On Saturday 26 November, Abbot's Hill hosted the annual Christmas Lacrosse Tournament for schools in the local area. We were delighted that St Albans High School, St George's and St Helen's could join us for a fun-filled morning of Lacrosse and, despite the blustery weather, everyone was ready to play with their eyes firmly set on the winners' chocolate prize.
As ever, the Abbot's Hill U16 (1st) squad faced U18 opposition from the other schools and despite the physical discrepancies, few would have noticed a difference. This is a testament to the squad who performed exceedingly well against opposition two years older than themselves.
The matches began with Abbot's Hill against St Helen's, in which our team demonstrated some excellent team work and individual skill to score five superbly co-ordinated goals but were narrowly defeated 5-7. Meanwhile, St Albans High School (SAHS) took on St George's and in a very exciting game both teams scored three goals each to finish with a 3-3 draw.
In the second round, Abbot's Hill played St George's and were able to hold them to 1-1 at half time. With some quick play, the opposition scored an additional three goals to end the match 4-1 to St George's. The St Helen's versus SAHS match was yet another close encounter, with both teams scoring two well worked goals each before SAHS put an extra one into the goal to finish 3-2 at full time.
The final round would determine who were declared Christmas Champions. Both St George's and SAHS were drawing on points, but Abbot's Hill and St Helen's could upset the scores significantly. The final matches saw Abbot's Hill challenge SAHS and with some dynamic teamwork, considerable pressure was put on the High School. The final whistle confirmed a 7-1 win for SAHS, but the Abbot's Hill team were pleased with their determined approach and fantastic transition play. St George's very narrowly beat St Helen's 5-3 to score a vital five points for the win.
Tied on 13 points each, it was announced that having scored one extra goal SAHS were the winners of the day and they very deservedly accepted their chocolate prize.
It was an excellent day of friendly yet competitive Lacrosse and all teams ought to be very proud of their performances. The tournament left everyone excited for the AHS Invitational Tournaments which begin this weekend with the U14 and U15 competitions.