The lacrosse teams at De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) are ready to transform themselves from underdogs to Varsity champions.
The male and female lacrosse teams want to turn their confident form into Varsity wins as they head into their clashes against rivals the University of Leicester.
The DMU Eagles Lacrosse teams are hoping for two high-energy games with plenty of goal action on Sunday, March 11.
The University of Leicester may have been the heavy-hitters in previous years, but #TeamDMU is preparing to upset them. They want to see Leicester’s success come crashing down.
Declan Kinsella, 23, vice-chairman of the men’s lacrosse team, said: “We’re feeling very positive. We genuinely have a chance of winning.
“We may be the underdogs, but we’re going to give it everything we’ve got. We haven’t played Leicester yet this season so they don’t know what we are like.”
It will be Declan’s third Varsity game and as usual, he will be expecting ‘a great big line of supporters’ to cheer on #TeamDMU.
The fighting talk continues with the women’s team with Eleanor Davison, 21, saying they were going to give it their best shot.
Eleanor, 1st team chairwoman, said: “We’re pumped for Varsity. It’s going to be an extremely difficult game, but we are ready as a team. We are going to give it everything.”
The game of lacrosse is described as the ‘fastest sport on two feet.’ It combines discipline and skill with a strong focus on teamwork.
Declan, a final-year International Marketing and Business student, said he became hooked on lacrosse after attending a taster session during his first year at DMU.
He said: “It was the first time I’d played lacrosse and I loved it. It’s a very fast, physical sport, there’s a lot of contact and there’s always a lot of action.”
Eleanor, who studies Advertising and Marketing Communications, played hockey while at school but wanted to “try something completely different” when she started university.
She said: “I just happened to stumble across lacrosse when I started DMU, but I took to it straight away and I’ve been playing ever since.
“I have had a few black eyes and plenty of bruises, but it’s worth it, I just really enjoy team sports.”
Both teams train four times a week and compete against other universities in the Midlands 2B league in British University and College Sports (BUCS) fixtures.
The men’s team is currently in sixth place with three points, having won one game and lost five this season.
Declan said: “It’s been a good start to the season compared to the last few years. We’ve had one win and a few games have been close, we’ve only lost by the skin of our teeth.”
Meanwhile, the women’s team is in sixth place in the BUCS League, after losing eight of their games. It comes after an impressive winning streak in Midlands Division 3A for the team that was only formed a couple of years ago.
Eleanor said: “On paper it doesn’t look great, but if you look at the standard of the teams we’re playing, we’re having a really good season.
“Last season we came second in the league, but then the winning team didn’t get to continue, so we unexpectedly got promoted to the league above.”
She added: “It’s been a steep learning curve, but we’ve seen a lot of improvements and we’re moving forward.”
RELATED NEWS
Plan your Varsity supporters' campaign by checking out the fixtures here
Varsity 2018 is here! Watch our video now
Buy your tickets to the Welford Road rugby Varsity here
The DMU Eagles Lacrosse team will play their Varsity fixtures at Stoughton Road pitches on Sunday, March 11 from 1.30pm.
This year the city’s greatest rivalry will see more than 740 students from DMU competing across 62 teams in 28 different sports. You can keep up-to-date with the eight days of Varsity through our social media channels, and share your Varsity memories using the hashtag #TeamDMU. There’s also a dedicated varsity 2018 webpage.
Posted on Monday 5 March 2018