UCLan Ladies hockey 2nds took a hard fought 3-1 victory on penalty flicks against Oxford Brookes University to put them in to the final of the BUSA championships.
They will go on to play Cardiff in Sheffield next Friday.
The match was tight from the beginning, with both teams gaining chances in the early minutes. UCLan had the first clear shot, but the ball went just wide of the post.
The Midwest team seemed to be putting all the pressure on the UCLan defence. However, the opening goal fell to Emma Nokes from a short corner after an Oxford defender tripped her just outside the D.
The second goal came just before the half time whistle when Lucy Smith converted a nicely placed pass from Nokes to give the home side a 2-0 lead.
The visitors were able to cut the deficit in half when they scored from a third successive short corner.
Nokes was awarded a green card after talking back to the umpire, but UCLan kept it together to force some strong play from the opposition.
A shot from the top of the D allowed Oxford to level the match forcing it in to extra time, not before Karen Harvey was awarded a yellow card.
Oxford got off to the quicker start by scoring from a short corner, the match was able to resume a few moments later after some premature celebrations.
UCLan were quick to react when they were awarded a penalty flick. Nokes put the ball in to the top left corner to keep them in the game. Goals from Kim Bell and the visiting side kept the match level on 4-4 taking it in to penalty flicks.
UCLan lead 2-1 going in to the fourth set of flicks with Bell and Nokes both scoring and Nicola Laga missing. Smith went on to put the ball past the keeper leaving it all to do for Oxford. However a great save from Emma Medus gave the home side a well earned victory.
A delighted captain Alison Shepherd said after the game: “Today was the most challenging game we have played. I can’t begin to express how proud I am.”
The university’s Rugby Union Men’s 1sts delivered a stunning second half performance to crush their Rugby League counterparts 44-14.
The first half was played under Rugby League rules, and Tom Atherton struck early to put his League side up 4-0.
The Union side soon hit back through Adam Curly, Oliver Austin added the resulting conversion to put his side two points ahead.
Tom Atherton soon put his team back in the game, with Paul Lowery converting to put the rugby leaguers in the lead 10-6.
The League side added one more try before half time to go up 14-6.
The second half was a different story altogether, being played under union rules. The union side made this advantage count by outscoring their rivals 38-0.
Mike Doodson started the demolition, by crashing over in the corner after only a couple of minutes play in the second half. Oliver Austin failed with the conversion.
Next came the try of the game, as captain Mark Edwards lofted a great cross-field kick that resulted in a dominant Union drive and saw Joe Moretta go over for the try. The conversion was again missed by Oliver Austin.
Mike Doodson added his second and third tries soon after to get his hat-trick, crashing over in the corner both times. Oliver Austin added one conversion to put the Union side up 24-14.
Adam Curly then produced a crucial try saving challenge and David Stokes broke away off loading to Oliver Austin, who then went over to get a try of his own. He converted to give Union a 30-14 lead.
Luke Roberts and two Gareth Moyle tries piled more misery on the Rugby League side, Oliver Austin converting the first to give Union a dominating 44-14 win.
Victorious Captain Mark Edwards said: “It was a good win against our rivals. We managed to stick it out in fiery first half with some good hits. They didn’t seem to have a clue with Union in the second.”
