From last Saturday (2^nd March) to Tuesday (5^th March) BGS’ U19A, U19B, U15, U14 and U13 lacrosse teams played in the National Schools Lacrosse Tournament at Aldershot Garrison Sport Centre, with some outstanding success achieved across the range of age groups with two teams reaching the quarter final stages.

The U19A team produced stellar performances on Saturday, and were unbeaten, scoring 36 goals and conceding only nine, qualifying for the top division the following day. On Sunday, the team were placed second in the group, reaching the last 16 knockout stages. The team faced a strong Caterham team in the quarter finals. Despite two early goals; BGS were unable to hold on to that lead and the game finished with a 4-2 win to Caterham. With 56 U19A teams, qualifying for the top championship division then finishing in the top eight was a tremendous achievement.

The U19B team also played their best lacrosse of the year. On Sunday, they battled through five gruelling matches, making it through to the knockout stage. In the nail-biting Division 2 Cup Final, the team played outstandingly, claiming the runners up spot.    

The U15 team played some superb impressive attacking play throughout the tournament. In the quarter final, they faced St Catherine’s School who were previous winners of the National Schools Championships. The final score was 6-5 to St Catherine’s who were the eventual winners of the U15 tournament. To finish in the top eight schools nationally is a superb achievement.

 The U14 team showed a fabulous work ethic, playing excellent lacrosse with wins against St Albans and St Swithuns. The team just missed out on a place in the final 16 knock out rounds on goal difference.     

The U13 team were participating in their first National Schools Lacrosse competition. The girls were placed first in their section and qualified as one of the final 16 schools in the knock out stages. For the girls to be placed in the top 16 in their first ever Nationals, is a great accomplishment.

Full reports below:

1^st Team National Schools Lacrosse

Mrs Axford (Director of Sport)

On Saturday the 1^st team played 5 matches and were unbeaten playing some outstanding lacrosse, scoring 36 goals and conceding only 9 and qualifying to compete in the top Championship division on the following day.

Sunday arrived with driving wind and rain but the 1^st team squad were undaunted finishing second in their group with two wins against Benenden and Westonbirt, to face Downe House in the last 16 knock out stage. Having scored in the dying seconds to draw the game BGS went through to the quarters on count back on the morning’s set of results. 

The quarters meant facing a strong Caterham team and despite scoring two early goals, BGS were unable to hold on to that lead and the game finished with a 4-2 win to Caterham.

With 56 teams, competing in the 1^st team tournament, qualifying for the top championship division and then finishing in the top eight was an awesome achievement and the best result yet at National Schools for BGS at 1^st team level. These fantastic results came from a cohesive squad of girls led by a strong core of six Upper Sixth girls who have not only made an extraordinary contribution to lacrosse, but also to sport as a whole at BGS, over nearly a decade!

This group of girls Cecilia Castell, Isabella Devile, Eleanor Hind, Fleur Leech, Georgia Staroscik (GK) and Judith Tarrant not only played brilliantly but were also hugely supportive to the younger players in their squad. There was a great deal of laughter coming from the BGS tent in between matches and it really has been both a joy and a privilege to coach this wonderful squad of Year 11 and Sixth Form lacrosse players this season.                                                                                              

2^nd Team National Schools Lacrosse

Mrs Lombaard (PE Teacher)

Starting on the Saturday, the team had a difficult pool facing top lacrosse schools including Benenden and Caterham.  However, the team’s enthusiasm and perseverance never dwindled as they finished fifth in their section to place them in Division 2 for the next day.

On Sunday, in the relentless rain and wind due to Storm Flora, the team faced a gruelling five matches but refused to give up and made it to the knockout stages seeded 4^th. Under the leadership and experience of captains Rosalie Inman and Victoria Sadler as well as Upper Sixth Formers Emily Allen, Melanie Houghton and Olivia Wright, the team played brilliantly to knock St Albans out with a score of 4-0 and advance to the Division 2 Cup Final.

