South team wins first game of 2023 North v South box lacrosse series

The South team claimed victory over their rivals from the North in the first game of the 2023 North v South box lacrosse series with a 7-6 win at Macclesfield Rugby Club, Cheshire, on Saturday.

Louis Alhage scored four, including the eventual winner within the final two minutes of the match, in a standout performance for the South team.

Iain Murray, Jamie Powell, and Albert Whitehead also got their names on the scoresheet as the South team started the 2023 series the way they finished the 2022 edition, with a win.

The North team were unfortunate, however, having never been behind in the game until the South’s seventh goal and the ever dependable Matt Marsh and Luke Mills-Doig, who both scored a brace, ensured their team pushed the South all the way.

And, the North even had chances to draw level late on with Elliot Leonard being denied by Eliot Pugh’s shoulder before Will Allsop shot just wide.

But it was the South’s day and they take a 1-0 lead into the second game of the series at the same venue on 26 August.

A development game was also played prior to the main event, showcasing some of the best up and coming box lacrosse talent in the country.

In that game, the South team also took the win running out 11-3 victors with a hat-trick for Russell Farrer and two goals for Ben King.

The games were followed by a bumper two-hour women’s box lacrosse session led by England Assistant Coach, Andy Downing, as the women’s game continues to prepare for the first ever Women’s Box Lacrosse World Championship in September next year.

Watch both games in full HERE.

North 6-7 South
(2-1, 3-3, 5-4, 6-7)

North scorers | Marsh (2), Mills-Doig (2), Edwards, Dury

South scorers | Alhage (4), Murray, Powell, Whitehead

North (Dev.) 3-11 South (Dev.)
(2-2, 3-6, 3-8, 3-11)

North (Dev.) scorers | Best, Gartside, Lewis

South (Dev.) scorers | Farrer (3), King (2), Davies, Milson, Morton-Smith, Piper, Rosberg, Russell

North squad

Jacob Brindle (GK)
1 Ollie Allsop
2 Cai Jefferies
8 Ming Trinh
9 Elliot Leonard
10 Nathan Edwards
11 Kristien Warren
12 Matt Marsh
13 Luke Mills-Doig (c)
15 George Dury
18 Sam Burgess
19 Luke Maloney
21 Elliot Bickerton
30 Will Allsop
31 Ollie Rogerson

South squad

6 George Bascom
13 Callum Counihan
17 Rob Harris
23 Jamie Powell
25 Andy Thomas
28 Jacob Nichols Cook
33 Louis Alhage
44 Travis Payne
48 Albert Whitehead
51 Tom Roche (c)
66 Kieran Garvey
89 Eliot Pugh (GK)
91 Peter Shepherd
93 Will Mallonee
97 Kyle MacQueen
98 Iain Murray
99 Valts Grinsberg

Wendy Reynolds appointed as Chair of Umpiring Advisory Group

England Lacrosse is delighted to announce that experienced official Wendy Reynolds has been appointed as the new Chair of the Umpiring Advisory Group (UAG).

Reynolds brings more than 35 years of lacrosse experience, 20 years of that as an umpire, to the role and succeeds Paul Bibby who left the role last year.

Assistant Head at Heathfield School, Ascot, Reynolds began playing lacrosse in 1987 as a goal-keeper and represented England for 14 years picking up a World Cup silver medal (1993) and bronze medal (1997) in the process.

After retiring from playing, Reynolds had a desire to remain involved in lacrosse at a high level and eventually moved into umpiring, representing England once again at every U19 and senior World Championship between 2003 and 2013 and being a part of the umpiring teams in two gold medal games.

Since 2014, Reynolds has been a member of the World Lacrosse Officiating Committee and a World Championship Lead Mentor/Assessor and in 2017, she was awarded the World Lacrosse Emeritus Award for Women’s Officiating.

Upon her appointment, Reynolds said:

“I have already chaired this committee under a different title, from around 2006–2009 and then had to take more of a back seat due to work commitments. I was still involved assessing at events but now want to get more involved again and help the next stage of officiating development.”

The UAG, working under the guidance of the Officiating Advisory Group and National Lacrosse Committee, is responsible for leading on the strategy for the future of umpiring in England.

