Well what I can say guys and girls. It's always a great day and a great occasion to see Varsity, but I never thought how many emotions people would experience, before and after their matches.
I was gutted I couldn't catch the build up before leaving for Keele as I was already there doing stuff for OMG, so I can't really describe that unfortunately.
As for the matches I think I should start with the men's. Definitely our best performance of the season as a team, everyone was contributing. If there was a better event at Varsity, I would like to know, because it was so tense and entertaining throughout all four quarters.
Couldn't believe how long it took for the first goal to come, glad it was us. The first half reminded me of last year's match, as only one goal kept separating us. I remember Keele getting very physical early on, which got us even more pumped up.
I was impressed with the officials Keele got us. Very nice guys, very professional and weren't afraid of giving fouls at awkward moments e.g. the delay of game call right at the end.
In the second quarter I noticed that we were doing stupid offside penalties. I could definitely see this being a reason for us conceding a few goals. Don't remember much of the second quarter as I was on the pitch for most of it.
The third quarter I remember just being on the side lines watching Nathan going mental and even winding up some of the Keele players which the officials weren't happy with. This was where Keele got some daylight between us as they went 4-2 in less then a minute, because of stupid offside penalties. But thankfully Nick's left foot kept us in it, that goal will probably the best one as it was typical Nick, getting a goal from anything he could use to get it in.
Then the moment that I thought we weren't going to win this as Simon got checked and his stick went flying. That made it 6-5 and I thought we wouldn't get another chance as I thought Keele would basically time-waste by keeping possession and not do anything threatening.
But we didn't. I couldn't believe how close we got on so many occasions before the end. And then with 20 seconds left we tied it up. I thought that was Hollywood enough, but no, it had to have one final twist.
The more times I think about it the more I think, we knew what they were going to go for it, so why didn't we just really pressurize the guy with the ball or double team him.
I and probably a lot of others didn't know what to do after they scored. Unfortunately I had to keep working for OMG whereas everyone could just drown their sorrows.
But I do agree it was great game to be part of and it deserved that amazing ending but it was a shame we were on the losing side. I will be amazed if anyone will get over this result.
Now it was the turn of the women. I genuinely thought it would be tight, but not as tight as ours. I knew we would struggle to score and they have in previous matches, but I thought our defense would keep it fairly close.
But after the first quarter I thought, this could get embarrassing. As I gave a live update to OMG saying it was 8-0 a few minutes into the second quarter, I was thinking, this could be their only appearance at Varsity. This is, because I know after looking at the result, Staffs Uni would not want to choose that event again, especially after how hard they pushed for this and they give them a 25-1 loss.
But I have to give credit to Keele, because they did close out our main goal threats. I could tell El was getting annoyed, because I personally thought she didn't feature as much as she could, but that's because they closed her out of the game.
I was glad to see the girls still celebrated, because it had been hard to get this event into Varsity and this being their first ever year, just getting through a full season was an achievement.
Personally I would keep this event, because from what I've seen all the girls have enjoyed this season. From never picking up a stick to having lots of new skills and enjoying it at the same time.
Overall, despite the losses it was a great day. It was great to see both teams together and supporting each team that took to the field. Hope it's like this on tour but with different results. I hope all the freshers enjoyed their first experience of Varsity.
I was gutted I couldn't catch the build up before leaving for Keele as I was already there doing stuff for OMG, so I can't really describe that unfortunately.
As for the matches I think I should start with the men's. Definitely our best performance of the season as a team, everyone was contributing. If there was a better event at Varsity, I would like to know, because it was so tense and entertaining throughout all four quarters.
Couldn't believe how long it took for the first goal to come, glad it was us. The first half reminded me of last year's match, as only one goal kept separating us. I remember Keele getting very physical early on, which got us even more pumped up.
I was impressed with the officials Keele got us. Very nice guys, very professional and weren't afraid of giving fouls at awkward moments e.g. the delay of game call right at the end.
In the second quarter I noticed that we were doing stupid offside penalties. I could definitely see this being a reason for us conceding a few goals. Don't remember much of the second quarter as I was on the pitch for most of it.
The third quarter I remember just being on the side lines watching Nathan going mental and even winding up some of the Keele players which the officials weren't happy with. This was where Keele got some daylight between us as they went 4-2 in less then a minute, because of stupid offside penalties. But thankfully Nick's left foot kept us in it, that goal will probably the best one as it was typical Nick, getting a goal from anything he could use to get it in.
Then the moment that I thought we weren't going to win this as Simon got checked and his stick went flying. That made it 6-5 and I thought we wouldn't get another chance as I thought Keele would basically time-waste by keeping possession and not do anything threatening.
But we didn't. I couldn't believe how close we got on so many occasions before the end. And then with 20 seconds left we tied it up. I thought that was Hollywood enough, but no, it had to have one final twist.
The more times I think about it the more I think, we knew what they were going to go for it, so why didn't we just really pressurize the guy with the ball or double team him.
I and probably a lot of others didn't know what to do after they scored. Unfortunately I had to keep working for OMG whereas everyone could just drown their sorrows.
But I do agree it was great game to be part of and it deserved that amazing ending but it was a shame we were on the losing side. I will be amazed if anyone will get over this result.
Now it was the turn of the women. I genuinely thought it would be tight, but not as tight as ours. I knew we would struggle to score and they have in previous matches, but I thought our defense would keep it fairly close.
But after the first quarter I thought, this could get embarrassing. As I gave a live update to OMG saying it was 8-0 a few minutes into the second quarter, I was thinking, this could be their only appearance at Varsity. This is, because I know after looking at the result, Staffs Uni would not want to choose that event again, especially after how hard they pushed for this and they give them a 25-1 loss.
But I have to give credit to Keele, because they did close out our main goal threats. I could tell El was getting annoyed, because I personally thought she didn't feature as much as she could, but that's because they closed her out of the game.
I was glad to see the girls still celebrated, because it had been hard to get this event into Varsity and this being their first ever year, just getting through a full season was an achievement.
Personally I would keep this event, because from what I've seen all the girls have enjoyed this season. From never picking up a stick to having lots of new skills and enjoying it at the same time.
Overall, despite the losses it was a great day. It was great to see both teams together and supporting each team that took to the field. Hope it's like this on tour but with different results. I hope all the freshers enjoyed their first experience of Varsity.