National Champions
Text Box: Wilmslow Lacrosse Club Boys U12s Win the British Nationals On Sunday the Wilmslow Lacrosse Club boys U12 team returned from the British National Lacrosse tournament in Malvern, Worcestershire, as CHAMPIONS. After an early rise and a long trip down the motorway, punctuated by 12 boys stuffing their faces with crisps and hot chocolate at the services, Wilmslow boys arrived at Malvern with plenty of time to warm-up. This didn’t help them much in what was a slow and frustrating start to their tournament. Despite twice taking the lead through driving goals from Matt Smith (what would turn out to be a feature of the day), WACs twice came back to level the game, their equalising goal being the last move of the game. Immediately after that disappointing 2-2 draw came Rochdale – the reigning champions. What happened in the next 7 minutes (the first half) remains one of the many wonders of the world! A team which controlled their first game but seemed unable to finish the opposition off was now facing the giants of Rochdale, who were fresh and confident. Of course, they obviously had not taken note of Matt Smith. Within a minute Matt had driven through the midfield to put Wilmslow 1 nil up. In quick succession, Jack ‘Pazza’ Parry (aka the fox in the box) had fired in another 2 goals, with ‘Mini’ Max Southerton getting assists for both. Matt Smith went on another charge before Callum Lavelle tied three Rochdale players in knots before unleashing a net-breaking rocket into the bottom corner. 5 nil by half time and the crowd were breathless. For some reason the second half lacked the energy of that first 7 minutes and Wilmslow made do with only 1 further goal – an exquisite lob from Oscar Ridley-Fink after great work by Dan Woodside. Wilmslow were on their way but next up were the mighty Timperley – one of the pre-tournament favourites. The first half was a tense affair. Outstanding goalkeeping by Charlie Stocker, rock-solid defending by Louis Dupuy-Roudel and Ollie Appleby kept Timperley out, while the post and great saves from the Timperley keeper kept Wilmslow at bay. The second half was nothing memorable – Wilmslow lost 2-1 in a close contest that could have gone either way. To qualify for the semis Wilmslow needed to beat Spencer. The first half was scrappy as Wilmslow failed to settle on the ball. Another strong goal from Matt Smith put Wilmslow ahead only for Spencer to equalise. More stunning saves from Charlie Stocker, staunch defending from James Ratcliffe and the controlled aggression of Jack Bulmer kept the sides level for half time. In the second half Jack ‘Pazza’ Parry calmed the nerves with another goal, this time with an assist from Callum Lavelle before Matt Smith wrapped up the game and sent Wilmslow into the semi-finals as second placed team in their group. The winners of group 1 and hot favourites for the title were Sheffield Steelers: a gifted team with strength, pace, tactics and great stick-skills. Despite being nervous underdogs the opening score of the game came from Matt Smith. From that moment on Sheffield showed their class and raced into a 4-1 lead at half time despite a string of stunning saves from Charlie Stocker. At half time coach Ricky Evans settled the team down and with an ‘inspirational speech’ from Frazer Hunter Wilmslow returned to battle. After Callum Lavelle had yet again wrestled the ball from the Sheffield midfield he released ‘Mini’ Max Southerton down the right who swivelled and swerved before releasing to Jack ‘Pazza’ Parry who slammed the ball home. The crowd sensed a come-back and the Wilmslow players didn’t fail to deliver. With less than two minutes remaining ‘Mini’ Max Southerton picked up a loose ball that resulted from a Dan Woodside hustle, he spun on the spot, jinked his way through a group of Sheffield players before slotting home Wilmslow’s third: 4-3, under a minute to go. From the face-off Matt Smith won the ball and powered through the Sheffield players unleashing a fire-bolt into the bottom corner: 4-4. With 4 minutes of overtime to play the Wilmslow