Now that phase one is complete, the second phase is to begin purchasing the poultry birds, pigs and the feed needed for these projects.  The children at the HOPEFUL School are amazed each day with these new buildings and look forward to when the animals arrive.  Upon arrival, these animals and projects will serve as an educational tool for these children throughout their schooling.  They will learn how to care for the animals and pineapple, how to cultivate the land to keep the plants and animals healthy, and once each project becomes mature enough the students will learn how to take them to market and the business and math skills to go with selling.

To help support this project you can help by purchasing animals from our Online Store or by giving to our general fund which will help with the HOPEFUL School and the Princeton Piggery, Poultry and Pineapple Project.

The lacrosse event was held in Anne Arundel County, MD and all was a great success! The Archbishop Spalding school led the equipment drive and collected a lot of gear. While the t-shirt sales that Graham organized raised $1500 and will go towards sponsoring six children at the HOPEFUL School.  The results of the games were:

April 5^th games:
Game 1: Severn 5 Annapolis HS 2
Game 2: Severna Park HS 9 Archbishop Spalding 8 (OT)

April 7^th games:
Game 1: Archbishop Spalding 11 Annapolis HS 2
Game 2: Severn 14 Severna Park HS 9

WARRIORS LOSE AT HOME!

Warrior’s push for the ULL Championship suffered a setback after a 0-3 loss, at home, to the resurgent Panthers. This is “sweet revenge” for Panthers, in the biggest rivalry in Uganda lacrosse, after the 4 – 2 humiliation the Kings Cup champions suffered in the league opener.

Panthers Onen (cpt) got 2 goals and man-of-the-match, Liberty, got 1 goal and had another disallowed after a crease violation. This brings Onen’s goal total to 4 goals in 5 games.

Warriors still holds top spot on the league table with 15 points, 5 points ahead of Oneonta who have 2 games in-hand. This is Warriors first loss in a winning streak dating back to 4 months, their last loss was in early January. This win has Panthers climb to a respectable 3^rd position on the table.

Goals:

Warriors: –
Panthers: Onen – ’20; Liberty – ’34; Onen – ‘47

Pura vida,

Nicky

CREAR and Fields of Growth Lacrosse & Surf Coach

ONEONTA    3 – 1   PANTHERS (FT)

This interrupted game was completed with Oneonta holding on to their lead. First team attack, Bizo added a goal for Oneonta in the 6^th minute of the quarter. The fulltime score was 3-1 for Oneonta.

MATCHDAY 8 GAME RESULTS

SATURDAY – March 10, 2012

PANTHERS  1    v    1  ONEONTA (FT)                                                                        

Panthers managed to hold favored Oneonta to a 1-all game in a game which was again threatened by a tropical storm. Again the Ones got their goal from starting attack, Bizo, who seems to be the only one scoring goals consistently for the team. Oneonta’s usual cautious approach must have led them to drop 2 points on this one, coupled with a resurgent Panthers who look to finish the league at a respectable position.

The game started fast with a goal from Panthers’ Kennedy only 53 seconds into the game. However the goal was disallowed by the ref after a field violation. Panthers had an extra man on the field. The first quarter ended goalless.

In the 2^nd quarter Panthers scored a goal through Liberty right at the end of the quarter. Liberty’s goal tally is now at 2 goals and he is the only defender to score in the league.

After tailing for 39 minutes, Oneonta finally scored through Pato (cpt) who unleashed a power shot, Panthers’ goalie did not even move.

New Oneonta middie, the experienced Lugude, having played lacrosse in the US at high school, was introduced at the beginning of the last quarter and his talent shone. The Ones dominated this quarter but produced nothing. The game ended with a draw.

This result sees the Ones stay at second place with 10 points from 5 games. Panthers still languish at the bottom of the table as the league enters its business end.

PANTHERS: Liberty – 30min

ONEONTA: Pato – 39min

UGANDA LACROSSE WOMENS’ 9 – 2011

DOVES v ANGELS GAME 4, INTERRUPTED

DOVES  0-0  ANGELS (HT), Game interrupted

The resumption of the Lacrosse Women’s 9, game 4, was interrupted by an early night. The head ref suspended this high octane game, after the first half break, ruling that “the players’ sight was compromised by the early darkness”. In Africa, during this time of the year, the sun sets almost suddenly after 6:00pm.

