Spencer to take on Hampstead in SEMLA Senior Flags Final

Reigning Flags champions Spencer will take on 2023/24 Premier Division champions Hampstead in the 2024 SEMLA Senior Flags Final on Saturday in a repeat of last year’s final match.

Also in a repeat of last year’s finals, Division 1 winners, Spencer 2s, are in action against Reading Wildcats in the Intermediate competition and Exeter University play City of Stoke in the Minor Final.

In the Senior competition, Spencer head into the final match after an excellent 17-7 semi-final win over Camden while Hampstead come into this match in blistering form after a dominating 27-3 victory over Hillcroft in their semi-final; both teams received a bye in the quarter-finals.

Last year’s Senior Flags Finals match saw Spencer come out on top after a narrow 13-9 victory but Hampstead have the upper-hand in head to head matches this season with the Premier Division winners bettering Spencer in both home and away matches (Hampstead 12-9 Spencer, Spencer 8-11 Hampstead).

In Division 1, Spencer 2s have the superior record over Reading this season after a 7-5 away victory and 7-4 home win for Spencer, giving them the slight edge heading into the Intermediate Final.

And, finally, last year’s Minor Final saw Exeter defeat Stoke 14-7 and they’re looking strong once again after an 8-4 semi-final win over Hillcroft 2s and an 18-6 victory over Bath in their quarter-final. Stoke will be fierce competition though after overcoming Harlequins 16-9 in their semi-final match.

Schedule

Minor Flags Final | Exeter University v City of Stoke | 11am | Surrey Sports Park
Intermediate Flags Final | Spencer 2s v Reading Wildcats | 1pm | Surrey Sports Park
Senior Flags Final | Spencer v Hampstead | 4pm | Surrey Sports Park

England Lacrosse launches university lacrosse players survey

England Lacrosse is delighted to, once again, launch our bi-annual survey for all university lacrosse players designed to monitor and measure the personal well-being and social outcomes of lacrosse participants at university.

The survey will enable us to evidence the impact lacrosse participation has on students' well-being, mental health and future prospects.

The information provided by players who complete the survey will help England Lacrosse to understand the impact participating in lacrosse has on an individual’s well-being and social outcomes in the university environment and how we can adapt and develop the lacrosse offer at university to better serve the university lacrosse community.

European Championship winner Eliot Pugh retires from international duty after 11 years

Veteran England box lacrosse goalie, Eliot Pugh, has decided to call time on his international career after 11 years.

Pugh ends his England career after earning 35 caps and representing his country at four major championships including the 2019 World Championship and the 2015, 2017, and 2022 European Championships, the latter of which saw him win a gold medal after England stormed to the title.

Pugh’s box lacrosse journey started in 2013 when he first attended some England training sessions hosted by ex-England players Joe Darkins and Pete Dunits who were looking for the next generation of England goalies in the aftermath of the 2011 World Championship.

From those first England training sessions, Pugh got more involved in box lacrosse and took part in the Tasko Cup for the first time in 2014, playing for DreadLax.

After that, Pugh was thrown in at the deep end when he was selected as part of the England squad to travel to the Onondaga Nation, USA for the 2015 World Indoor Lacrosse Championship; at that tournament, Pugh played in two games, securing a 72% save ratio, as England finished fifth.

Pugh had firmly got the box lacrosse bug by now and was chosen to be part of the England squad competing at the 2017 European Championship in Finland where he played in five games (68% save ratio), helping England to another fifth place finish.

Alongside his role as goalie, Pugh also took on the England Team Manager job ahead of the 2017 European Championship with fellow player Dave Cluney, a job which he continues to do now alongside Rob Gooch. This job involves organising the team ahead of training sessions and tournaments and booking accommodation and travel for the players and coaches.

In 2018, Pugh joined London Knights as they played in, and eventually won, the Tasko Cup that year; Pugh has played for London Knights in every Tasko Cup since then, claiming six titles.

2019 saw Pugh once again selected to play for England at that year’s World Championship where he played in six games with a 72% save ratio as England pushed USA all the way in the bronze medal game but eventually finished fourth.

In 2022, Pugh played in his final major championship for England when he played two games with a massive 86% save ratio as England claimed their first trophy at the 2022 European Box Lacrosse Championship in Hanover, Germany.

The 36-year-old made his final three England appearances at his second E-Box Invitational event last year.

Outside of box lacrosse, Pugh first picked up a lacrosse stick in 2007 while studying at Swansea University where he played in the mixed team and joined Swansea Hawks shortly after. In 2008, he helped to found the first men’s team at Swansea University before moving to Reading in 2010.

While playing for Reading, Pugh played in two Flags Finals in three years, winning their player of year twice in a row before moving to Maidstone. After two years at Maidstone, Pugh played in the Premiership with Purley for one season and then moved to Milton Keynes where he retired as a field lacrosse player in 2022.

Now he has retired as an international box player as well, Pugh intends on becoming a mentor and goalie coach in the future as well as continuing his role as the England Team Manager heading into this year’s World Championship.

The English game hasn’t seen the last of Pugh between the sticks though as he hopes to play as and when domestically and socially for London knights and the South team in the Tasko Cup and annual North v South games; he also hopes to have the opportunity to play at the Alex Hebresky Memorial one day.

Pugh leaves behind a huge legacy as when he joined the England box lacrosse team in 2013, not many people had heard of, let alone played, this indoor version of the sport.

But he, alongside several other pioneers of the game in England, helped to slowly grow the format and he leaves the England team, and box lacrosse in England more generally, in a much better place than when he started.