The Group provides guidance and expertise on the application of rules for the domestic game, works with regions to promote umpiring across the country, and acts as a point of contact for any relevant umpiring issues.

Ian Ashworth appointed as Chair of Refereeing Advisory Group

England Lacrosse is delighted to announce experienced official Ian Ashworth has been appointed as the new Chair of the Refereeing Advisory Group (RAG).

After originally playing lacrosse at school before losing contact with the game, Ashworth first qualified as a Level 1 referee when his youngest son was 10 and his Boardman and Eccles team needed assistance with officials for junior games.

From there, Ashworth progressed to senior lacrosse as a club official before moving onto higher officiating qualifications and Chairing the North of England Officials’ Association.

Having been an official for almost 23 years now, Ashworth has represented England at both European and World Championships and has been an Officials’ Coach at three World Championships including at the 2023 World Lacrosse Men’s Championship in San Diego.

Ashworth continues to officiate domestic men’s lacrosse and mentor officials at a grassroots level and becomes the Chair of the RAG with immediate effect, succeeding Mark Buckley.

England Lacrosse would like to place our thanks on record to Mark whose experience and knowledge has been invaluable since his initial appointment to the Group.

The RAG, working under the guidance of the Officiating Advisory Group and National Lacrosse Committee, is responsible for leading on the strategy for the future of refereeing in England.

The Group provides guidance and expertise on the application of rules for the domestic game, works with regions to promote refereeing across the country, and acts as a point of contact for any relevant refereeing issues.

Registration open for the 2023/24 Mixed Lacrosse Leagues

Registration is now open for the England Lacrosse Mixed Lacrosse Leagues ahead the 2023/24 season with entry open to all England Lacrosse affiliated clubs and universities.

The EL Mixed Lacrosse League fixtures typically take place on Sundays from October through to March with teams split into regionally based leagues depending on the geographical spread of entries.

All teams will play each other both home and away in their regional league before the top teams move into play-offs, culminating in the Mixed Lacrosse League Championship game as part of the National Club Finals at the end of the season.

Cambridge University were the winners of the 2023 Mixed League Championship, taking the title for the second year in a row, defeating Oxford City Lacrosse Club in both finals with the Mixed Lacrosse final being added to the National Club Finals for the first time in 2022.

Teams will be responsible for sourcing and booking facilities for their home games and arranging transport for away games.

Home teams are also required to provide 2 umpires per game. Umpires should be qualified with a minimum level 1 women’s umpiring qualification.

 All players competing in the EL Mixed Leagues must be aged 16 or over and hold a valid England Lacrosse Individual Membership for the 2023/24 season.

The entry cost for this season is £95 per team and registration is open until Tuesday 29 August.

Registration opens for 2023 BUCS 6s tournament

Registration has opened for the annual BUCS 6s tournament taking place on Sunday 15 October 2023 at Nottingham Trent University.

Universities have until 11:59pm on Tuesday 19 September to register their teams with players able to join teams until 11:59pm on Tuesday 10 October.

The BUCS 6s competition has been a staple of the university lacrosse calendar for a number of years now and was held at the Coombe Dingle Sports Complex in Bristol between 2017 and 2021 when it moved to Nottingham Trent University.

In 2022, the University of Nottingham won both the men’s and women’s Championship titles while Cardiff University and Newcastle University took home the men’s and women’s Trophy titles respectively.

Traditionally an eight-a-side tournament, the format was changed in 2021 to fit in with the new sixes version of lacrosse.

Registered teams will be split into two competitions, the Championship and the Trophy, and seeded based on their position in the BUCS Lacrosse 2022-23 season.

Premiership universities’ first teams will be allocated to the Championship with any remaining spaces allocated to the next best finishing position; the remaining teams will be allocated to the Trophy along with any second or third teams.

For more details on how to register your team, click the button below.

Oxton Lacrosse Club to host Sixes Lacrosse camp

Oxton Lacrosse Club, Merseyside, are set to host a specialist Sixes Lacrosse camp this summer with two top England internationals confirmed as coaches.

Taking place on Friday 4 August 2023 at Oxton Lacrosse Club, the specialist camp will welcome players who play the women’s game from age 14 upwards to learn from two of the best in the game.

