Match Scores & Schedule
FINAL - Women’s Trophy – Durham 2s 10-13 Exeter 2s (3-5; 7-8; 7-12; 10-13)
FINAL - Men’s Trophy – Leeds 7-6 Sussex (3-1; 5-2; 6-4; 7-6)
FINAL – Women’s Championship – University of Nottingham 8-13 Durham (2-2; 4-6; 7-11; 8-13)
FINAL – Men’s Championship – Nottingham Trent 8-6 University of Nottingham (1-3; 5-6; 6-6; 8-6)
BUCS Big Wednesday returns tomorrow at its new home in Loughborough with four games of lacrosse across the men’s and women’s competitions in the battle to be crowned National Championship and Trophy winners for 2024.
Reigning Women’s champions University of Nottingham go into this year’s final looking to make it a three-peat, after triumphs in ’22 and ’23 and also record another unbeaten season under Head Coach Mike Armstrong.
Durham meanwhile, return to the Women’s Championship final after missing out on the showpiece game last year for the first time since 2012, and look to return a title that once had permanent residency in the North East with five wins between 2015-2019.
Durham made Wednesday’s final with a 10-9 overtime win away at last year’s finalists Exeter, and if the league results from this season so far tell us anything it’s to expect a thriller, with UoN beating Durham home and away by just a single goal, 7-6 both times.
Durham will be hoping they can flip those score lines on Wednesday, and with the array of international talent on show across both sides it will be a must-watch finale.
UoN’s unbeaten charges boast two members of the current England Performance squad in Emma Savage and Izzy Brand, and no fewer than seven players in the England U20 World Championship training squad including goalie Sienna Parekh and captain from the squad’s Euros success last summer, Ana Green.
However, Durham possess their own batch of talent with international honours, Lizzie Rutherford (Performance squad), Karma Kabbani and Eleanor Williams (Development squad), and another four members of the England U20 training squad including Millie Cant and Molly Light from the Euros winning team.
The Women’s Championship final gets underway at 4.30pm
Routes to the Women’s Championship
UoN Women
SF: UoN 16-8 NTU
QF: UoN 19-4 Cambridge
Durham Women
SF: Exeter 9-10 Durham (OT)
QF: Durham 25-2 Bristol
In the Men’s Championship, we have a repeat of last year’s final and a city rivalry that has now firmly established itself as one of the fiercest in English lacrosse.
Nottingham Trent will be looking to defend their title against the University of Nottingham, and having already clinched the BUCS Premier North crown away from UoN, NTU Head Coach Sam Patterson will be striving to make it a double for the men in pink.
Both teams come in with rosters mixed with strong young English talent, sprinkled with American NCAA class to get the pulses racing for a high-level contest.
NTU are co-captained by one of the best young midfield talents in the country in Dan Flisk, and partnered with Luca Schurink in defence are led by two players with international experience to build their team around.
This is then bolstered with overseas additions like Nicky Palermo, Eli Steindl, Brady McFalls, Cole Hiller and more who all come into the side with NCAA experience.
Meanwhile, UoN are headlined by D1 Duke alum, Owen Caputo, while attacker and Merrimack College alum Tommy Rooney set a single game goal and points record for the team in their quarter-final win against Exeter.
The side is then complemented by a duo of promising young goalies in Joachim Ruby and Noah Arnison, with captains Alexander Davidson and Sam Griffiths giving the team a strong core to look to hand NTU their first loss of the season.
In their previous encounters this season, a 9-9 draw in October was followed up a month later by a blowout 18-4 win for NTU, so anything will be possible when the two rivals step out on to the field for the last match at 7.15pm.
Routes to the Men’s Championship
NTU Men
SF: NTU 18-4 Durham
QF: NTU 30-0 Newcastle
UoN Men
SF: UoN 20-3 Oxford
QF: UoN 29-1 Exeter
To get Big Wednesday’s action going, first Durham 2s and Exeter 2s will meet in the Women’s Trophy final.
Exeter Women’s 2s were beaten finalists last year and will be hoping to try to go one better for 2024 but they face formidable opposition in Durham 2s who have won all ten of their league matches this season and beat last year’s Trophy winners UoN 2s in the quarter-finals.
The opening Women’s match up will be followed by the Men’s Trophy final between Leeds and Sussex.
A real north v south clash, with both teams unbeaten in their respective leagues this season and set to be vying for promotion in the play-offs, some silverware would surely be a crowning glory for either of the teams on Wednesday.
Routes to the Women’s Trophy
Durham 2s
R1: Durham 2s 14-5 Leeds
R2: Durham 2s 19-2 Liverpool
R3: Glasgow 4-15 Durham 2s
QF: Durham 2s 9-2 Nottingham 2s
SF: Durham 2s 18-5 Durham 3s
Exeter 2s
R1: Exeter 2s 11-10 Oxford Brookes
R2: Exeter 2s 25-1 King’s College
R3: Exeter 2s 26-0 Southampton
QF: Exeter 2s 25-1 Exeter 3s
SF: Exeter 2s 21-1 Bristol 2s
Routes to the Men’s Trophy
Leeds
R1: Leeds W/O Birmingham
R2: Lancaster 0-11 Leeds
QF: Glasgow 4-10 Leeds
SF: Leeds 7-6 Sheffield Hallam
Sussex
R1: Plymouth 3-12 Sussex
R2: East Anglia 2-14 Sussex
QF: Sussex 19-3 Swansea
SF: Sussex 12-5 Bournemouth
All Lacrosse fixtures are taking place on the Holywell Fitness Centre Rubbercrumb ‘American Football’ pitch at the postcode LE11 3QF
Tickets are on sale HERE
For more general information around BUCS Big Wednesday visit BUCS website HERE