WALES RETAIN THEIR EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP CROWN
posted at 16:08 - 24 Aug 2008 by Wales Lacrosse
The European Championships, held every four years, was hosted by Finland Lacrosse in Lahti, a small town an hour from Helsinki. Wales travelled out with high hopes of retaining their European Championship from Prague 2004. The squad quickly settled into their accommodation and the routine of eating, sleeping and playing lacrosse (that should be on a t-shirt!. The squad had four pool games to play, followed by a play-off- hopefully the Gold medal play-off!
Proceedings began with a convincing 12-3 win over England. Games against the Czechs (15-0 and Germany (17-3 were controlled displays, and the closest of the games, against the Scots, saw Wales on top with a 7-4 victory. Wales had made it to the Gold medal play-off, and had England to beat to retain the championships.
Wales set out to play a composed final, and they achieved just that. Led by captain Esther Laugharne in defence, backed by Gill Aldcroft and Maisie Osteen in goal, Wales did not concede from settled 8 on 8 play. Their midfield transitioned the ball effectively with Emma Chandler coming up with almost every ground ball. Their attack worked purposefully looking for their best options, with the England goalie only able to make one save in a 7-1 first half due to sharp shooting. England did score in the second half from a fast break and free position. However, the Welsh attacking unit were dominant and a Lloyd hatrick and goals for Astley, Jones and Wray, lead Wales to a 11-4 victory at full time.
The closing ceremony was a wet and muddy affair. However, captain Esther Laugharne proudly held aloft the trophy and each of the players and management team received their deserved Gold medal. See a video of the ceremony at www.asimedia.fi.
During their campaign, Wales scored 62 goals and conceded 14- an impressive stat! All this could not have been achieved without the management team, whose hard work and effort is massively appreciated. Coaches Matt Wills and Martin Gosnay patiently dealt with 18 excitable players and the professionalism instilled into the team, including the popular ice-baths and never-ending eating, only served to enhance Wales’ performance on the pitch. Nick Dyer, Sarona Taylor and Vicky Frosdick were crucial to the players’ superior fitness and physical condition. Raj Rout was indispensable as general dogsbody!
Finally, the family and friends who supported Wales in Lahti, both from the sideline and from home, must be thanked. This includes the Wales Mens team, who came armed with flags, leeks, a mankini and plenty of songs to cheer the girls on. Thanks also to our sponsors Kukri and Opro; we were certainly one of the best kitted-out teams!
Raj Rout, photographer extraordinaire, has just a few photos of the Championships- check out http://community.webshots.com/album/565565247. more...
Prague Cup 2008
posted at 14:07 - 11 Jul 2008 by Wales Lacrosse
Wales took two teams to the Prague Cup, Wales Elite and Wales Dragons, flying out on Tuesday 24th June. The tournament started on Thursday, culminating on Saturday with the play offs. Both teams and Management were looking forward to playing in a tournament and perfecting their match routines. Both teams were also under the scrutiny of the selectors, in view of selection for the upcoming European Championships.
Twelve teams were taking part in the tournament, including the USA Elite. Fortunately both Welsh teams were in placed in different groups, so an all-Welsh head to head was thankfully avoided.
Wales Elite
Scotland White were the first match, and Wales Elite beat them soundly 10:3. The second match of the day was against the home team, Czech Republic. At half time, despite a bucket load of chances, Wales Elite were only up 2:0. Due to thunder and lighting, the match was cancelled and had to be continued the next morning. After a good night’s sleep, and an improved forecast, Wales Elite got off to a much better start and the game finished 6:1.
Their next victims were Scotland Blue. Wales gave one of their best performances of the tournament yet and stormed into the lead. The final score was 8:4, which meant a match against the USA Elite was next. The USA did not disappoint and despite Wales Elite best efforts, lost 17:0.
