The Varsity Match

Varsity 2025

Picture this.

It’s March 2011. The Arab Spring has just begun. Jay-Z and Alicia Keys have recently won the prestigious ‘Best Rap/Sung Collaboration’ at the Grammys for ‘Empire State of Mind’. And the Cambridge University Lacrosse Club have won the Men’s Lacrosse Varsity for the second consecutive year.

What then followed was 13 years of hurt: year after year of Varsity losses (or draws), culminating in a 17-3 stomping in 2024. But that never stopped us dreaming.

It was against this backdrop that American recruits Khalig and Jake arrived in Cambridge last October, facing a monumental task: to make the CULC great again. The 2024/25 season has been full of ups and downs, but we knew from the start that what mattered most would be bringing the Varsity trophy back to its rightful home.

These expectations were clearly weighing on the boys at the beginning of Saturday’s game. Nervy defending, as well as keeper Rob having come straight from the Mixed game and therefore being calibrated to 20mph pea rollers, led to an early 2-0 Oxford lead. At this point, who amongst us wasn’t wondering if it was going to be another year of heartbreak for the CULC?

The answer was captain Jacob, who took responsibility by spinning his defender, driving baseline and ingeniously losing his cradle to confuse the Oxford keeper, who could only watch helplessly as the ball sailed over his head into the net.

Our opener was answered by a goal from Oxford’s star fresher no 10, but Khalig caught the defence napping for two smart finishes and the now warmed-up Rob made some spectacular saves, meaning that we ended the first quarter level at 3-3.

With the teams now settled, Cambridge’s superiority began to show. The hours spent perfecting set plays with Khalig yelling instructions at the attackers had clearly paid off, with the offence looking smooth and composed. Highlights of the second quarter included: JR marauding around the pitch erasing Oxford transitions with ease; Ed scoring immediately after being quickest to a ground ball; and Khalig taking a break from coaching to send Oxford’s 23 to the shops on a dodge, before ripping a running shot into the top right corner. Cambridge went into the half leading 6-3.

After a rousing and arousing team talk from Jake, for which the videographer was luckily out of earshot, the boys came out all guns blazing after the half. The third quarter was the best display of lacrosse by Cambridge all year – and, according to some pitchside alumni, in recent memory – leaving the defenders with little to do but watch the joga bonito.

Ed was burning his man on dodges, creating chaos which the rest of the attackers could exploit. Shaan had told us at half time, in so many words, that he very much liked his match up. He walked the walk in Q3, on consecutive plays finding Jacob on crease for a composed finish before rinsing his defender from X for a solo goal. Jacob later added his own solo goal off a lighting quick dodge.

Jake had his defender’s ankles screaming for mercy, cooking him on post-up after post-up. After one he sent a sharp feed to Jasper for a well-deserved goal, and another led to Jake scoring off a beautiful shovel shot. Jake and Jasper then spent the rest of the game taking turns bodying Oxford’s 23 on ground balls, much to the crowd’s enjoyment.

By the fourth quarter, victory was in the bag so some of the urgency of the game had dissipated. There were still big moments: Jake scoring on a trademark X dodge and Shaan spinning his defender before bagging to rub salt in the wounds of his former teammates. The final whistle blew to an outpouring of emotion from players and spectators alike. Cambridge had finally brought it home.

Final Score: 15-5 to Cambridge

Varsity 2024

The 108th Annual Lacrosse Varsity match will take place on the 24th February 2024 at Oxford University Parks.

All 6 games will be live streamed on the day and highlight reels produced for each match post-varsity! The link for this will be sent out closer to the time. However, this means the games will be split between 2 instead of 3 pitches. The third pitch will still be marked out in case of bad weather but will be primarily be used as a warm-up area.

If you are an alumnus or simply want to come and support the Light Blues, please get in touch and let us know! We will be organising a supporters coach to take people to the game, as well as other alumni events throughout the day. Please email Atticus Jackson for more information. We’d love to have as much support as possible in Oxford to help us bring the trophy home!

Last year’s Varsity match took place on the 7th March at Jesus College pitches. The Blues match was drawn with Oxford retaining the trophy. This year, we will be out for revenge.

Final score: 15-5 to O*ford