Well Have You?
Right – I’d like to start this write up with the revelation that I didn’t get injured in our first Comets match against Cambridge. I’m quite proud of that fact because most training sessions and games I’ve played for the Welwyn Warriors I’ve managed to come limping off the field with one piece of damage to myself or another. I’m also quite proud of the fact that any injury sustained in a match has been countered well by knocking over at least one member of the opposition and following it with a few jabs from my 4 foot aluminium friend (NB I’d like to point out at this point that Lacrosse is not all about destroying the other team, there are some very talented people at the other end of the pitch scoring goals and making spectacular dodges with excellent stick skills to match – it’s just that I prefer to knock people about in defence. And Defencemen reading this are quite probably nodding their heads with grins on their faces). Unfortunately the worst injuries are usually taken in training, which I think I’ve demonstrated remarkably by bleeding from the eye onto the Astroturf after a stick in the face (thank you Tara), and screaming like a girl after ‘neglecting’ to wear my protective box and taking a full shot to the groin (thank you Matt). I’m better now.
More on the Cambridge game later but let’s start at the beginning of the season with the invitation for a few of our players to experience Men’s Lax first hand with the Welwyn team. Myself, Dan ‘The Chav’ Vickers (our esteemed Chair), Matt ‘Oh Sorry Rich Did That Hit You In The Balls?’ Smith (our Men’s Captain) and self termed ‘Lord High Overseer of Hatfield’ Danny McCluskey made the trip to Cheltenham to play the first South of England Division Three match against the University of Gloucestershire. Arriving five minutes before face off and not having enough time to warm up didn’t distract us from getting stuck into the game with vigour (although Radox Muscle Soak later on certainly helped…). The first half went as expected – walked over us was the term I think we employed at the time, but the aim was to try and settle into our positions and begin to gel together as a team, which I believe we did quite admirably. Gloucestershire employed such scare tactics as fielding a different ref in every quarter, a fan club with a poster cheering on only one of their players and a couple of sideline tactical chunders. Suffice to say, by the end of the third quarter Gloucestershire had scored 9 goals to our 5 and looked pretty comfortable. I can’t remember exactly what our player coach, Dave Coldwell, said to us at this point but upon starting the fourth and final quarter we played like Thor on that Cheltenham pitch. Four goals came in quick succession and the tenth and winning goal came in the final 30 seconds of the match securing one hell of a 10-9 comeback win. The Gloucestershire men were gracious in defeat and fed us sausages in the pub afterwards – magic.
A week later saw the first home match, played in nearby Woolmer Green, against the Cambridge Men’s team. As well as the four Uni players from the previous week, the Cambridge match saw the addition of Steve ‘Hoobs’ Morrey and Henning ‘Dolph’ Schmidt to the team. Steve is an Aquarian and enjoys handcuffs and Hatfield Best Kebab. Henning is a six and a half foot psychopathic German. Nuff said. Fuelled by our win in Cheltenham we were in high spirits for this match and tore into the Cambridge side with everything we had to offer. Henning’s biggest tactic in defence was to scream at the opposition every time they came near him. This worked quite well against their five and a half foot attackers but unfortunately it didn’t stop them scoring their 9 goals against our 8, leaving us frantically attempting to score in the final seconds of the match and failing to do so. Gracious in defeat we took them all to the pub afterwards (no sausages for Cambridge though). Oh and ‘Gonz’, if you’re somehow reading this up there in Cambridge – sorry about the broken thumb, no hard feelings…
As the Comets’ first mixed fixture loomed ever closer we had one more game to play as Welwyn against Walcountian Blues 3. Once again playing at home we were reminded of the unfortunate loss we had suffered the week before and resolved to amend it. Once again we were joined by yet more Comets players, notably James and Laurent. By this match most of us had settled into our positions and were happy with the way we worked as a team. I think this was a significant factor in our conceding only 4 goals. The explanation that we scored 19 is still beyond me. Welwyn Warriors’ motto is ‘Dominate the Game’ and I believe we did just that with some excellent midfield play, some solid defence work (if I do say so myself) and a Uni goal from the Chav himself, Dan Vickers. As before, down the pub, no sausages. But we did have chips.
And so to Cambridge for the first ever Hertfordshire Comets match. No sign of ‘Gonz’ though. Arriving in plenty of time we began warming up and honing our stick skills before the Cambridge team had arrived themselves. Now before talking about the game I need to tell you that the similarity between Mixed lacrosse and Men's lacrosse begins and ends with the fact that you catch a ball in a net on a stick. There is no contact, no direct tackling (wore my box anyway…), no running with the ball for more than 5 seconds and, according to Cambridge at least, no boundary lines. At some sides of the pitch. These are just some of the more obvious rules but let’s agree that it’s complicated. With this in mind it was very difficult going into the mixed match and not barging anyone to the floor or swinging sticks around with intent to decapitate. On the other hand it certainly gave us an opportunity to demonstrate our catching, passing and interception skills which we did thoroughly, especially for a first game, and to those men and women who played their first ever match – I salute you. Unfortunately Cambridge dominated the first half scoring 8 goals, mostly in the first quarter. The second half was far more on equal footing having learnt from our previous mistakes and both teams scored 2 goals each. With only ten minutes to each quarter the game was short lived and the final score stayed at 10 – 2 to Cambridge. Gracious in defeat…we came home as the opposition disappeared after the match. Oh no, hang on, we stopped at a pub on the way back. No sausages but they did sell Scampi Fries.
Those of you that are interested in playing for the Comets or if you just want to train with the squad, we are more than happy to add to our members now numbering over 50. Training is on de Havilland Astroturf 2, Monday nights 9pm to 10pm and on College Lane Astroturf, Wednesday evenings 5pm to 7pm. The next Comets match is away to Northampton on 7th November. Hopefully they’ll feed us.