Indeed, box lacrosse in England is now attracting the attention of many of the best lacrosse players in the country and an annual domestic league now takes place every winter.

Thanks for everything, Eliot!

England complete Home Internationals clean sweep with perfect record

England Lacrosse sealed a perfect weekend in Cardiff as all four teams finished with 100% records in their competitions and completed a Home Internationals clean sweep.

A trio of wins on Sunday for both Senior sides and the U20 Women against Wales secured all three competitions up for grabs and U20 Men went two out of two in their weekend of matches with an impressive victory over Scotland Seniors.

England Senior Women came through a testing opener on Day 1; just one goal up at the half-time break having trailed against Scotland, a shut-out second half and 12-goal scoring streak resulted in a comfortable looking 18-5 win.

They then followed this up with a professional 20-1 victory over Czechia before facing hosts Wales looking to finish on a win and retain the Home Internationals.

England went ahead early with three goals in the first 10 minutes, and despite Wales always keeping the game close with strong defence, the result was rarely in doubt, bringing home a 13-7 win.

The England Senior Men’s final match against Wales became a winner takes all affair as both teams had beaten Scotland and Netherlands in their first two contests.

England steamrollered Scotland in their opener, moving 10-0 up at half-time before settling in the second half for a 17-2 scoreline.

This was then followed again by a flying start against Netherlands, going 6-0 up at the 1/4 time to assert dominance over proceedings and never relinquishing their comfortable advantage to come home 14-4.

In the decider, Wales caused a stir by going a goal ahead, but England remained unfazed, consistently working to break down the Welsh defence to find the net scoring four in each of the first two quarters for an 8-1 HT lead, finishing the game 14-2 victors and Men’s Home Internationals champions.

It was a similar situation for our U20 Women as they stamped their authority on the competition with a big 23-5 win against Scotland, followed up by another strong 17-2 victory over guest nation Germany.

This again set up a decider against Wales who proved to be a step up in competition for the side preparing for this summer’s Women’s World U20 Championship.

It was relatively low-scoring with England dominating the ball for large periods but being held out by an organised, physical Welsh defence; England only 5-1 up at the half.

The narrative continued after the break with England never in free scoring mood, but Wales unable to exert little pressure at the attacking end of things and England continued to chip further ahead, ending the match 11-2 ahead.

Meanwhile, a youthful England U20 Men’s side headed to Cardiff for their own international tests against senior opposition.

Their matchup against Netherlands proved to be one of the most exciting matches of the tournament as they held their own against their older opponents in a back and forth game that they always managed to just keep in front of, celebrating a hard-fought 10-9 win.

This was then followed up by an impressive 14-5 defeat of Scotland Seniors, even after falling behind early.

Scotland took 3-1 lead into the 1/4 time, but the U20s regrouped, slowly chipping away at the lead to eventually sneak 5-4 up at the half, and took that confidence into the third and fourth quarters where they ran out easy 14-5 winners with a 9-1 second half.

Plenty of player and coach interviews with each of the teams from across the weekend can be found on the England Lacrosse YouTube channel.

Results
Friday 5 April
9am - England U20 W 23-5 Scotland - (7-2; 14-3; 17-4; 23-5)
England Scorers: Annie Mather 5, Freya Moody 3, Emma Pearce 3, Molly Light 2, Millie Cant 2, Nina Sherwen 2, Grace Connor 1, Rachael Ball 1, Charlie Bell 1, Lucy Evans 1, Fiona MacLean 1, Sienna Richardson 1

11am - England Snr W 18-5 Scotland - (2-2; 6-5; 13-5; 18-5)
England Scorers: Ella Cohen (3G, 3A), Georgie Southorn (3G), Lucy Devine (2G, 1A), Liv Wimpenny (2G, 1A), Claire Faram (2G), Tilly Shires (2G), Milly Home (2G), Julie Wise (2G), Emma Savage (2A)

5pm - England Snr M 17-2 Scotland - (6-0; 10-0; 13-1; 17-2)
England Scorers: Alex Russell (5G, 1A), Blair Pachereva (4G), Will Goodwin (2G, 1A), Ed Loveland (2G), Dan Madeley (2G), Tom Roper (1G, 1A), Nathan Wilkinson (1G), Joe Baythorpe (2A), George Bascom (1A)

Saturday 6 April 
9am - England U20 W 17-2 Germany - (8-0; 11-1; 15-1; 17-2)
England Scorers: Carys Johnson (3G, 2A), Lucy Evans (3G), Lara Renders (2G, 1A), Emma Pearce (2G), Millie Cant (2G), Habi Littlehales (1G, 1A), Ellie Pobjoy (1G, 1A), Honor Ashby (1G, 1A), Freya Moody (1G), Jemma Thomson (1G), Molly Light (2A)

9am - England U20 M 10-9 Netherlands Snr - (3-3; 6-5; 8-7; 10-9)
England Scorers: Ellis Baythorpe 4, Jamie Mochan 2, Billy Styche 2, Oscar McCarthy 1, Zak Spreckley 1

3pm - England Snr W 20-1 Czechia - (6-0; 8-0; 14-0; 20-1)
England Scorers: Liv Wimpenny (3G, 1A), Milly Home (3G), Ella Cohen (2G, 4A), Georgie Southorn (2G, 2A), Cece Green (2G, 2A), Alice Ripper (2G), Anna Neville (2G), Emma Savage (1G, 1A), Minty Loxton-Barnard (1G), Lucy Devine (1G), Tilly Shires (1G)