This game so far, despite the score, has been the most exciting as for once the Doves where dominating play. It wasn’t the usual one-sided game as the previous 3 in which the Angels always run over the Doves.

The Angels, without mercurial captain and top scorer Dorothy who is out injured, started the first 5 minutes of the game brightly, dominating possession. Doves reversed this suddenly and the game was overturned. Doves’ Nzala had three seemingly obvious chances saved by Angels’ second goalie Winnie. Doves’ Yvonne (cpt) this time had a fine game marshaling defence. To make matters worse, Angels’ defender Sharon was given matching orders with a red card in the 20^th minute.

The game was suspended at halftime break. The date of resumption will be communicated.

Angels still lead the series 12-5 goals. Game 5 will be on Saturday 17^th at MUBS Sports grounds.

This is was an interesting game after Panthers lost the first leg 1-0. Panthers got their first win of the league and their first points but this has not helped them off the bottom of the table.

With Panthers captain, Onen, fully back in the team after an injury layoff, and attacking middie Okello, Panthers got off on the attack. It did not take long before Onen beat 2 defenders took a sidearm shot and scored. Kings’ very attack minded midfield exposed their backline a lot. The 1^st quarter ended with the Panthers on top.

The second quarter was much like the first. Panthers’ much improved busy forward, Marando, was the star of this quarter and he got the team a second goal, in the 8^th minute of the quarter, for good measure. Kings stuck to their conservative game plan which produced nothing commendable in offence. The third quarter was a dead-lock as both teams marked each other out. Panthers’ defender, Liberty went out of the game after an injury and was replaced by Mugume. From then on both took their foot off the pedal.

The fourth quarter was balanced with Kings having a little bias in offence, after Liberty’s exit. Kings playmaker, Kenneth, and the unusually quiet middie Saddam burst into life. Kenneth was the most fouled-against player in the game as he led many Kings’ offence. He won 60% of face-offs and got Kings’ only goal at the end of the quarter.

This game did not change these teams’ positions on the table. Kings remain in 4^th position and Panthers are still at the bottom of the table.

Panthers: Q1 Onen – 5:00; Q2 Marando – 8:00

Kings: Q4 Kenneth – 12:00

WARRIORS   4  –  2   STRYKERS

The first leg of this game ended in a 3-0 drubbing of Strykers. However after beating Oneonta and with the impressive form of forwards Kenneth and Yunus Brian, this time the underdog were the Warriors and the first quarter attested to that.

Q1 had the most action as Warriors usual offensive game produced a goal from wing-middie and golden balls chaser Phillip. He made his usual blistering runs past defenders Yunus and Tabu, made a split dodge on Arnold and scored from 5 yards. Strykers forward Kenneth ‘Keno’ replied that with something similar from his preferred left wing and scored from 4 yards out. Strykers forward Ibra augmented that 3 minutes later with a goal from a fantastic solo effort. Caught in a double team, he made a roll dodge and over-arm and took one of his trademark blistering shots from 8 yards out, which left the Warriors goalie helpless. The quarter ended with game Strykers.

Q2 had a little less action. Strykers, contented with their lead, fell back to concentrate on defense, which was not a good move. Strykers amped their attack and after a scramble at the goal crease, Warriors Douglas (cpt) managed to squeeze a shot in and scored to level the game. The quarter ended at 2 all.

Q3 was more highly charged than Q2. Both teams were a little cautious in offence preferring to keep the ball whenever they got possession. This dead-lock was broken when a lucky break, after Strykers defenders Tabu and Arnold clashed, Warriors attack-man van Joe made a run and scored with a shot from 5 yards out, 3-2 to Warriaz. From then on Warriaz never looked back.

The last quarter was all Warriors. They squandered 2 clear chances on goal but later Phillip added a 2^nd goal to close the Warriors – Strykers duel for this league. Phillip’s goals in this game put his goal tally to 8 goals top of the scorer’s log.

Strykers dropped to 3^rd, on goal difference, on the table after this loss while Warriors consolidated their lead with 12 points from 5 games, 6 points clear from 2^nd placed Oneonta.

