Previously in BUCS lacrosse leagues, the quality of a team has been based on the amount of US based or experienced players that the team has. Royal Holloway lacrosse team gained no experienced or overseas players this year and the only recruits were players who had barely heard of the sport, let alone picked up a stick. The future looked challenging for a team that had never won a piece of silverware. The entire team knew it would be an uphill battle especially with larger universities who had more players to choose from.
The team began training hard each week with American coaches Brendan McCann and Jordan Boreman. Beginning their season with a win over Surrey was crucial and from there the team grew in confidence. Scores of 15-1, and 18-1 in late autumn against inferior Kent and Portsmouth sides rewarded the team’s determination and hard work. In the final game of December goalie Noyan Serim suffered serious injuries and was out for two months. In stepped the inexperienced Ali Wardere. With the first game back after Christmas Ali put in an outstanding performance and kept the first clean sheet of the season.
The team continued their unbeaten run through the second half of the season fighting their way to the cup final. The toughest game of the entire season, the cup final went to sudden death in extra time. A nervous 5 mins with shots from both teams and great saves from both goalies kept the game alive but it was a burst of pace and perfectly placed shot by Chase Stuart that saw Holloway to victory. The team saw out the season with a well deserved cup victory, a league title and an undefeated run. An outstanding performance from a team that lacked experience all those months ago.