3pm - England Snr M 14-4 Netherlands - (6-0; 9-2; 12-3; 14-4)
England Scorers: Blair Pachereva 3, Nathan Wilkinson 2, Alex Russell 2, Ed Loveland 2, Cam Major 2, Will Goodwin 1, Will Locker 1, Elliott Bickerton 1

Sunday 7 April 
12.30pm - England U20 M 14-5 Scotland Snr - (1-3; 5-4; 9-4; 14-5)
England Scorers: Ellis Baythorpe 4, Zak Spreckley 3, Henry Smith 2, Owen Shuttleworth 2, Oscar McCarthy 1, Ryan Frayne 1, Jamie Mochan 1

1pm - England U20 W 11-2 Wales - (3-1; 5-1; 9-2; 11-2)
England Scorers: Charlie Bell (5G), Nina Sherwen (2G), Millie Cant (1G), Ella Dimbylow (1G), Grace Connor (1G), Ellie Pobjoy (1G), Habi Littlehales (1A), Bonnie Russell (1A)

3pm - England Snr W 13-7 Wales - (5-2; 8-5; 11-6; 13-7)
England Scorers: Georgie Southorn (4G, 1A), Milly Home (3G, 1A), Tilly Shires (2G), Anna Neville (2G), Liv Wimpenny (1G), Cece Green (1G)

3pm - England Snr M 14-2 Wales - (4-1; 8-1; 10-1; 14-2)
England Scorers: Blair Pachevera 4, Nathan Wilkinson 3, Joe Baythorpe 2, Will Goodwin 2, Alex Russell 1, Elliott Bickerton 1, Tom Roper 1

Final Standings

Senior Women
1 England
2 Scotland
3 Wales
4 Czechia

Senior Men
1 England
2 Wales
3 Netherlands
4 Scotland

U20 Women
1 England
2 Wales
3 Scotland
4 Germany

LIVE: England head to Wales for annual Home International Series

Match results at the bottom of the page

Four England sides head west to Wales this weekend for the 2024 Home International Series hoping to return with top honours against our local neighbours.

Cardiff University Sports Fields is the venue for three days of elite international competition featuring the Home Nations, England, Wales and Scotland, along with some guest countries, showcasing the game across all levels.

This year’s Home Internationals features men’s and women’s senior competitions, as well as a U20 women’s competition.

England Men’s U20s will also play at the event, stepping up to face Scotland and Netherlands senior teams, the Dutch competing as an invitational side in the senior men’s competition, while Czechia will compete in the women’s seniors and Germany in the women’s U20s.

England come into the weekend as the defending champions in all of the competitions, following an undefeated Home Internationals last year on home soil in Nottingham.

There will be no shortage of action to enjoy and storylines to be created across the weekend as the nations compete not only for national bragging rights, but with World and European events on the horizon, selections for final championship squads will also be up for grabs.

England Senior Women can look forward to the European Championship in Braga in July, while the Women’s U20s have sights set on Hong Kong for the World U20 Championship in August.

The senior team competition will also be a great test for the Men’s U20s, as their youthful squad continue to gain experience in the lead up to their U20 European Championship in Poland in August and beyond, while Sam Patterson will lead his senior side in international competition for the first time since his appointment as Head Coach of the England Performance squad.

Below is the England match schedule across the three days, while a full competition schedule can be found HERE

Supporters can also buy tickets for the event HERE (prices to rise on the day), or if you can’t make it, you can of course still follow all the action across England Lacrosse social media and website.

England Match Schedule

Friday 5 April
9am - England U20 W 23-5 Scotland - (7-2; 14-3; 17-4; 23-5)
England Scorers: Annie Mather 5, Freya Moody 3, Emma Pearce 3, Molly Light 2, Millie Cant 2, Nina Sherwen 2, Grace Connor 1, Rachael Ball 1, Charlie Bell 1, Lucy Evans 1, Fiona MacLean 1, Sienna Richardson 1

11am - England Snr W 18-5 Scotland - (2-2; 6-5; 13-5; 18-5)
England Scorers: Ella Cohen (3G, 3A), Georgie Southorn (3G), Lucy Devine (2G, 1A), Liv Wimpenny (2G, 1A), Claire Faram (2G), Tilly Shires (2G), Milly Home (2G), Julie Wise (2G), Emma Savage (2A)

5pm - England Snr M x Scotland - (6-0; 10-0; 13-1; 17-2)
England Scorers: Alex Russell (5G, 1A), Blair Pachereva (4G), Will Goodwin (2G, 1A), Ed Loveland (2G), Dan Madeley (2G), Tom Roper (1G, 1A), Nathan Wilkinson (1G), Joe Baythorpe (2A), George Bascom (1A)

Saturday 6 April 
9am - England U20 W 17-2 Germany - (8-0; 11-1; 15-1; 17-2)
England Scorers: Carys Johnson (3G, 2A), Lucy Evans (3G), Lara Renders (2G, 1A), Emma Pearce (2G), Millie Cant (2G), Habi Littlehales (1G, 1A), Ellie Pobjoy (1G, 1A), Honor Ashby (1G, 1A), Freya Moody (1G), Jemma Thomson (1G), Molly Light (2A)

9am - England U20 M 10-9 Netherlands Snr - (3-3; 6-5; 8-7; 10-9)
England Scorers: Ellis Baythorpe 4, Jamie Mochan 2, Billy Styche 2, Oscar McCarthy 1, Zak Spreckley 1 