Warriors: Q1 Phillip – 6:00; Q2 Douglas – 15:00; Q3 Van JOE – 8:00; Q4 Phillip – 11:00

Strykers: Q1 Keno – 8:00, Ibra – 11:00

MATCHDAY 8 – GAMES PREVIEW

SATURDAY, MARCH 10^th

UGANDA LACROSSE WOMEN’S 9 RED DOVES v ANGELS

The ULW 9 also resumes after a 3 week hiatus. The Angels again will rely on attack middie Dorothy (cpt) for goals and leadership. Her current goal tally is at 8 goals. Red Doves will have defender Yvonne, middies Diana and Nzala Joy available. Angels lead the 9 series 3-0.

PANTHERS v ONEONTA 

Bottom placed Panthers, in their 3^rd game in 4 weeks, will face up to 2^nd placed Oneonta in a no-love lost match up. This game will be the second time they meet in 3 weeks after their interrupted game 2 weeks ago in which Oneonta was leading 2-1. Panthers look to get more points in the bag after a very poor start to the league. They will want to take a chance at winning the league by winning 5 of their remaining games or finish at a decent position on the table, being the National champions. Panthers should have their top defender, Liberty, fit after his the injury he got against Kings. Their ‘reliables’, Onen (cpt) and middie Okello should also be available. Oneonta will want to take in maximum points and try to reclaim the top spot on the table. They have a realistic chance at that seeing that they have 2 games in hand against table toppers, Warriors. Panthers are the overwhelming underdogs in this one but trust the ULL for surprises.

Hello from the HOPEFUL School!

As volunteers prepare to visit Uganda this summer and work with the HOPEFUL School, the students are working hard in school as well. During a visit from Kevin Dugan, on behalf of Notre Dame,  the students wanted to send a quick hello full of smiles.  They are excited for this summer’s trips and cannot wait to meet you!

With the CREAR program running Monday-Thursday afternoons, Coach Nick holds lacrosse practice on Friday afternoons.  On average about 30 children show up each week to practice their new favorite sport.  Each day they start practice by warming up with running around the field and stretching.  The youth keep practicing their ground balls each week, along with their catching and throwing.  After some fun drills to keep working on stick skills while having fun, they finish each practice with a game.

Fight backs, a goal machine and an unexpected event happened at this weekend’s games. The games also registered the highest scoring game ever in Uganda lacrosse. The Warriors Kings game had 8 goals total.

WARRIORS  5-3  KINGS

This was a game many predicted would be a walk over for home team Warriors, well they won the game but judging from who was nibbling their nails and begging the ref to blow the final whistle, it was in no way a walk over. This engaging game had the attack minded Warriors get a little uncomfortable against league spoilers the Kings.

Q1 was played at very high temperature of about 27C. It started off when Keno wrestled and won possession of the ball, the ball was passed to Saddam who took a fine shot from 8 yards and scored. This goal came up in just 21seconds making it the fastest goal ever in the ULL. This was a pinch of things to come. 4 minutes later, Warriors fast and shifty attack-middie Phillip made a darting run and scored with a fine shot, this would be the first of four things he had to say. Warriors forward Oscar then scored and Phillip added another 2 minutes later. First quarter was all Warriors. The predictions were right after all, so we thought.

The second quarter saw a lively see-saw game with Kings fighting back. Warriors attack was still all out, in the 7^th minute of the quarter a Warriors goal was disallowed after a call for a crease violation. The second quarter ended with the Warriors on top of things.

The first half of the third quarter was all Kings. They pushed up front with middies Bob (cpt), Keno and Saddam supporting the attack. This exposed them at the back and a fine counter attack had man-of-the-match Phillip score again. Flying Phillip wasn’t done yet as he scored another to make a total of 4 goals in the game and shooting to the top of top scorers list. Warriors started celebrating a win; they were a little early to the party. After a fast break from a Warriors turnover, the ball was passed to Kings Bob (cpt) who scored from a 5 yard shot to make it 2 goals for Kings. The ref unplugged the Kings momentum at the stop of the quarter.

