Despite multiple disallowed goals and the some-what dangerous play by Birmingham, Staffs mixed team managed to end victorious 5-3.
The highlight was the two crucial goals late in the match from Nathan Villiers on his début. There were also two more goals from David Drysdale and one from captain Marcus Howe.
"As a first game I was amazed to see how well the team played as one and naturally picked up the game" said captain Howe. "The skill levels of all the players on the team are improving and far surpass that of what would be expected of beginners in the game."
Another highlight of the game was the amount of disallowed goals. Staffs managed to record three disallowed goals. One was from vice-captain Paul Chandler who apparently caused a crease violation and the other two was seen to be dangerous play in the process of the goals.
Even though it was the guys that were scoring the goals, the girls had their chances as well. Fresher Rhiannon Lettey had a couple of golden chances in the form of a missed free shot and another shot that managed to rebound of the Birmingham bar. Another missed opportunity also came from Kristina Goggin which came from another free shot.
It was also a lot of players first mixed game, and captain Howe was amazed at how quickly they adapted to this fast paced game. "I don't believe there will be just one individual fresher that will contribute the most as they were giving it their all from the off. However the attacking partnership of Rhiannon and Amy Rattenbury proved a effective weapon against Birmingham."
Despite it being a very low scoring affair for a mixed game, Howe still believes his team can finish in the top three. Now as captain Howe seems to be approaching the game differently then he used to in the three previous seasons. "The title of being mixed captain was something of a surprise for me, after being out for a year on placement but I hope to take the responsibility and fulfil it as best I can. The lead up to the game was something of a new experience to me, although in my forth year for the club. As captain I found myself thinking more about the dynamics and skills of all the players and how they could contribute to the success of the team rather than how my own individual contribution would help the team."
The only problem Howe will need to work on, is recruiting more girls as they were two short of the required six. This meant they asked Birmingham to use a few of there own as they the home side had around 15 girls able to play. "I would recommend the game to all players and freshers because its one of a few sports that involves both guys and girls in a sport that can be picked up relatively easily. After training with men's lacrosse team and speaking to the women's lacrosse team I've had a big interest from the majority of players."