sweep throughout their university playing careers.
The Women’s team are similarly eager to face UCL at Varsity, but they are looking for revenge. Having lost to UCL last year in a serious 10-3 defeat, the KCL Women’s team are excited to have their chance at retribution. UCL’s women’s team was promoted to a different league from KCL last season, so Varsity will see the first face-off between the teams since last year.
In this lapse of contact between the two teams, KCL Women’s Lacrosse has acquired a good mix of both “young and experienced” players, making them a very formidable opponent. Losing last year, but winning the year before, this particular Varsity match-up has shown a tendency to be unpredictable.
With the Men’s team looking for a clean sweep and the Women’s looking for revenge, this year’s KCL-UCL showdown will be one to remember. Lacrosse is a fast, high energy, exciting game that will definitely make for a fun day for everyone who comes to support KCL.
KCL Lacrosse play at 11:00 on 17 March at the New Malden sports centre in Berrylands.
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