England internationals Torz Anderson (British Lacrosse, The Fly) and William Baxter (British Lacrosse, The Fly) who both have extensive Sixes Lacrosse experience will be coaching at the camp, imbibing their knowledge to the next generation of talent.

The camp is the brainchild of brand new organisation, Lacrosse Up North, who host lacrosse camps, coaching sessions, and events in the north of England; their Oxton Lacrosse Club camp will be their first venture.

The camp costs £30 per player and will take place from 1pm-5pm.

To sign up, please complete the Camp Booking Form HERE and for any enquiries, please email Lacrosse Up North on lacrosseupnorth@gmail.com.

Annual North v South box lacrosse series begins this weekend

The annual North v South box lacrosse series begins on Saturday with the first game seeing some of the best players in the country battle it out to be crowned champions.

Taking place at the specialist box lacrosse facility at Macclesfield Rugby Club, Cheshire, that recently hosted The Tasko Cup, the first game in the 2023 North v South series will also feature a development North v South game before the main event.

In the first North v South series since the inaugural event in 2021, the South team will be hoping to retain the title they won two years ago after a 2-1 series win.

And after a year’s break due to the 2022 European Box Lacrosse Championship, the 2023 series is set to be the biggest and best ever with spectators being welcome to all three games completely free of charge.

Both squads feature several international players with extensive box experience and good memories of winning gold at the Euros last summer.

It will also prove valuable high level competition for our country’s top box players as we move just over a year out from the 2024 Box World Championship.

Following Saturday’s match-up, Game 2 will take place again at Macclesfield Rugby Club on 26 August with the concluding third game being hosted at Oxford Academy on 29 October.

To learn more about box lacrosse, follow @englandboxlax, @southernboxlax, and @northernboxlax over on Instagram.

Game 1 Schedule

12:30 | North v South (development teams)
14:30 | North v South

South Squad

Goalie
Eliot PUGH
Ben STOWE
Callum COUNIHAN
Tom ROCHE (c)
Peter SHEPHERD
Valts GRINSBERG
Jacob NICHOLS-COOK
Billy RAWLINS
Albert WHITEHEAD
George BASCOM
Kyle MACQUEEN
Iain MURRAY
Sean KEANE
Cory BRUCE
Will WALKER
Jamie POWELL
Louis ALHAGE
Ben BUCHANAN
Will MALLONEE
Rob HARRIS

Coaches
Rob INGHAM CLARK
Alan KEELEY

North Squad
Jacob BRINDLE
Jack TAYLOR
Luke MILLS-DOIG
Will ALLSOP
George DURY
Ming TRINH
Sam BURGESS
Kristien WARREN
Nathan EDWARDS
Elliot LEONARD
Dave GROVES
Matt MARSH
Dan ECKERSALL
Drew BICKERTON
Cai JEFFERIES
Luke MALONEY
Ollie ALLSOP
Elliot BICKERTON

British Lacrosse open expressions of interest ahead of 2023/2024 cycle

British Lacrosse has opened its expressions of interest form to all eligible men’s and women’s players ahead of the next Sixes Lacrosse cycle in 2023/2024.

The men’s and women’s British Lacrosse programmes will be assembling training squads from which teams will be selected to travel to the Hong Kong Super Sixes Invitational (26 December 2023 - 1 January 2024) and the EuroLax Sixes Cup (dates TBC).

This comes after a hugely successful first cycle in 2021/2022 that saw a men’s and women’s team represent Britain at The World Games in Birmingham, Alabama, USA for the first time.

In that competition, both the men’s and women’s British Lacrosse teams finished fourth after tight bronze medal matches against Japan and Australia respectively.

Looking forward, the 2023/2024 competition cycle gives British Lacrosse a clear short-term focus as they restart their sixes programme and begin their preparation for the 2025 World Games in Cheng Du, China.

Due to the differences in training schedule, the deadline for expressions of interest for the women’s programme in 1 August 2023 while the deadline for the men’s is 4 August 2023.

To read more and to complete the expression of interest form, click below.

London Knights win 2023 Tasko Cup

London Knights took home their fourth consecutive Tasko Cup title on Sunday after they beat Disley Dynamos 7-2 in the final of the first edition of the tournament to take place since 2019.

