EDINBURGH Head Coach Ailsa Stott had a pretty good formula for returning to the BUSA Women’s Championship game that her squad won 12 months ago.

‘We didn’t graduate anyone. This is almost exactly the same team that I had last year.’ She sounds almost guilty as she surveys her phalanx of fourth years in the huddle before another big game. But a year is a long time in university lacrosse, and with the standard constantly rising Stott isn’t going to be apologizing to anyone for the vagaries of Scottish higher education.

Stott’s team knows how to win this championship, and this year already has been pushed to its limit by Cambridge in the semi-finals, going 12–12 into overtime. But most importantly, they know how to beat their Championship opposition, having defeated the University of Birmingham twice in the regular season.

But you know what they say about third time lucky.

When the game began Birmingham Coach Dave Abini got the perfect start, courtesy of Rebecca Roberts-Gawen controlling her own draw and then slicing her way through the middle of a surprised Edinburgh defence. With the Birmingham centre making the early running, Stott needed someone to match her and, somewhat unfortunately for the students from the midlands, two Edinburgh players volunteered for the task. Alternating between attack wing and centre, England U-21s Lou Verrall and Lauren Edgely eventually proved too much for Birmingham. Verrall is a Tasmanian Devil of a midfielder; relentlessly intense, always going full speed, and mixing it up wherever she can. Edgely provided a quiet complement, with composed running, intelligent midfield defence and smooth finishing.

Edgley opened the scoring for Edinburgh and Verrall added another, countered by Birmingham’s Rosana Cartor. At time the game was tied 2–2.

The turning of the screw

Edinburgh quickly asserted themselves at the start of the second period, establishing for the rest of the contest a tempo that Birmingham couldn’t quite match.

Verrall scored her second goal, bouncing a free position shot inside Ward’s stick-side post. She was followed by a rare cameo from defence by Naomi Maclachan, carrying the ball the length of the field before finishing past Birmingham keeper Sally Ward. Ward gave a good account of herself, under increasing pressure, as did her counterpart Lynn Skidmore, who picked up the MVP award in last year’s final.

Both goalies were credited with eight saves, but ultimately Ward was facing too many extra free-positions down the stretch. Birmingham fought on, with Roisin Baker bringing the score back to 4–3, but Verrall was in undeniable mood, finishing from a tight angle just three minutes later. Roberts-Gawen was determined not to let Stott’s side run away, tallying her second goal of the game to close Birmingham back to within one at 5–4.

Fittingly, last year’s captain Emily Knight scored the game-winning goal for Edinburgh with just eight minutes left, weaving through defensive traffic to the exasperation of the trailing Birmingham midfielders. Edgley calmly added her second, sweeping right handed down the centre of the Birmingham defense to make it 7–4, before Baker picked up a consolation goal in the final minute.

Stott was happy to see another season end the right way: ‘We’ve worked really hard on our fitness, which allows us to play at this tempo all game, challenging teams with our athleticism,’ she said. ‘We can afford to run a high-risk offence because our midfielders work so hard pressuring the ball if we turn it over.

‘The game was close – finals like this always are – but I think you could see our work ethic really making the difference on the field.’