On the 1st of April 2009 the University of Hertfordshire was once again the venue for the East Regional POP Lacrosse Tournament. Teams from Baldock, Codicote, Harpenden, Hatfield, Hertford, Hitchin, St Albans and Welwyn took part after qualifying from their local area tournaments held in the months since Christmas.
13 teams were present in this year’s tournament and competition was a tight as ever. Last year’s National Champions, William Ransom from Hitchin were once again in fine form and were undoubtedly the pre tournament favourites. However, strong competition from all the other districts of Hertfordshire was definitely not going to be making it an easy ride for them. The teams from Hatfield, Brookman’s Park and Essendon were no strangers to the tournament and the three schools from Welwyn, Holwell, Watchlytes and Welwyn St Marys have all been a part of the regionals in the past as well. Codicote (Hitchin), Sandon (Baldock) and Sauncey Wood (Harpenden) made up the returning teams from last year’s competition all look to improve on previous year’s results.
Joining these 9 teams were a group of new comers to the tournament. Ponsbourne and Tewin Cowper were the representatives from Hertford and St Peter’s and St Stephens & St Albans were in the tournament representing St Albans.
The tournament kicked off with all teams finding their feet and getting used to the hall space and tournament rules. William Ransom opened their account with two convincing wins over Holwell and Tewin Cowper, whilst the rest of the schools battled out some close fought matches. St Mary’s lost a very hard opening match against Sandon but they were determined to get back on track and soon turned their results around. The going was definitely tough for the newer schools to the tournament but they showed some brilliant character and gave as hard as they got in ever match. The children were learning fast and I think we can guarantee that they will be back next year with even more ambition to go further.
As the games concluded there were 4 teams that lead the way, 3 of which had 100% winning records (Essendon, Sandon and William Ransom) and the fourth team to join them in the semi finals was Welwyn St Mary’s, who after the slow start had pulled the team together and were proving to be a very tough opponent. The final positions were decided by goal difference (and then by goals scored for the top two teams) and the semi finals were announced. William Ransom was drawn to take on Sandon and Essendon were to battle it out with Welwyn St Mary’s for a spot in the final.
Both semi finals were hard fought battles but the eventual winners were quite clear cut in both cases. William Ransom ran out 11-4 winners over Sandon whilst Essendon defeated Welwyn St Mary’s 9-2.
Sandon and Welwyn St Mary’s went on to compete for the overall 3rd place and the game was as close as it had been all day. Goals were exchanged just as quickly as they could be scored with neither team being able to take a strong hold of the match. The score was 5-5 going in to the final few minutes of the game and it was all or nothing for both teams. Welwyn St Mary’s came close to taking the lead a number of times whilst Sandon were coming just as close at the other end. It seemed destined to be a draw until Sandon hit two quick goals and with about 30 seconds remaining they had made the breakthrough they needed. The final score was 7-5 to Sandon and they claimed the 3rd place in the tournament.
The final was set and the game was a great demonstration of just how good the children had become as both individuals but more importantly as teams. By qualifying for the final both teams had already qualified for the Nationals Tournament in June but this game meant more than just qualifying for the next stage, both teams wanted to lift the trophy and be crown East Regional Winners 2009.
Essendon came out flying and gave all they had left in the tank. They made some great plays towards goal and were very unlucky not to score on a number of occasions; they battled to the very final whistle and were definitely not in the mood to let William Ransom have it all their own way. There was to be only one winner though and William Ransom were out to prove that they are National Champions (2 out of the past 3 years) for a reason. They came out playing hard and moved the ball around the field with ease at times. They controlled play for the most part and scored some fantastic team goals that left their opponents with no comeback. The final score was 10-2 to William Ransom although it could very easily have been a lot closer.
All the children that took part in the tournament were outstanding and they are a credit to their teachers / coaches and schools. They all demonstrated a fantastic attitude towards the game of lacrosse and I don’t think one of them left the games without a smile on their faces or talking about the day they had just taken part in. I personally cannot wait for the Nationals in the summer and I wish both teams the best of luck, but I am even more so looking forward to next year’s East Regional Tournament. This tournament is proving that the East Region has some fantastic lacrosse talent out there and it is getting better year upon year.
The final tournament standings were as follows:
- William Ransom
- Essendon
- Sandon
- Welwyn St Mary’s
- St Peter’s
- Sauncey Wood
- Brookman’s Park
- Tewin Cowper
- Watchlytes
- Codicote
- Holwell
- Ponsbourne
- St Stephen’s & St Albans
Qualify for the National Championships on 14th June 2009 at the University of Hertfordshire.
The final standings before the semi finals were as follows:
- William Ransom – 20 points (Goal difference +21, Goals scored 33)
- Essendin – 20 points (Goal difference +21, Goals scored 31)
- Sandon – 20 points (Goal difference +17)
- Welwyn St Mary’s – 16 points
- St Peter’s – 14 points
- Sauncey Wood – 12 points (Goal difference -3)
- Brookman’s Park – 12 points (Goal difference -6)
- Tewin Cowper – 10 points (Goal difference – 6)
- Watchlytes – 10 points (Goal difference -11)
- Codicote – 8 points
- Holwell – 6 points
- Ponsbourne – 4 points (Goal difference -17)
- St Stephen’s – 4 points (Goal difference -21)
The complete list of results were as follows:
William Ransom 15 v 2 Holwell; Tewin Cowper 5 v 5 St Peter’s; Essendon 6 v 3 Sauncey Wood; St Mary’s 4 v 8 Sandon; Codicote 5 v 6 Watchlytes; Ponsbourne 0 v 4 Brookman’s Park; William Ransom 12 v 3 Tewin Cowper; St Stephens 3 v 8 Essendon; St Peter’s 10 v 4 Ponsbourne; Wachlytes 3 v 6 Sauncey Wood; St Mary’s 6 v 1 Codicote; Sandon 9 v 2 Brookman’s Park; Tewin Cowper 4 v 6 Codicote; Sauncey Wood 7 v 2 St Stephen’s; Holwell 3 v 4 Brookman’s Park; William Ransom 8 v 3 Ponsbourne; St Peter’s 6 v 6 Watchlytes; Sauncey Wood 2 v 10 St Mary’s; Holwell 0 v 4 Tewin Cowper; Sandon 5 v 3 Ponsbourne; St Stephen’s 2 v 9 St Mary’s; Codicote 3 v 7 Essendon; William Ransom 8 v 4 Brookman’s Park; Holwell 6 v 6 St Peter’s; Watchlytes 1 v 10 Essendon; St Stephen’s 6 v 10 Sandon;
Semi Final 1 – William Ransom 11 v 4 Sandon; Semi Final 2 – Essendon 9 v 2 St Mary’s;
3rd Place Game – St Mary’s 5 v 7 Sandon; Final – William Ransom 10 v 2 Essendon
