After the disappoint of not even being able to field a team to compete in the BUCS last season, this year’s UEL Women’s Hockey Team were determined to make progress in this year’s competition.
Few would have thought that come the end of the season the team would be celebrating having won the BUCS Tier 5 North East London league after defeating London School of Economics 2nd team 3-2 on the 25th Febuary at the Lee Valley.
Team Of Success
The team finished first in the league with a total of 15 points from a possible 18. From the six league games played they won five and lost just once. A lot of these victories were high scoring victories leading to their goal difference being +21.
A notable success was doing the double over University College London fifths (RUMS), beating them 7-1 in the opening game of the season back in October, and then again 9-0 away from home in the second fixture.
Their only loss of the season was at the hands of London School of Economics 2nd team. The recent away fixture saw them lose 1-0 just days before beating them to take the title.
Positives and Negatives
Arguably there is no better success than winning the league, like this team has done, but for UEL Hockey it’s not just about that according to Captain Laura Pakenham:
“The positives definitely include finishing top of the league but I would say the biggest positive is having so many new players, some who had never played hockey before, willing to play and represent UEL every week.”
Pakenham’s only negative to take from the season was the injuries, “These are things you have to take into account during sports and should be expected.”
Next Season
This has been a season to remember for the UEL Women’s Hockey Team. Looking ahead, next season they will be competing in BUCS South Eastern 4B league.
It’s clear that the team’s main focus ahead of next season is to keep the women’s hockey team going.
Pakenham spoke about how important recruitment will be, “We want to make sure we have enough players going into next season. We invite freshers and new people who may want to try a new sport.
“But for now let the celebration continue!” She added with a triumphant smile.