3pm - England Snr W 20-1 Czechia - (6-0; 8-0; 14-0; 20-1)
England Scorers: Liv Wimpenny (3G, 1A), Milly Home (3G), Ella Cohen (2G, 4A), Georgie Southorn (2G, 2A), Cece Green (2G, 2A), Alice Ripper (2G), Anna Neville (2G), Emma Savage (1G, 1A), Minty Loxton-Barnard (1G), Lucy Devine (1G), Tilly Shires (1G)

3pm - England Snr M 14-4 Netherlands - (6-0; 9-2; 12-3; 14-4)
England Scorers: Blair Pachereva 3, Nathan Wilkinson 2, Alex Russell 2, Ed Loveland 2, Cam Major 2, Will Goodwin 1, Will Locker 1, Elliott Bickerton 1

Sunday 7 April 
12.30pm - England U20 M 14-5 Scotland Snr - (1-3; 5-4; 9-4; 14-5)
England Scorers: Ellis Baythorpe 4, Zak Spreckley 3, Henry Smith 2, Owen Shuttleworth 2, Oscar McCarthy 1, Ryan Frayne 1, Jamie Mochan 1

1pm - England U20 W 11-2 Wales - (3-1; 5-1; 9-2; 11-2)
England Scorers: Charlie Bell (5G), Nina Sherwen (2G), Millie Cant (1G), Ella Dimbylow (1G), Grace Connor (1G), Ellie Pobjoy (1G), Habi Littlehales (1A), Bonnie Russell (1A)

3pm - England Snr W 13-7 Wales - (5-2; 8-5; 11-6; 13-7)
England Scorers: Georgie Southorn (4G, 1A), Milly Home (3G, 1A), Tilly Shires (2G), Anna Neville (2G), Liv Wimpenny (1G), Cece Green (1G)

3pm - England Snr M 14-2 Wales - (4-1; 8-1; 10-1; 14-2)
England Scorers: Blair Pachevera 4, Nathan Wilkinson 3, Joe Baythorpe 2, Will Goodwin 2, Alex Russell 1, Elliott Bickerton 1, Tom Roper 1

Club offer | Host a Fundamentals of Coaching Lacrosse course

England Lacrosse is delighted to announce a brand new Fundamentals of Coaching Lacrosse course offer designed for clubs around the country.

The offer allows clubs who host Fundamentals of Coaching Lacrosse courses the opportunity to receive up to three places on the course completely free of charge, representing a possible saving of up to £300.

The Fundamentals of Coaching Lacrosse course is the entry level coaching course in England and is perfect for volunteers at clubs looking to help new players just starting out on their lacrosse journey.

A club will receive one free place on the course for each of the following criteria they meet:

• Host a course with at least 10 attendees

• 10 or more attendees are England Lacrosse members

• The host venue is available to host the course at no cost to England Lacrosse

England Lacrosse Lead Officer for Education & Skills, Nik Roberts, said about the new offer:

“At England Lacrosse, we continually strive to improve the quality of coaching in the game. Giving new players, whatever the age, the best possible start to a lacrosse playing career is good for the game and of course the player themselves. Good coaching must be safe, technically sound, and FUN”.

The Fundamentals of Coaching Lacrosse course is split into two parts with the theory being delivered through a two-hour webinar alongside a four-hour tutor-led practical session.

For more information about the course and the club offer, contact Nik Roberts via email on n.roberts@englandlacrosse.co.uk.

English officials selected for 2024 World Lacrosse Women's U20 Championship

Two English officials have been selected as on-field officials for the 2024 World Lacrosse Women’s U20 Championship, World Lacrosse has announced.

Paul Bibby and David Morris are part of a 38-strong team of officials travelling to Hong Kong, China for the competition that’s set to take place from 15-24 August.

Both Bibby and Morris are highly experienced officials having taken charge of matches at various international competition around the world as well as some of the most high level domestic games in England.

The 38 officials represent 12 nations and three Continental Federations with World Lacrosse’s Officiating Committee helping to select the group of officials in consultation with National Governing Bodies and Continental Federations based on the officials’ quality and past performance in internationally sanctioned events.

The group of officials will be supported through the championship by a team of educators who will mentor, evaluate and assess their performance.

Leading up to the event, the individuals will continue to officiate in their home countries, attend online workshops, undergo fitness testing and take rules exams ensuring that they are best prepared for the championship.

Each official selected for the championship has a World Lacrosse 1 or higher certification, in line with World Lacrosse’s recent efforts to develop an officials’ certification program to ensure a consistent standard across world championships.

England senior women's Home Internationals Series squad announced

England Lacrosse is thrilled to announce the 22-player squad ready to make the trip to Cardiff, Wales for the Home Internationals Series this weekend.

The annual competition, taking place from 5-7 April at Cardiff University Playing Fields, will see England take on other international sides in competitive fixtures as they continue their preparations for the 2024 ELF Women’s Championship later this year.

At that competition in Braga, Portugal, England will be looking to build upon the bronze medal they secured at the World Championship in 2022 and win an unprecedented fourth consecutive European title.

England will play three games during the 2024 Home Internationals Series, including matches against Scotland, Czechia, and Wales.

To buy tickets for the 2024 Home Internationals Series, click HERE.