Taking place over two days at UK Lacrosse’s brand new box lacrosse facility at Macclesfield Rugby Club, Cheshire, the 2023 Tasko Cup saw five men’s teams compete against each other, first in a round robin-style group stage before two semi-finals and a final.

And for the first time, women’s teams were invited to play two exhibition matches that saw SBL Ravens take on a UK Lacrosse team with UK Lacrosse coming out on top on both occasions.

The Tasko Cup was founded in 2014 by Jamie Tasko and Peter Dunits 13 years after the pair of ex-pats from Canada founded England Box Lacrosse with the help of their friend Joe Darkins.

Growing the box lacrosse game in England at that time proved difficult and in 2007, Tasko and Dunits set about starting an initiative to grow the game; this eventually led to the founding of The Tasko Cup.

Speaking a number of years ago, Tasko said:

“The initiative that Peter Dunits and I took back in 2007 started a top-down approach to building the sport. The grassroots work that Alan Keeley has done on organising The Tasko Cup is just as important and may have a longer lasting impact on the sport.”

In previous years, The Tasko Cup has struggled for a permanent and suitable venue but the 2023 edition saw it held at the purpose built box lacrosse facility at Macclesfield Rugby Club that has also held several other lacrosse events since its opening last year.

And it was the biggest event to date with 120 players in seven teams playing 16 games taking part over the two-day competition.

To watch every minute of the 2023 Tasko Cup, click HERE.

To get involved in box lacrosse, check out Northern Box Lacrosse HERE or Southern Box Lacrosse HERE.

2023 Tasko Cup Results

Round Robin

Heaton Hornets 2-12 Disley Dynamos
Scotland Grizzlies 1-11 London Knights
Heaton Hornets 6-4 SBL Capitals
Disley Dynamos 4-4 London Knights (Knights win on penalties)
Scotland Grizzlies 1-9 SBL Capitals
Heaton Hornets 1-12 London Knights
Disley Dynamos 9-1 Scotland Grizzlies
London Knights 11-2 SBL Capitals
Heaton Hornets 7-7 Scotland Grizzlies (Hornets win on penalties)
Disley Dynamos 7-1 SBL Capitals
SBL Capitals 2-4 Scotland Grizzlies

Semi-Finals

Heaton Hornets 3-8 Disley Dynamos
London Knights 7-2 Scotland Grizzlies

Final

London Knights 7-2 Disley Dynamos

Tournament Most Valuable Player (MVP)

Matt Marsh (London Knights)

Women’s Matches

SBL Ravens 4-5 UK Lacrosse
UK Lacrosse 8-2 SBL Ravens

Tasko Cup Winners

2014 | LCC Radotin
2015 | London Knights
2016 | London Knights
2017 | Heaton Hornets
2018 | London Knights
2019 | London Knights
2020 | No competition held
2021 | No competition held
2022 | No competition held
2023 | London Knights

English officials shine on international stage

Michael Leahy (far left) and James Hawksworth (second from left) ahead of officiating the bronze medal game at the Men’s World Championship

English officials have shown their skills on the world stage this summer with a host of officiating appointments across the Men’s World Championship and Women’s U21 Euros.

There were 19 appointments made across the two tournaments representing a hugely successful championships for our officials and assessors including multiple medal match selections.

A bumper group of on-field officials represented at the Men’s World Championship in San Diego in June; Mark Buckley, Peter Davidson, Thomas Hamey, James Hawksworth, Michael Leahy, Dean Mohareb, Andy Higginbottom, and Emma Jones were all selected as referees for the tournament along with Chi Fung (Dennis) Cheng and Chi Shing (Edwin) Leung who are based in England but represented Hong Kong, China.

In further off-field roles, Phil Pearson took up a role in the Leadership Team as Deputy Referee-in-Chief and Graham Blyth as Officials Administrator while Ian Ashworth and Gregg Irwin were part of the Referee Coaching team during the tournament.

For the bronze medal game between Australia and Haudenosaunee, James Hawksworth was appointed Head Referee with Michael Leahy as Chief Bench Official - Leahy also officiated on the opening game of the championship between USA and Canada.

Emma Jones was also a part of the first all-female on-field officiating crew on the Last 16 game between Haudenosaunee and Hong Kong, the first ever at a Men’s World event.

