Blacksmiths Looking for 1st Win over Namur Knights

The Belgian Lacrosse League sees the Blacksmiths of Luxembourg Lacrosse compete against local rival Namur Knights on Sunday 7 October at 16:30 at the Stade de l'egalité on Rue St Vith in Weimerskirch.

Following a good but ultimately unsuccessful debut against Opueye Foxes where the Blacksmiths could not deliver the consistency needed to win their game, the Blacksmiths are now looking carefully at their experienced opponent from across the border. The Knights claimed two wins in the last season, including one over the Opueye Foxes earlier in the 17/18 season, with two players carrying the bulk of the work load (#10 R.  Bouchat and #17 T. Delaye). The Blacksmiths will field another three brand new players on Sunday, deepening their roster with some fresh local talent.

Head Coach H. Schmidt outlined his expectations before the game: "It looks like we have a strong roster for this one, albeit we may miss Linus Föhr in goal and our defense remains short handed. Saying that, it's game two of the season and I expect that we will have an answer for the Knights in every part of the game. Most exciting - this is only the first or second game for some of our guys and I am confident they will really impress us in the best ways".

Lacrosse, the ancient field game originally invented and played to this day by North American tribes, is a game of momentum, where retaining ball possession is crucial. Against Namur, a big question will be how well the Blacksmiths can improve their error rate under pressure - the Foxes had delivered a greatly improved defensive performance in the second half and forced many turn overs. Coach Schmidt argued in response "We were mostly ahead or even against much more experienced competition last time around - that's outstanding for a new team fielding that many beginners. That was a good lesson, both doing well and then learning what not to do."
Asked about important parts for the next game, he responded: "The biggest thing for us will be how we can control face-offs". Michael Rasmussen will have his work cut out again as starting face off but will see support from Luxembourg international Sören Salvatore, returning from an internship in Canada, giving the team more depth. Another addition to the roster is V. Saarinen, new player from Finland, who will add to the numbers on defence.

Luxembourg Lacrosse president and midfielder Pit Bingen (#7) clarified: "Many of us hated losing but loved playing together and playing well at times. Namur won't be a push over but neither will we be." Such energy is not surprising, Luxembourg Lacrosse have been active in developing their local footprint."

After a successful participation at the 'Lets be active night' in Cessange on 29 September, the team are now hosting a big training camp with the Federation of International Lacrosse from 19-21 October. Coach Schmidt, leading the organisation, described this event: "The coaches FIL bring along will have a major impact on the game in Luxembourg and the wider region. We invite everyone interested, regardless of experience or age, to come along and try".

Luxembourg Lacrosse and FIL will offer ten hours of instruction over three days free of charge and educate new and experienced players and, crucially, offer formal instruction for teaching Lacrosse. Anyone interested can contact H. Schmidt at management@lacrosse.lu, all questions are welcome.

"Luxembourg Lacrosse is here to stay" concluded Pit Bingen. "We are growing and we have a blast playing and growing the game, several new players joined us and we could not be more excited about our events and games this fall".