England Senior Women’s Squad

Laura Beaman
Chloe Chan
Emilie Chandler
Ella Cohen
Lucy Devine
Claire Faram
Cece Green
Milly Home
Zoe Lovibond
Minty Loxton-Barnard
Anna Neville
Emma Oakley
Alice Ripper
Lizzie Rutherford
Anna Saunter
Emma Savage
Tilly Shires
Georgie Southorn
Dylan Whittington
Charlie Wilson
Liv Wimpenny
Julie Wise

England senior men's team revealed ahead of 2024 Home Internationals Series

England Lacrosse is pleased to announced the 20-player England senior men’s squad to compete at the 2024 Home Internationals Series in Cardiff, Wales this weekend.

The competition, taking place from 5-7 April, will see England take on other international sides in the team’s first competitive fixtures since they finished sixth at last year’s 2023 World Lacrosse Men’s Championship in San Diego, USA.

Since then, Sam Patterson has been appointed the new England Head Coach and he has been tasked with putting together a team capable of competing at the European Championship in 2025.

England will play three matches at the 2024 Home Internationals Series with them taking on Scotland, Netherlands, and Wales.

To buy tickets for the 2024 Home Internationals Series, click HERE.

England Senior Men’s Squad

George Bascom
Joe Baythorpe
Simon Bellamy
Elliott Bickerton
Alex Davidson
Nick DeCaprio
Hal Dwobeng
Daniel Goodwin
William Goodwin
MacGyver Hay
Grady Jackson-Fayle
William Locker
Edward Loveland
Daniel Madeley
Cameron Major
Dave O’Callaghan
Blair Pachereva
Alex Russell
Tom Roper
Nathan Wilkinson

England U20 men's Home Internationals squad revealed

England Lacrosse is delighted to announce the 20-player England under-20 men’s squad to compete at the annual 2024 Home Internationals Series in Cardiff, Wales.

The competition, taking place from 5-7 April, will see England take on other international sides in competitive fixtures as the players continue their journey through the under-20 performance programme.

The 20-player squad will gain valuable experience during the Home Internationals Series that will help propel them in their lacrosse careers and assist them in becoming the well-rounded athletes the programme sets out to create.

To this end, England will play two matches during the Series against senior teams from Netherlands and Scotland; the opportunity to pit themselves against experienced senior players will set them in good stead for the future.

To buy tickets for the 2024 Home Internationals Series, click HERE.

Noah Arnison
Wil Baker
Ellis Baythorpe
Leo Baythorpe
Luke Bond
Archie Carr
Luke Flower
Matthew Forrester
Ryan Frayne
Will Hodgson
Oscar McCarthy
Jamie Mochan
Sam Polya
Owen Shuttleworth
Henry Smith
Zak Spreckley
Xander Stewart
Billy Styche
James Thompson
Calum Watson

England U20 women's Home Internationals Series squad announced

England Lacrosse is excited to announce the 29-player England under-20 women’s squad travelling to Cardiff for the 2024 Home Internationals Series.

The annual competition, taking place from 5-7 April, will see England take on other international sides in competitive fixtures as they continue their preparations for the 2024 World Lacrosse Women’s U20 World Championship later this year.

18 of the 29-strong squad helped England to under-20 European Championship glory last summer in Prague, Czechia, and they’re joined by another 11 players representing some of the best young talent England has to offer.

England will play three games during the 2024 Home Internationals Series, including matches against Scotland U20, Germany U20, and Wales U20, all of whom are taking part in August’s World Championship.

To buy tickets for the 2024 Home Internationals Series, click HERE.

England U20 Women’s Squad

Honor Ashby
Rachael Ball
Charlie Bell
Millie Cant
Grace Connor
Lois Crilly
Grace Davison
Ella Dimbylow
Lucy Evans
Ashley Fawn
Ana Green
Abi Harris
Carys Johnson
Molly Light
Habi Littlehales
Fiona MacLean
Ellie Martin
Annie Mather
Izzy Middleton
Freya Moody
Sienna Parekh
Emma Pearce
Ellie Pobjoy
Lara Renders
Sienna Richardson
Bonnie Russell
Ailsa Scott
Nina Sherwen
Jemma Thomson

Watch: Priestnall School make top 8 in debut National Schools appearance

Priestnall School made it through to the quarterfinals at the recent National Schools Lacrosse Championships on their first ever appearance at the prestigious event in Aldershot.

After previously playing friendly matches and competing in Northern schools tournaments, the Stockport school entered the Under 15 competition at this year’s National Schools to test themselves against the rest of the country and play against some the top lacrosse schools in the UK.

They ended up winning five of their seven matches at the Championships, drawing against the eventual champions St Swithun’s in their opening game, before just going out to finalists Claremont Fan Court in overtime in their quarterfinal match.

As first-time entrants, England Lacrosse caught up with the coach, teachers and players at the school to find out how they came to form their lacrosse team, why they decided to enter, and how they found their first nationals experience.

Prague, Czechia set to host Ken Galluccio Cup from 2025-27

Prague, Czechia is set to host the Ken Galluccio Cup for the next two years after the European Lacrosse Federation announced the winners of the latest round of host bids.

From 2025-27, LCC Radotin, based in Prague, will host the annual men’s and women’s field lacrosse competition that gathers domestic champions from several countries, including Germany, Netherlands, and Sweden, to decide which team is Europe’s best.

Over the past two years, Barcelona Lacrosse in Spain has hosted the Ken Galluccio Cup and, despite receiving another bid from Spain and one from Poland, LCC Radotin from Prague, Czechia were chosen to host the competition going forwards.