Following the Men’s Worlds, Annabel Campbell, Helen Mavin, and Brucie Morris were all selected to officiate at the Women’s U21 European Championship in Prague.

Helen and Annabel were both part of the officiating crew for the bronze medal match between Sweden and Wales, with Annabel also receiving the officials Heart of Lacrosse award for her steadfast, calm support of the umpiring team.

Paul Bibby and Wendy Reynolds were also part of the leadership group in Prague as Deputy Umpire-in-Chief and World Lacrosse Observer respectively.

England Lacrosse would like to congratulate all our officials and assessors who represented with distinction on the international stage this summer.

English officials and assessors at the Women’s U21 Euros

Helen Mavin and Annabel Campbell at the Women’s U21 Euros

Annabel Campbell receiving the Heart of Lacrosse award at the Women’s U21 Euros

Emma Jones (left) on the first all-female officiating crew at the Men’s World Championship

Michael Leahy (far left) and James Hawksworth (second from left) before officiating the Men’s World Championship bronze medal match

England's Emma Pearce to offer midfield workshop at St Swithun's Triple Arrow Camp this summer

England under-21 midfielder, Emma Pearce, will be delivering a dedicated midfield masterclass at St Swithun’s School this August, as part of our summer 2023 Triple Arrow Camp series.

The Winchester-based camp will take place from 7th to 10th August, and will see Emma return to her old school grounds to share a wealth of tips with the next generation of midfield talent.

Following recent success at the ELF Women’s U21 Championship in Prague last week, Emma will be sharing a wealth of tips on ‘the ride’, advice on transitioning into positions of attack and being a threat to goal. The workshop will also cover transitioning as a midfielder into settled attack.

She is keen to emphasize "as important as it is to be athletic and fast on the pitch, lacrosse IQ is something that you also have to have, if you want to play at a high, competitive level”

Emma looks forward to drawing on her experience playing at an international level in the U21s European Championship and at the University of Nottingham, alongside fellow England player, Sienna Parekh.

She adds “following the recent success at the European Championships, I have learnt many invaluable lessons which I'm keen to share with up and coming players, especially those looking to improve as a strong two-way midfielder”

Girls age 10 to 16 are able to attend as a day camper or in a residential capacity, for four days of focussed training. Available places are booking up quickly, so we advise booking soon to avoid any disappointment!

To register for a space on the St Swithun’s School camp- or any of our other Triple Arrow Camps this summertime- please click the button below.

England win U21 European Championship after win over Czechia

England ensured back to back ELF Women’s U21 Lacrosse Championship titles after defeating Czechia 9-4 in an enthralling 2023 final in Prague on Sunday.

After a tense start from both sides, Charlie Bell opened the scoring after 11 and a half minutes but with just 30 seconds left in the first quarter, Czechia were level after Eliška Hanzlová scored her fourth of the tournament.

England came out in the second and were very assured in their possession but were unable to turn their control of the ball into goals until Grace Davison found herself high up the pitch and fired home from close range to ensure every single England out-field player scored at the tournament.

Czechia were resolute in their game plan, remaining in the game, and they found themselves level once again when Ellen Pantazopoulou scored direct from a free position.

But, in what was a turning point in the game, captain Millie Cant put England back in front with the last play of the half.

England returned to the field after half-time with renewed confidence and quickly punished Czechia with Sofia Wise keeping up her record of scoring in every game at the tournament before Molly Light capped a brilliant performance in midfield with a goal as well.

Czechia remained within touching distance as Barbora Koděrová hit her team’s third of the day from a free position but England upped the pressure and pulled further ahead through Wise, Annie Mather, Rachael Ball, and Carys Johnson as the game entered the final 15 minutes.

With 10 minutes left on the clock, Pantazopoulou scored Czechia’s fourth but it proved to be too little, too late as England were able to see the game out and win the Championship title 9-5.

Watch the game in full HERE.