The Fourth quarter saw tables turn on Warriors. Kings, having nothing to lose now, upped their offense. Their attacks were well orchestrated by Keno in centerfield. Kings momentum started were it stopped at the end of the 3^rdquarter. One of their attacks paid off when a loose ground ball was scooped by forward Emma who slotted it in the Warriors goal to make the game 5-3. From then on you would see a panic in the Warriors camp as the Kings controlled much of the game. Kings Bob missed a couple of clear chances, he would later regret, that would have them back in the game. You would feel the game was saved for the Warriors at the final whistle. Kings will be biting their crowns ruing these missed chances at scoring, they will however get pats on their backs for a fine display of persistence.

Warriors: Q1 Phillip – 5:02, 8:19; Oscar – 6:07; Q3 Phillip – 4:39, 8:07

Kings: Q1 Saddam – 0:21; Q3 Bob (cpt) – 11:51; Q4 Emma – 10:12              

STRYKERS  4-0  PANTHERS

The evening game had the multi-talented and athletic Strykers do what they have not done recently, they won a game. Against 2011 Kings Cup champs, Panthers. The Panthers had their poorest showing ever and are now at the bottom of the table. Strykers put their disappointment from last weekend’s game behind and played a very strategic game. They will have to thank middie and man-of-the-match Tabu and Yunus for this win.

Q1 saw a repeat of the earlier game with busy middie Tabu making a break and shooting at 6 yard to score a goal in the 28^th second, 8 seconds off the record early goal by Kings’ Saddam. Strykers controlled most this quarter but this was also Panthers best quarter with reliable middie Okello unusually missing 3 clear chances at goal with poor shots. The quarter ended at a high for Strykers.

Q2 had the Strykers rip the hapless Panthers defence to shreds. Forward Ibra took a sweet shot from 9 yards out and scored in the 5^th minute of the quarter. This goal was followed by another from the tireless forward Keno a minute later. From here it was downhill for Panthers. Panther’s camp was relieved at the Q2 stoppage; they looked relieved at every quarter’s stoppage.

Q3 did not see a lot of action, as Panthers clueless attack produced nothing and excited Strykers were content with the goal margin. Strykers played a containing defensive game and relied on counter attacks in this quarter.

Q4 the Panthers looked defeated. Now you could see that their over reliance on 2011 MVP and captain Onen is a detriment. He was shut-out in most of the game by middie Tabu and big cover-defender Arnold. Matters got worse when he was injured in the 2^nd minute and had to get out of the game. Onen’s void couldn’t be filled and this weakened the Panthers attack. Strykers attack got busier and Ibra got a chance 15 yards from goal, unleashed a ‘Paul Rabil shot’ and scored in the 5^th minute. The quarter was stopped with at a Strykers high.

This win had the Strykers earn 3 points and go third up the table. However the point they lost and the suspension of forward Keno may hurt their campaign. We wait to see if this was the beginning of an era and not a lucky win for Strykers.

Strykers: Q1 Tabu – 0:20; Q2 Ibra – 5:15, Keno – 6:56; Q4 Ibra – 4:26

Panthers: – 

OTHER NEWS

STRYKERS GET HEAVILY PENALISED

Lacrosse Strykers got penalized for gross misconduct by the ULL disciplinary committee with a one match ban for forward Keno and a point subtraction. After last weekend’s game, this would be disappointing news for the victorious Strykers who would be set back by a hard earned point on the table. They will also be without their starting and on form forward, Keno, against the ferocious Warriors this weekend. Strykers penalties are effective on 23-Jan, Kenos ban is to be served for the 28^th Jan games. 

Fields of Growth representatives meet with Graham Davis and Rick and Christian Wheeler to gather over 100 helmets to be donated!

The Severn School of Severna Park, MD  Key Club arranged for a school wide donation of lacrosse equipment by placing collection boxes around the school and actively promoting the Uganda Lacrosse effort. Over the course of a about five weeks, the school families and students donated sticks, pads, gloves, helmets and cleats to support this effort.  In addition, Sophomore Graham Davis, the organizer of this effort, reached out to local youth organizations in the Annapolis, MD area to solicit their support.  The President of the  Annapolis Youth Lacrosse Association (AYLA), Rick Wheeler, stepped up and graciously  donated over 100 helmets to the cause. Representing Severn School, Graham Davis and Christian Wheeler assisted with the sorting and loading of lacrosse gear into the trailer.