This meant Wales Elite would play England Glory in the 3/4th play off. The match was played before a small crowd of family and friends who were revelling in the sun. Players’ confidence was at an all time high going into the game. It was an action packed game. At half-time Wales were down 2:1, however they rallied in the second half and at times looked like they might take the lead. However, in one of the closest games played, England came through and won 4:5.
Wales Dragons
The Wales Dragons had a fantastic tournament at the Prague Cup. They were a team that had not played together before and went from strength to strength throughout the week.
The first match for the Dragons was a little daunting. We were up against the USA Elite and some of the best lacrosse players in the world. It was, as expected, a very defensive game for the Dragons but we did very well in the second half to only allow them to get 6 goals. Score at final time was 16-0 to the USA. Bonnie Mahler was nominated for MVP.
A few hours later came the second match of the day in the boiling midday heat. We were up against the Germany A squad. This was our big crunch match as winning this game meant we would stay in the play-offs tier of the tournament. We achieved our goal by beating them 8-5. MVP of the match was Becky Thomas
The Dragons team had now reached their first step by reaching the play-offs. Next step was to reach the 5th/6th position. We played Scotland B and came out fighting, winning the first half 6-1. Scotland then fought back hard but we managed to keep our lead and won 11-5. MVP was Lucy Fowler
Another tough match followed and Wales Dragons put in a sterling performance against the England Hope side. We lost 7-1 however our defensive unit worked really hard together and we put up a good fight, particularly in the second half which had a score of only 2-1! MVP nomination was Cath Elsmore
So we had reached our tournament aim of playing in the 5/6th play-off final. We were up against Scotland A. I think a few nerves got the better of us in the first half which we lost 3-0 but we fought back in the second half with some great attacking play. Unfortunately we had left it too late and lost 7-3 but it was a good effort all round by the second Welsh team who had certainly come together as a team over the week. A very deserved MVP nomination for this match went to Chloe Bensaid.
Both Wales teams improved match to match throughout the tournament and many important lessons were learnt. It was testament to trainer Sarona Taylor that the squads remained injury free and able to perform consistently to such a high level. Players now look forward to representing Wales at the European Championships in Helsinki, August 11th – August 16th. more...
Home Internationals Round Up
With the Prague Cup and the European Championship just around the corner, the Home Internationals were just the beginning of a very long and exciting summer of lacrosse for the Welsh team.
Our first match was against England on the Saturday at Penarth Athletic Club. Unfortunately, the Welsh weather didn’t hold out for us and the driving wind and rain made conditions pretty difficult. However, we were determined to give England a run for their money and that’s exactly what we did. We finished the first half 3-1 down after the defence managed to hold England out for a good 8 minutes before the whistle went. After conceding a few goals in the opening few minutes after half time we were a bit on the back foot but this didn’t stop every player on that pitch fighting until the bitter end. The final score finished 9-4. As a team we were disappointed knowing that we could have performed a lot better on the day but England did go on to beat Scotland 19-2 and Japan 22-3.
The sun came out for us on the Sunday as we prepared to take the field against Scotland. Always a tough battle this proved to be a very nail biting match for our spectators. Only ever a goal or two in it, Wales managed to prevail with a goal in the last minute of the game by Storm Trentham to take the score to 7-6 in our favour. There were many bright spots in the game but again we felt as a team that we could have played a great deal better. I think this only comes from having big expectations and an innate belief that we are an extremely good side. You could describe it as an ugly win but sometimes a win is all that matters!
Our last match was against Japan. After a bit of an edgy start where Japan took the lead, we started to find our form and put some very nice plays together. The final score was 12-3, a good score line considering Scotland drew with them the day before 10-10.
The end of another Home Internationals and many lessons learnt to take us into our next big tournament where we will be taking on the likes of the USA, Czech Republic, Germany and our old nemesis England. A special mention should go to our Captain Esther Laugharne who won the Rosebowl Trophy for being considered the player of the tournament from all four countries. A huge achievement!
Lastly, thank you to all our supporters who came to cheer us on come rain or shine.
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