England points scorers | Wise (2G, 2A), Ball (1G, 2A), Bell (1G, 1A), Cant (1G, 1A), Davison (1G), Mather (1G), Light (1G), Johnson (1G), Renders (1A)

Czechia points scorers | Pantazopoulou (2G), Hanzlová (1G), Koděrová (1G)

England top points scorers

1. Wise | 18 (16G, 2A)

2. Ball | 15 (3G, 12A)

3. Mather | 14 (9G, 5A)

4. Cant | 12 (8G, 4A)

5. Bell | 11 (5G, 6A)

6. Johnson | 11 (6G, 5A)

England Results

England 14-7 Czechia | Group A Game 1
England 12-4 Wales | Group A Game 2
England 24-1 Italy | Quarter-Final
England 17-5 Sweden | Semi-Final
England 9-4 Czechia | Final

England's Charlie Bell to deliver dodging masterclass at Withington Girl's School

U21s European Championship goal scorer, Charlie Bell, is set to deliver a specialist dodging and shooting masterclass to girls aged 10-16 at Withington Girl’s School later this summertime.

Charlie says “as an attacking player, I know everyone loves scoring goals!”

As such, she will be leading a dedicated workshop and coaching players on power shots, precision shots, and dodges to help attacking players get into those crucial shooting positions.

Charlie has been a part of the England Lacrosse National Academy set-up for four years now, and also recently won Home Internationals with the England squad.

Charlie added “I’m super excited to be able to share some of my recent experiences and tips that I have learnt whilst competing at recent tournaments, with a particular focus on dodging and finishing shots”

The two-day day event is scheduled to take place on 21st and 22nd August 2023. To book your child’s place, please click here to be redirected to our website.

England face Czechia in U21 European Championship final after semi-final win over Sweden

England will play hosts Czechia on Sunday in the 2023 ELF Women’s U21 Lacrosse Championship after a commanding 17-5 win over Sweden in the semi-finals in Prague.

Another four goal haul for Sofia Wise, a hat-trick from captain Millie Cant, and goals for Carys Johnson, Lara Renders, Molly Light, Lucy Evans, Charlie Bell, and Rachael Ball ensured England swept aside Sweden to reach a second successive European Championship final in this age group.

England started in their usual quick manner and were 3-0 up with five minutes gone on the clock with goals through Johnson, Cant, and Renders.

But Sweden, who had scored a massive 64 goals in just four games before the semi-final, were not going to go down without a fight and finished the quarter strongly, getting to within one goal of England as Ava Main and Emma McCrea scored to make the score 3-2.

Just before first quarter time, Bell eased any nerves for England as she fired home from a free-position to see her team go in at the break with their three goal lead still intact.

England came back out for the second quarter smelling blood and played a perfect 15 minutes of lacrosse with Wise, Johnson, and Evans all adding to England’s tally within four minutes of the restart.

Then a bizarre moment as England were gifted a goal as Maja Hunter attempted to pass the ball to her goalie under pressure from the England offence but instead played it into her own net.

This rocked Sweden and England saw out the half, adding another goal in the process through Wise.

A barn-storming second quarter was followed by a slightly more leisurely third from England who eased off Sweden in the opening few minutes, conceding two in quick succession as Main and McCrea gave their team some hope with the score at 9-4.

But Wise was there again when England needed her, as she has been through the entire tournament, and scored her hat-trick goal followed shortly by her fourth of the game to increase England’s lead before Cant finished off the scoring in the third quarter with her second of the day.

Sweden did not lay down, however, and Main grabbed a deserved hat-trick goal early in the fourth before England’s quality and class shone through once again as they finished the game in style, hitting five goals without reply through Cant, Light, Evans, and Bell to see out the game and book a spot in the U21 European Championship final.

England will play Czechia in the 2023 ELF Women’s U21 Lacrosse Championship at 2pm BST on Sunday.

Watch the semi-final game versus Sweden in full HERE.

Watch England’s final versus Czechia on Sunday HERE.

England points scorers | Wise (4G), Cant (3G), Bell (2G, 2A), Johnson (2G, 1A), Evans (2G), Ball (1G, 3A), Light (1G), Renders (1G), Mather (2A), Pearce (1A).

Sweden points scorers | Main (3G), McCrea (2G), Czajkowski (1A), Runske (1A).

England demolish Italy to secure semi-final spot at ELF Women's U21 Championship

England secured a spot in the 2023 ELF Women’s U21 Lacrosse Championship semi-finals with a huge 24-1 win over Italy in the quarter-final at the Pražačka Sports and Recreation Centre yesterday.