Driven by the win and not by the cold, wet and windy conditions the team battled against a strong St Helen and St Katherine’s side drawing 3-3. The 2^nd team then went into a nail-biting overtime where they just fell short with a 3-4 score.  The team played outstandingly well, the school are so proud of every member of the squad.

U15 National Schools Lacrosse

Mrs Mason-Mcleod (PE Teacher) 

It was a team effort to pitch the tent and then we started our preparations for the first game in our section against St George’s. This was a hard fought match with the girls competing to the very last second.

Unfortunately, the final score was 6-2 with the girls narrowly missing a bonus point for getting half of the opposition’s score. This did not dampen the mood and the girls continued to believe that ‘operation get out of the group’ was still achievable. The girls then remained unbeaten in the group stages with a 7-3 win against Westonbirt School, a 4-1 win against Monmouth School, a 6-2 win against Marlborough College and a 4-4 draw against a Putney High School. These results put them in a very credible 2^nd place position in their section meaning they had qualified for the last 16 knockouts.

St Bartholomew’s School were their next contenders and the girls were very much ready for the challenge. With some superb teamwork and impressive attacking play the girls won this match 5-3 overall and they were now through to the quarter finals! This meant they would face St Catherine’s School who were previous winners of the National Schools Championships.

The game started and BGS won possession quickly and scored two very quick goals. We knew St Catherine’s would be extremely tough and they came back at Bedford with three very quick goals. It then was end-to-end play with it being a super intense, exciting, nail-biting and enthralling game from the sidelines. The half time score was 3-3. The second half did not disappoint and the game really could have gone either way. Unfortunately, it did not go our way and the final score was 6-5 to St Catherine’s who were the eventual winners of the U15 tournament.

The girls should feel so proud of their performance on the day and to finish in the top eight schools nationally is a superb achievement.

U14 National Schools Lacrosse

Mrs Axford (Director of Sport)

The U14 team were full of excitement. In the first game, their nerves slightly got the better of them and the first result finished in a loss to an athletic team from Claremont Fan Court. However, the squad regrouped in their second match to draw against a strong Downe House team playing some excellent lacrosse and went on to win their next two matches against St Albans and St Swithun’s. 

Unfortunately Queen Anne’s Caversham proved too strong and BGS finishing 3^rd in their section both scoring 17 and conceding 17 goals missing out on a place in the final 16 knock out rounds by just two goals on goal difference.

This U14 squad have however shown a fabulous work ethic in practices and have really developed to play as a team this season. I know they will continue to go from strength to strength with their lacrosse and I look forward to watching them develop into the senior 1^st and 2^nd team players of the future.                                                                                                                                          

U13 Lacrosse National Schools Lacrosse

Mrs Mason-Mcleod (PE Teacher)

The U13 team participated in their first ever National Lacrosse Competition. The excitement from the girls as we arrived was clear to see and they were certainly looking forward to the day ahead.

The girl’s schedule was a busy one and they had five games over a 3-hour period. The tent was pitched, the warm up and team talk completed and it was onto their first game against North London Collegiate.

The girls had a slow start and the nerves were clear for all to see. However, once that first goal was scored the girls moved up a gear and finished the game with a 3-0 win. This was the start the girls were after and their winning ways continued with an 8-0 win over Malvern St James, a 4-1 win over Putney, a 3-2 win over St Georges and finally an 8-0 win over Dunottar.

This placed the U13s at the top of their section and qualified them for the final 16 schools in the knock out stages. Their next game was drawn against Godstowe who were also undefeated all day. After a quick 1-0 lead Godstowe began to dominate and soon turned the score around to a 3-1 lead. BGS fought hard and managed to score another goal with two minutes to play but Godstowe proved too strong on the day and the final score finished with a 4-2 loss. Finishing in the top 16 in their first ever Nationals is a great accomplishment and these girls certainly have an exciting lacrosse future ahead of them.