Running roughly on an annual basis since 2008 and originally named the Champions Cup, the tournament was renamed the Ken Galluccio Cup as a tribute to its creator after his death in 2009 and it is the largest European lacrosse tournament with teams from over 15 countries taking part.

Prague previously hosted the tournament in 2012 with the competition also being held in Hamburg (2008, 2010), Manchester (2011), Ghent (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019), and Barcelona (2022, 2023, 2024).

English teams have traditionally performed well at the Ken Galluccio Cup, winning nine out of the 13 titles in the men’s competition.

In the women’s competition, Blues Lacrosse Club are the reigning champions with Oxton and Centaurs also winning in 2014 and 2019 respectively.

Tickets on sale for 2024 Home Internationals Series

Tickets for the 2024 Home Internationals Series, featuring England, Scotland, Germany, Netherlands, Czechia, and hosts Wales are now on sale.

Taking place at the Cardiff University Playing Fields, Cardiff from 5-7 April, the annual Home Internationals Series will see senior, under-20, and under-18 men’s and women’s teams play against each other in a main competition and a festival with the winners in each tournament being crowned 2024 Home Internationals champions.

Tickets start from just £6 for a single day concessions* ticket with two-day passes and full tournament tickets also available.

If you buy before Friday 29th March, you can grab a full tournament pass for the price of two day tickets!

Last year’s competition, held in Nottingham, saw England dominate, winning every trophy on offer, including the senior men’s and women’s titles.

Ticket Details

Full Weekend Adult | £22.25
Full Weekend Concessions | £16.75
Two-Day Ticket Adult | £22.25
Two-Day Ticket Concessions | £16.75
Day Ticket Adult | £11.25
Day Ticket Concessions | £6.00

*Concessions include under 16s, over 65s, and students with a valid student card.

Nottingham Trent retain top title in BUCS Men's Championship final

Nottingham Trent took the honours and city bragging rights for the second year in a row as they defeated University of Nottingham 8-6 in the BUCS Men’s Championship final.

Trent had to do things the hard way, clawing back an early three-goal deficit to finally go ahead in the final quarter and never relinquishing the lead thanks to a shutout second-half.

UoN looked poised to cause an upset in overturning the reigning champions and 2024 Premier North league winners, but NTU and Brady McFalls composure in front of goal proved decisive as he led the game with five goals to see boys in pink home.

UoN came out of the blocks noticeably quicker, going ahead through Billy Styche off an extra man opportunity, before two goals in under a minute from Tommy Rooney and Ethan Holthaus capped off a roaring start for the green and gold for a 3-0 lead after just six minutes.

Trent took a timeout and regrouped, retaining more ball for the rest of the quarter and slowing the game down to a tempo that suited them and allowed them to begin to dictate, Brady McFalls cutting the deficit by one off Trent’s own EMO.

Trent pulled back another at the start of Q2, and despite Rooney getting his second for UoN, NTU did well again in controlling the majority of possession and taking their opportunities to level at 4-4.

The play then moved pretty freely from end-to-end for the rest of the half, with both teams having chances, Nicky Palermo for NTU and Rooney, bagging his hat-trick for UoN, adding a goal apiece for 5-5.

And when Owen Caputo, the Duke University grad and NCAA Championship runner-up who had been restricted two assists up until that point, bagged a goal just before the buzzer, UoN showed they were in it for the long haul.

After a ferocious first-half, the play began to settle down, and it was the defences taking centre-stage as goalies Cole Hiller for NTU, and Joachim Ruby for UoN, made numerous saves.

A McFalls goal midway through the third period was the only goal of the quarter, and took the game into the final 15 on an absolute knife edge at 6-6.

And the Washington College recruit McFalls was deadly again, isolating his defender one-on-one and taking him on the outside to score from a tight angle to put NTU up for the first time in the match.

A disallowed goal for Trent’s Robbie Guglielmo then caused controversy as his effort to put his side 8-6 ahead was chalked off for failing a stick check and saw his side go a man down for three minutes.

However, Trent saw off the penalty time and McFalls did finally put the game out of danger, sealing the victory and the match MVP award for his five goals, including both final quarter scores.

The win completed the BUCS double for Nottingham Trent, and a third Men’s Championship for Head Coach Sam Patterson.

Box Score: 1:3; 5:6; 6:6; 8:6

Trent Points: Brady McFalls (5G), Nicky Palermo (2G, 1A), Blair Pachereva (1G), Ethan Caldwell (1A)

UoN Points: Tommy Rooney (3G), Owen Caputo (1G, 2A), Sam Griffiths (2A), Billy Styche (1G), Ethan Holthaus (1G)

 MVP: Brady McFalls - Nottingham Trent

In the Men’s Trophy competition, Leeds fought off a rousing Sussex comeback to win 7-6 take the BUCS title.

The Yorkshire side seemed fairly comfortable throughout, looking the dominant side without moving away with the game until a final quarter push from Sussex had the game all-square with five minutes to play.

But Owen Atkinson managed to score to end Sussex’s streak and help Leeds to see the game out and seal the trophy.

