Team ArchLevel entered into the second ever Manchester 8s this past weekend and were promised lots of lax, a couple of great nights and some dodgy fancy dress costumes…. they were not disappointed! The team arrived Friday night ready for the two hardest games of their group, Tel Aviv and Gin & Juice. A slow start for the guys but they managed to put a few goals away with Richard Ridings opening the scoring for Team ArchLevel. After the games, the guys retired for a bit of team bonding and a couple of drinks.
The Saturday began and Area 51 were the first opponent of the day. After a rather lively night, neither team looked particularly sharp but Area 51 were able to walk away with the win. Team ArchLevel now needed to start getting some points on the board in their next game against Lax Vegas and they were determined to do so! The whistle went and it was not long before the boys in yellow put one in the back of the net. After that, some fantastic lacrosse saw a lot more great goals and the game ended 7-1 with numerous spectacular saves from Henry Knight and some brilliant transition play from Torodd Rødø. The Saturday ended with a very tight game against the Soapstars. The over 35’s played a great game of lacrosse, hitting the pipe on more than one occasion but Team ArchLevel managed to pull together and take the win with some great goals from Sam Gilmer and Oliver Watkins.
After a great day of lacrosse, all teams went back to the camp site to prepare for the night ahead. The evening saw some very interesting costumes with some more thought out than others. We not sure if dressing up in bin bags actually counts as a costume…. however, Manchester 8s put on a great night of entertainment and had organised buses to take everyone into the city centre for the after party!
The last day started with one group game before the play-offs in which the teams battled for their final standings. Team ArchLevel had it all to play for as they came up against Staffs. The boys worked extremely hard throughout the entire game to ensure the win and managed to put 8 past the Staffs. This included some offensive wizardry from Chris Webborn who managed to net 5 goals in the game. The 8-2 result propelled Team ArchLevel into the battle for a place between 5th & 8th against East Grinstead.
The play off was an extremely tight game with neither team being ahead by any more than one goal at a time. Team ArchLevel look the lead for the second time 5 minutes before the end from a cracking side arm shot from Jonathan Allcock. The game looked to be a win for the boys but East Grinstead equalised in the last minute taking the game to overtime. Overtime began and Paul White picked up the ball and released a bullet which just missed the EG cage. Team ArchLevel retained possession and Paul White found him self with the ball again. He was just about to unleash another rocket when he passed it off to Tomos Rosser who stormed down the right side and thundered the winner into the bottom left corner. With the Golden Goal rule in effect, Team ArchLevel won the game and finished the tournament in 5th place.
It was a fantastic weekend and everyone had an exceptional time. We look forward to watching the festival grow and will certainly be there next year! Keep your eyes peeled for lots of photos on the Manchester 8s Facebook page!!