Lancaster 12-5 York
Lancaster triumphed in the women’s water polo on Saturday night, beating York 12-5.
Lancaster set the pace early on in the game, as Captain Joanne Crossley scored the first goal within the first minute of play. Lancaster’s Catrin Herdman and Siάn Philips-Murphy also added to the scoreboard, securing one goal each in the following two minutes of play. Captain Joanne Crossley then took her team to a 4-0 lead at the end of the first quarter, with an impressive advance forward.
In the third minute of the second quarter, York’s Hannah Carter pulled one back for York, taking the score to 4-1. Two minutes later, after a foul from Lancaster, York’s Kate Richards scored a penalty, edging them closer to an equaliser.
However, Lancaster came back fighting, as Joanne Crossley scored seconds later to take it to 5-2. Lancaster’s Heather Clarke and Catrin Herdman further extended this lead, taking it to 7-2 with 30 seconds to go. York’s Hannah Carter then brought it to 7-3 at the end of the second quarter, scoring just 10 seconds after Lancaster’s Herdman.
With Lancaster leading at the start of the third quarter, York’s Kate Richards closed the gap in the first minute of play taking it to 7-4. However, this pressure from York was equally matched when Lancaster’s Heather Clarke, Rebecca Gannon and Siάn Philips-Murphy scored in quick succession, bringing the score to 10-4.
Lancaster’s Rebecca Gannon again added to the scoreboard, scoring two goals in the final three minutes of play. The latter of these goals came from a foul from York’s goalkeeper, giving Lancaster a penalty, which Gannon confidently buried in the bottom right hand corner to take the score to 12-4.
Despite York’s attempts to come back after the penalty, an incredible performance from Lancaster’s Katherine Windsor prevented any further York goals in the quarter.
Lancaster’s Katherine Windsor continued her impressive performance in the final quarter, preventing York’s Kate Richards from scoring several attempts in the first couple of minutes. After a penalty was given to York in the final two minutes of play, Windsor also made an impressive save against York’s Kate Richards. York’s Hannah Carter did manage to get one further goal past Lancaster’s keeper, but this was not enough to clinch a win, and Lancaster secured a 12-5 win.
After a superb performance from Lancaster, the team were ecstatic, throwing their coach into the pool with them to celebrate their win. Captain Joanne Crossley told SCAN: “We’ve been training really hard and it’s paid off. I’m really proud of everyone.”
