Kingston’s women’s lacrosse 1st unable to hang on to early lead

Lesley-Anne Morley

Kingston women’s first lacrosse team held on to second place after a disappointing draw against the University of Kent first at Tolworth Court Sports Grounds on Wednesday.

Despite early goals and superior play from Kingston throughout the first half, they couldn’t stop Kent’s late comeback which resulted in an 8-8 draw.

Kingston’s captain Miranda Dixon said: “It was such a shame that they kind of came back in the second half, but I feel good.  That was their first team and they’ve been playing a really long time.  We played well against them.”

First-half glory

Less than one minute into the game Kingston stunned their more experienced opponents and went up 2-0.

Kingston’s sprinters Sophie Roger and Helena Wigand Barikmo plus aggressive stick checking from LaRaib Butt helped keep the team on the offensive and they finished the first quarter 5-1 up.

Dixon said: “It started off really well. We had some really good play and our stick skills were very strong today which was fantastic and I think that’s where Kent fell short.”

The first half ended 7-2.

Second-half slack

Kingston scored their final goal in the early minutes of the second half and despite an earlier hat trick from Rogers they couldn’t fend off the Kent team who had found a second wind.

Kent came back with six unanswered goals in the last two quarters assisted greatly by Tosin Ajayi whose lightning-fast legs helped to set up her teammates.

Play was stopped temporarily after Kent captain Laura Rintoul and Ajayi collided in front of the Kingston net.

An injured Rintoul played out the final minutes of the game before seeking treatment from first aid attendants.

Arabell Steggles, vice-captain for the University of Kent, said: “It was a bit of a shock really, but we were able to bring it back.  That was really us playing in the last half. 

“In the first half I don’t know what happened to us.  I guess it’s because a lot of our matches have been cancelled up to now.  This was our first league match so we are still working it all out.”

The next game is on December 5 at Tolworth Court Sports Centre against the University of Hertfordshire at 14:00.