BUSA Midlands report
Saturday saw the men's lacrosse team travel to Birmingham to compete in a midlands BUSA tournament hoping to better their second place finish last year. Things started well with a 5-1 win over Birmingham before stuttering slightly against a fired-up Loughborough side who took an early lead before the blues began to assert their dominance. A string of saves from the Loughborough goalie kept the score 1-1. Next up was a hotly anticipated clash with Cambridge that never lived up to its billing - the dark blues running out comfortable 4-0 victors.
Buoyed by the win, Oxford faced favourites Nottingham but tiredness began to tell as they fell to a 3-1 half time deficit. Oxford finally took control, but too late and finished with a disappointing 4-2 loss. With semi-finals cut due to bad light, the last group game against Warwick became a must win game for both sides and a hard fought, physical game ensued with the blues winning 2-1.
The final was a repeat of last year's with Oxford playing Nottingham. With their earlier victory and the support of the crowd, Nottingham started strongly but failed to get on the score sheet before the Blues finally broke the deadlock to take a slender 1-0 half time lead. The second half brought more of the same with neither side scoring despite the end-to-end play and with 91 seconds left, Nottingham called a tense time-out to marshal one last attack. Oxford stood firm once more and showed their class to break down the field and finish a great move to seal a 2-0 victory.
The Blues now progress to the national semi-finals next term after a great day of lacrosse and a satisfying victory over the tabs.
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