As has been the case in their previous games, England started on the front foot and found themselves 5-0 up after just nine and a half minutes through top goal-scorer Sofia Wise, Emma Pearce, and a hat-trick from Annie Mather.

Despite their commanding lead, England continued to push for goals and finished the quarter strongly, scoring three more goals before quarter-time as Millie Cant and Molly Light got themselves on the scoresheet as well as a second of the game for Wise.

The second quarter played out in much the same way as the first with England dominating possession and working themselves into several good positions.

Captain Ana Green scored her first ever competitive goal for England after she won a foul and converted from the subsequent free position much to the delight of the England fans in the stadium and Green’s team mates; this was followed up with goals from Pearce, Lara Renders, Honor Ashby, and two for Lucy Evans before half-time.

England came out after half-time and scored two more quick-fire goals through Ailsa Scott and Cant but as they began to tire slightly in the third, Italy were able to carve out a couple of good periods of possession that eventually led to their one and only goal as Casey Gilbert weaved through the England defence and scored with a brilliant finish.

That seemed to kick England into action once again and they finished the third quarter with another three goals as Charlie Bell got her name on the scoresheet before Wise and Light grabbed their third and second goals of the game respectively.

As the game began to wind down to a close in the final quarter, England continued to be ruthless in front of Italy’s goal and ended the game with another five goals as Mather and Wise each scored their fourth, Renders grabbed her second, Cant hit her hat-trick, and Carys Johnson scored her first.

England will now play Sweden in the semi-final at 6pm BST tonight (Friday 7 July).

You can watch the quarter-final game in full HERE.

England points scorers | Mather (4G, 2A), Wise (4G), Cant (3G, 2A), Evans (2G, 2A), Renders (2G, 2A), Light (2G, 1A), Pearce (2G), Bell (1G, 2A), Johnson (1G, 2A), Ashby (1G), Green (1G), Scott (1G), Ball (4A)

Italy points scorers | Gilbert (1G)

Specialist Attacking Workshop at Worth School Triple Arrow Camp 2023

England under-23 attacker, Issy Devine, is set to deliver a specialist attacking workshop to girls aged 10-16 at Worth School Triple Arrow Camp this summertime.

Located in Sussex, Worth School is one of our new camp venues for 2023, with fantastic sports facilities ranging from a 2G astroturf pitch and sports hall, to a dedicated lacrosse pitch.

The two-day day camp is scheduled to take place on 21st and 22nd August 2023, and Issy is looking forward to the opportunity to guide a new generation of goal scorers!

Issy will lead players through some attack-focussed training drills and a dedicated training curriculum, including static and shooting on the run practise (final curriculum TBC).

To book your child’s place on Worth School Triple Arrow Camp, or any of the other camps in our summer 2023 Triple Arrow series, please click here to be redirected to our camp website.

England top Group A with win over Wales at ELF Women's U21 Championship

England ensured they finished top of Group A and remain unbeaten with a 12-4 win over rivals Wales at the 2023 ELF Women’s U21 Lacrosse Championship in Prague, Czechia on Tuesday evening.

Two goals from Sofia Wise and goals from Annie Mather, Charlie Bell, and Lara Renders saw England finish the first quarter 5-1 up.

An equally impressive second quarter which saw Wise grab her second goal of the game and Molly Light and Lucy Evans also get on the scoresheet meant Wales had it all to do in the second half.

Charlotte Davies and Phoebe Hurt scored for Wales either side of an Emma Pearce free position goal in the third before captain Millie Cant hit her first of the tournament followed by Mather’s hat-trick goal and one for outstanding performer, Carys Johnson in the fourth saw England claim victory.

England will play Italy in the quarter-finals on Thursday after they finished in second place in Group C.

You can watch the game in full HERE.

England points scorers | Mather (3G), Wise (2G), Bell (1G, 1A), Johnson (1G, 1A), Light (1G, 1A), Cant (1G), Evans (1G), Pearce (1G), Renders (1G), Ball (1A)

Wales points scorers | Hurt (2G), Davies (1G), Noble (1G), Legge (1A)

England’s next fixture

England v Italy | 6 July | 10:30am BST

Gawsworth Primary School take home Championship title at 2023 National POP Lacrosse Finals

Gawsworth Primary School, Macclesfield, secured the 2023 National POP Championship title after beating close rivals Hale Preparatory School 12-3 in the first Finals Tournament since 2019.

