York’s women’s lacrosse 1sts controlled their game against Newcastle from start to finish, recording a 28-1 triumph on the 3G at York Sport Village.
The game began as it was to continue, with the ball spending the great majority of the match in the Newcastle half, and with a healthy stream of York goals maintained throughout.
The scoring was opened by Georgie Saunders, who collected the ball in the middle of the pitch, quite simply ran at goal, and, virtually unopposed, cut through the hapless Newcastle defence and let fly a shot which rippled the back of the net.
And the goals kept on coming, as Newcastle failed to repel wave after wave of York attack; so little was required in order to mount a successful offensive, that the majority of goals came in the form of the ball-carrier simply running forwards to get through on goal, and shooting. By half time, the score stood at 15-0, with Alexis Bond, Izzie Mattick and captain Alex Whitehead scoring one each; Sarah Hughes and Hattie Whillans both netting twice and Sasha Greane and Georgie Saunders equal on four each.
After half time, nothing really changed as York continued to make a mockery of what had long ago ceased to be a competitive fixture, Katie Barratt getting on the scoresheet twice in quick succession, and Greane and Saunders increasing their tallies to five each. However, having put 19 past Newcastle, when put under pressure themselves, York failed to close down a rogue Newcastle charge, which led to a shot on target and although apparently cleared off the line, Newcastle were nonetheless awarded the goal by the referee.
Enraged by what they saw as an outrageous injustice, York restarted the game with a renewed fury, no longer content to simply run and shoot any more. The York frontline started to produce some sparkling play, Alexis Bond putting York further ahead after the setback. Of particular note was a move which, starting at the York crease, involved about half the team. A flowing series of diagonal passes relegated the entire Newcastle team to mere bystanders who could only watch as the ball, passed from player to player, moved upfield, eventually finding Saunders who rifled in a first time finish to the delight of the home support. However, not to be outdone by her scoring rival, Greane, who was, by this point scoring for fun, wowed the crowd as she leapt to spectacularly snatch a long ball out of the air and swivelled to produce an emphatic jump-shot into the top corner.
Ultimately, in what was an absorbing sub-contest, Greane emerged victorious, netting in the last minute to cap a triple hat-trick, pipping Saunders, who finished on eight, with Sarah Hughes completing her hat-trick late on, just for good measure.
In truth, though this was little more than a training session for the York team, who completely outclassed their opponents on every part of the pitch, it will provide some good momentum and confidence for the team as they move on to what will, naturally, be more challenging fixtures ahead.
Vision MotM: Sasha Greane