supporters drew their breath and cheered the team. Within a minute of the re-start the Wilmslow midfielders got the ball and calmed the game until the ball fell to Mini ‘Max’ Southerton who again spotted Jack ‘Pazza’ Parry who put Wilmslow into the lead. Wilmslow were on top with Dan Woodside and Callum Lavelle breaking down the Sheffield moves, James Ratcliffe pushing players out of danger zones, Louis Dupuy-Roudel winning anything that came near him and, if Sheffield got near the Wilmslow goal they met with Charlie Stocker. With a minute to remain, and after 30 seconds of catching his breath back, Matt Smith decided it was time to settle the crowd’s nerves with his tenth goal of the tournament – assisted by Callum Lavelle. After the excitement of the semi-final the Wilmslow crowd re-composed and readied themselves for another 14 minutes of agony. The opposition: Brooklands, the team that had won more National Championships than any other. Unsurprisingly it was a tense affair. The Wilmslow midfield triumvirate of Callum Lavelle, Matt Smith and ‘Mini’ Max Southerton bossed the game, with cleaver running from Dan Woodside and Jack ‘Pazza’ Parry up-front and solid defending from James Ratcliffe and Louis Dupuy-Roudel. Despite having much possession the Brooklands goalkeeper was impenetrable making a string of outstanding saves. Nil-nil at half time was followed by a renewed determination from the Wilmslow boys rewarded, fittingly, with another Matthew Smith goal that came from a move involving clever passing and movement from all of the Wilmslow midfielders and attackers. Brooklands fought back but Charlie Stocker and his defenders were in no mood to let them in. The hooter sounded, the Wilmslow players went wild, Tracie Hope hopped around on her one remaining good leg, while the rest of the ecstatic parents waved their arms and legs in sporadic uncoordinated movements. Ricky Evans, the Wilmslow coach, clearly forgot he was an adult and bounced around with his players – all he needed was a Wilmslow shirt and no-one would have distinguished him from the hoard of Wilmslow U12 boys. Brooklands players were gracious in defeat and deserved all the applause that they received for a fantastic tournament. Wilmslow players contained themselves for a few minutes before ‘Mini’ Max Southerton fulfilled his promise of singing ‘We Are the Champions’ to the rest of the team, which quickly descended into a water fight initiated by Callum Lavelle. Mini ‘Max’ Southerton was awarded the player of the tournament by the ELA before collecting, as team captain, the winning shield. Matthew Smith who lead from the middle throughout the tournament top-scored with eleven goals, while Charlie Stocker and his defence showed just how mean they are by conceding only nine. A fantastic team performance played with great determination and team spirit drove the boys to their victory – the first ever occasion when Wilmslow Lacrosse club could justifiably claim that their U12s boys team are the best in the country. Wilmslow Tournament Statistics Group stages: Wilmslow 2 – 2 Wacs (goals: Matthew Smith, 2) Rochdale 0 – 6 Wilmslow (goals: Matthew Smith 2, Jack Parry 2, Callum Lavelle, Oscar Ridley-Fink; assists: Max Southerton 2, Callum Lavelle) Timperley 2 – 1 Wilmslow (goal: Matthew Smith) Wilmslow 3 – 1 Spencer (goals: Matthew Smith 2, Jack Parry 1; assists: Callum Lavelle) Semi-Final: Sheffield 4 – 6 Wilmslow (goals: Matthew Smith 3, Jack Parry 2, Max Southerton 1; assists: Max Southerton 2, Callum Lavelle) Final: Wilmslow 1 – 0 Brooklands (goal: Matthew Smith) Goals scored: 19 (Matthew Smith 11, Jack Parry 5, Oscar Ridley-Fink, Callum Lavelle, Max Southerton) Assists: 7 (Max Southerton 4, Callum Lavelle 3) Goals conceded: 9

Back row: Dale Southerton (manager), Callum Lavelle, Matthew Smith, James Ratcliffe, Frazer Hunter, Oscar Ridley-Fink, Louis Dupuy-Roudel, Ricky Evans (coach), David Appleby (manager)

 

Front row: Charlie Stocker, Jack Parry, Max Southerton (captain), Jack Bulmer, Dan Woodside, Oliver Appleby

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