Box Score: 3:1; 5:2; 6:4; 7-6

 Leeds Points:  Leo Butterworth (2G, 1A), Owen Atkinson (2G), Tom Wallis (1G, 1A), Marco Shelton (1G), Adam Rogers (1G)

Sussex Points:  Benton Martin (2G), Wyatt Shipley (2G), Michael O’Brien (1G, 1A), Charles Vasilakakos (1G), Thomas Deschenes (1A)

MVP: Adam Rogers - Leeds

LIVE | BUCS Big Wednesday is back to crown our champions

Match Scores & Schedule
FINAL - Women’s Trophy – Durham 2s 10-13 Exeter 2s (3-5; 7-8; 7-12; 10-13)
FINAL - Men’s Trophy – Leeds 7-6 Sussex (3-1; 5-2; 6-4; 7-6)
FINAL – Women’s Championship – University of Nottingham 8-13 Durham (2-2; 4-6; 7-11; 8-13)
FINAL – Men’s Championship – Nottingham Trent 8-6 University of Nottingham (1-3; 5-6; 6-6; 8-6)

BUCS Big Wednesday returns tomorrow at its new home in Loughborough with four games of lacrosse across the men’s and women’s competitions in the battle to be crowned National Championship and Trophy winners for 2024.

Reigning Women’s champions University of Nottingham go into this year’s final looking to make it a three-peat, after triumphs in ’22 and ’23 and also record another unbeaten season under Head Coach Mike Armstrong.

Durham meanwhile, return to the Women’s Championship final after missing out on the showpiece game last year for the first time since 2012, and look to return a title that once had permanent residency in the North East with five wins between 2015-2019.

Durham made Wednesday’s final with a 10-9 overtime win away at last year’s finalists Exeter, and if the league results from this season so far tell us anything it’s to expect a thriller, with UoN beating Durham home and away by just a single goal, 7-6 both times.

Durham will be hoping they can flip those score lines on Wednesday, and with the array of international talent on show across both sides it will be a must-watch finale.

UoN’s unbeaten charges boast two members of the current England Performance squad in Emma Savage and Izzy Brand, and no fewer than seven players in the England U20 World Championship training squad including goalie Sienna Parekh and captain from the squad’s Euros success last summer, Ana Green.

 However, Durham possess their own batch of talent with international honours, Lizzie Rutherford (Performance squad), Karma Kabbani and Eleanor Williams (Development squad), and another four members of the England U20 training squad including Millie Cant and Molly Light from the Euros winning team.

The Women’s Championship final gets underway at 4.30pm

Routes to the Women’s Championship

UoN Women
SF: UoN 16-8 NTU
QF: UoN 19-4 Cambridge

Durham Women
SF: Exeter 9-10 Durham (OT)
QF: Durham 25-2 Bristol

In the Men’s Championship, we have a repeat of last year’s final and a city rivalry that has now firmly established itself as one of the fiercest in English lacrosse.

Nottingham Trent will be looking to defend their title against the University of Nottingham, and having already clinched the BUCS Premier North crown away from UoN, NTU Head Coach Sam Patterson will be striving to make it a double for the men in pink.

Both teams come in with rosters mixed with strong young English talent, sprinkled with American NCAA class to get the pulses racing for a high-level contest.

NTU are co-captained by one of the best young midfield talents in the country in Dan Flisk, and partnered with Luca Schurink in defence are led by two players with international experience to build their team around.

This is then bolstered with overseas additions like Nicky Palermo, Eli Steindl, Brady McFalls, Cole Hiller and more who all come into the side with NCAA experience.

Meanwhile, UoN are headlined by D1 Duke alum, Owen Caputo, while attacker and Merrimack College alum Tommy Rooney set a single game goal and points record for the team in their quarter-final win against Exeter.

The side is then complemented by a duo of promising young goalies in Joachim Ruby and Noah Arnison, with captains Alexander Davidson and Sam Griffiths giving the team a strong core to look to hand NTU their first loss of the season.

In their previous encounters this season, a 9-9 draw in October was followed up a month later by a blowout 18-4 win for NTU, so anything will be possible when the two rivals step out on to the field for the last match at 7.15pm.

Routes to the Men’s Championship

NTU Men
SF: NTU 18-4 Durham
QF: NTU 30-0 Newcastle

UoN Men
SF: UoN 20-3 Oxford
QF: UoN 29-1 Exeter

To get Big Wednesday’s action going, first Durham 2s and Exeter 2s will meet in the Women’s Trophy final.

Exeter Women’s 2s were beaten finalists last year and will be hoping to try to go one better for 2024 but they face formidable opposition in Durham 2s who have won all ten of their league matches this season and beat last year’s Trophy winners UoN 2s in the quarter-finals.

The opening Women’s match up will be followed by the Men’s Trophy final between Leeds and Sussex.

A real north v south clash, with both teams unbeaten in their respective leagues this season and set to be vying for promotion in the play-offs, some silverware would surely be a crowning glory for either of the teams on Wednesday.

Routes to the Women’s Trophy

Durham 2s
R1: Durham 2s 14-5 Leeds
R2: Durham 2s 19-2 Liverpool
R3: Glasgow 4-15 Durham 2s
QF: Durham 2s 9-2 Nottingham 2s
SF: Durham 2s 18-5 Durham 3s

Exeter 2s
R1: Exeter 2s 11-10 Oxford Brookes
R2: Exeter 2s 25-1 King’s College
R3: Exeter 2s 26-0 Southampton
QF: Exeter 2s 25-1 Exeter 3s
SF: Exeter 2s 21-1 Bristol 2s

Routes to the Men’s Trophy

Leeds
R1: Leeds W/O Birmingham
R2: Lancaster 0-11 Leeds
QF: Glasgow 4-10 Leeds
SF: Leeds 7-6 Sheffield Hallam

Sussex
R1: Plymouth 3-12 Sussex
R2: East Anglia 2-14 Sussex
QF: Sussex 19-3 Swansea
SF: Sussex 12-5 Bournemouth

All Lacrosse fixtures are taking place on the Holywell Fitness Centre Rubbercrumb ‘American Football’ pitch at the postcode LE11 3QF 

Tickets are on sale HERE

For more general information around BUCS Big Wednesday visit BUCS website HERE

England discover 2024 Women’s U20 Championship pool play opponents

England will take on hosts Hong Kong, China, Ireland, Jamaica, and Japan in Group D at the 2024 World Lacrosse Women’s U20 Championship after World Lacrosse announced the full schedule earlier today.