Gawsworth blew away the competition winning seven of their nine games and drawing the other two as they stormed to victory at Keele University on 28 June.

Strathblane Primary School, Scotland, were the other winners on the day as they over-powered Bowden Primary School 8-3 in the National POP Plate Final.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, it had not been possible to hold the National POP Finals in 2020, 2021, or 2022 but 12 teams took part in this year’s competition after making it through their respective regional heats.

The competition traditionally sees the best primary schools from around the country battle it out to be the best, playing the beginner POP version of lacrosse.

For a full set of results, click HERE.

Results

Championship

Hale Prep 8-3 Honeywell | Semi-Final 1
Gawsworth 5-3 Brooklands | Semi-Final 2
Hale Prep 8-12 Gawsworth | Final

Plate

Strathblane 8-4 Mellor | Semi-Final 1
Bowden 6-4 St Gabriel’s | Semi-Final 2
Strathblane 8-3 Bowden | Final

Participating Teams

Hale Prep
Mellor
St Gabriel’s
Honeywell
Gawsworth
Strathblane
Holy Trinity
Bowden
Brooklands
Poverest
Gorsey Bank
Perry Hall

England defeat hosts Czechia in opening game at ELF Women's U21 Championship

England stormed to a 14-7 victory against Czechia in the opening Group A game at the 2023 ELF Women’s U21 Lacrosse Championship in Prague despite a spirited performance from the hosts.

Hat-tricks from Sofia Wise and Emma Pearce saw England finish the first quarter with a five goal cushion and the score at 6-1.

But Czechia showed their quality in the second and third, restricting England to just three goals in those periods and reducing the deficit to three.

England regrouped in the fourth and final quarter and goals from Carys Johnson, Lara Renders, Pearce, and Ella Dimbylow ensured a 14-7 victory ahead of the team’s second Group A game on Tuesday against Wales.

England started with intent in the opening minutes of the game quickly finding themselves a goal up after Johnson picked the ball up just behind the Czechia goal, drove inside and passed to an unmarked Wise who finished with ease.

Before long England had doubled their lead through Wise once again after she was played in brilliantly by Dimbylow who spotted Wise’s run from deep.

England’s third and fourth goals came soon after the second - first through Pearce who finished from the edge of the fan after being played in from behind the goal by Annie Mather and then through Wise who scored her hat-trick goal after being picked out beautifully by captain, Rachael Ball.

To round off the first quarter, Emma Pearce scored her second of the match in exquisite style after driving toward goal and finishing from range and added her hat-trick goal soon after from a free position.

In a sign of things to come, Ellen Pantazopoulou scored Czechia’s first goal of the game from a free position with just a couple of seconds left of the first quarter.

As the game moved into the second and third quarters, Czechia found their stride with E. Pantazopoulou scoring twice either side of another Wise goal for England before Victorie Štědrá and E. Pantazopoulou grabbed another couple for the opposition moments after Rachael Ball had scored from close range for England.

Right at the end of the third quarter, Lucy Evans added another for England just before a Markéta Fišerová goal ensured England went into the fourth with a slender three goal lead.

Any nerves about England not being completely in control of this opening match of the tournament were put to bed at the start of the fourth quarter as Johnson, Mather, Renders, Pearce, and Dimbylow all scored with just one reply from Czechia through Sofie Pantazopoulou.

The victory sees England top of Group A after one game with Czechia and Wales battling it out in the late game tomorrow.

You can watch the entire game in full HERE.

England points scorers | Wise (4G), Pearce (4G), Ball (1G, 2A), Johnson (1G, 1A), Mather (1G, 1A), Dimbylow (1G, 1A), Evans (1G), Renders (1G), Cant (1A)

Czechia points scorers | E. Pantazopoulou (4G), S. Pantazopoulou (1G), Victorie Štědrá (1G), Markéta Fišerová (1G), Lucie Chottousová (1A)

MVP | Jemma Thomson