They’ll play all four pool stage games over a five day period beginning with Jamaica on 16 August and finishing with a local derby with Ireland on 20 August.

The 64-game schedule for the Championship, set for 15-24 August, features 20 teams split into four groups for pool play, followed by play-offs that will include quarter-finals, semi-finals and medal games.

The teams were snake seeded into pools based on their finishes at the 2019 edition of the tournament and balanced by Continental Federation.

Competition will take place at four venues, highlighted by Mong Kok Stadium, which will host games on the opening day of the tournament, the semi-finals and medal round.

Mong Kok seats 6,000 spectators and serves as a regular venue for Hong Kong Premier League Football matches.

The other three venues – Sham Shui Po, Shek Kip Mei and Kowloon Tsai – are all located within 10 minutes of each other and Mong Kok Stadium.

The event will commence on 15 August with three games preceding the opening ceremony: Israel v China, Korea v Chinese Taipei, and Mexico v Italy. Following the ceremony, hosts Hong Kong, China will take on Jamaica at Mong Kok Stadium.

The three medalists from 2019 will make their debut the next day on 16 August as Australia battle New Zealand, Canada take on Wales, and the United States face Germany.

Pool play will take place over six days, with each team playing four games. The top two teams in each group will advance to the quarter-finals, which begin on Wednesday 21 August before the semi-finals and eventual medal round games on Saturday 24 August.

The format ensures high-stakes match-ups during pool play, as teams vie to finish in the top two to advance to the play-offs. Three out of the four groups contain three teams that finished in the top 10 at the last junior women’s championship in 2019, and 15 out of the 16 teams that qualified for the play-offs at the 2022 Women’s Championship are represented in the field.

The full schedule can be found HERE. Tickets will go on sale to the public in late April/early May.

England Schedule (local times)

16 August | Jamaica v England | 5pm
17 August | Hong Kong, China v England | 5pm
18 August | England v Japan | 8pm
20 August | England v Ireland | 2pm

Pool A

China
Germany
Israel
Puerto Rico
United States

Pool B

Canada
Haudenosaunee
Korea
Chinese Taipei
Wales

Pool C

Australia
Italy
Mexico
New Zealand
Scotland

Pool D

England
Hong Kong, China
Ireland
Jamaica
Japan

England box men's E-Box squad announced

England Lacrosse is excited to announce the 24-player England men’s box squad heading to Prague, Czechia, for the 2024 E-Box tournament.

Taking place from 19-22 April, the 2024 event will mark England’s first competitive fixtures since last year’s E-Box competition where they won two and lost one.

The 24-player squad is made up of some of the best box lacrosse players in the country at the moment with European champions such as Tom Bracegirdle, Taylor Harrison, and Ming Trinh being included.

England already know who their opponents will be after the competition announced matches against Finland, Czech Republic, and a touring Canadian team.

The competition will be the next chance for Head Coach Walt Christianson, alongside his coaching team to assess his England squad in a competitive setting as he continues to prepare for September’s 2024 World Lacrosse Box Championships in Utica, NY, USA.

All 24 members of the squad heading to Prague were named in the 32-player England World Championship training squad announced earlier this year.

The wider 32-player World Championship training squad will be whittled down to just 23 players in due course.

2024 E-Box Squad

Oliver ALLSOP
Will ALLSOP
George BASCOM
Tom BRACEGIRDLE
Jacob BRINDLE
Ben BUCHANAN
George DURY
Tom HALLAM
Taylor HARRISON
Elliot LEONARD
Matt MARSH
Luke MILLS-DOIG
Ben PAGE-LAYCOCK
Sam PERRY
Jamie POWELL
Eliot PUGH
Billy RAWLINS
Tom ROCHE
Oliver ROGERSON
Tom ROPER
Matthew TATTON
Ming TRINH
Dan WATSON
Albert WHITEHEAD
Ben STOWE (Reserve)

Fundraiser launched to help fund equipment for Uganda Lacrosse

A fundraiser has been launched to help fund playing equipment for the Uganda Lacrosse Association (ULA).

Set up by lacrosse veteran Tim Holdsworth, who is connected to the ULA through his wife, the fundraiser hopes to raise an initial £1,700 to help buy lacrosse sticks, balls, reversible pinnies, and shipping to Uganda to support a group of 20 lacrosse players.

There are currently no lacrosse equipment companies in Africa and the ULA has historically sourced equipment via donations of used equipment from Europe and North America; Tim hopes this will be the start of a movement which can bring new equipment into Uganda annually.

After being founded in 2011, the ULA has managed to sustain lacrosse in the country for 13 years while receiving no government funding or operating a standard National Governing Body (NGB) model due to the economic difficulties faced by the general population.

 Despite these obvious challenges, the ULA has managed to create a participation base of around 1,000 players with plans in place to introduce the sport to more schools and educational settings.

Full details of the fundraiser can be viewed on the GoFundMe page below.