UCU Laterals Football

Throwback to our first win as a team. 4 years ago today.

Congrats to the team on the first win!

In order to attempt to resolve conflicts between current managers of the Laterals, Gael v.d. Bossche and Martin Klima, a conference is scheduled between 21.8 - 24.8 in Manchester. Both members will be present along with founder Alex Whan and former members Tycho Tromp and Ben Fallon. UCU Laterals will keep you posted about the outcome of the conference.

With great sadness we announce that UCU Laterals has disbanded now due to unresolved conflicts between Martin Klima and Gaël van den Bossche. Things got heated up and senior players Hessel Hettemå and Mohammad Akbar took the difficult decision to disband. We thank our fans for their support, love and undying commitment to the Laterals. And a special shout out to Alexander Whan, the founder of the team, inspiration, role model and 3rd best quarterback of our rich and glorious history.

Go Laterals.

Long overdue pictures of the game in Maastricht.

Friday 24th May marked the first time that the Laterals faced the Lightning Leiden since last season. The weather was cloudy and the pitch was muddy, it was bound to be an interesting game! Leiden currently is fighting for the 4th and final play-off spot so it was known that the game wouldn't be easy and that for Leiden it was all or nothing.
The game started off with a quick first TD by the Lightning within the first minute of the game. This was a quick wake up call for the Laterals who have not converted their offense straight after. However a good interception by Keir Tetley (who was filling in for Rick Kruijs), lead to the tying TD! One more successful drive on each side lead to a tie in the first quarter 13:13. The second quarter was the slip in the mud face down for the laterals. Offense struggled and defense was shaky, Leiden took advantage of this and used it as the game turnover when they scored 4 TDs to give them the gap they needed. The only positive from the second quarter was an interception by Martin Klima which lead to the only TD for the Laterals in the second quarter and an absolutely spectacular, highlight-reel, diving tackle by Keir just prior to the end zone. Upon a quick relaxing intermission between the two halves, the Laterals cleared their heads and converted the very first offense for a beautiful pass by Martin and a great catch by Mohammad Akbar to give the Laterals a motivational boost for the third period. One more TD in the third quarter by Max Kraan brought the Laterals closer to Leiden but time was running out. The third quarter was much similar to the second quarter for the Laterals. Sloppy long passes leading to interceptions and defensive breakdown as the Laterals were running out of energy and patience. A TD on trick play was the only positive of the last quarter. In the last two minutes of the game, a collision between Max and Martin lead to the injury of Martin and the already worn out players had to finish the tragic forth quarter. Upon confusion in the team, the last play lead to an interception but luckily the lightning run was stopped just before the end zone. The final score of the game was 70-38 for the Lightning Leiden which moves them to the forth spot in the league wit one game left. As for the Laterals, a lot can be learned from the game but given the weather circumstances and the availability of only one substitute, the Laterals put up two great quarters but fell victim to the two dark quarters. An up and down game in the mud concludes the third last game of the Laterals for the season!

Final stats/Squad:
Martin Klima: 2TDs + 1 EP.
Mohammad Akbar: 1 TD + 1 EP.
Keir Tetley: 1 TD
Max Kraan: 1 TD
Gael v.d. Bossche: 1 TD
Jikkie Verlare

The next game of the UCU Laterals is on the 2nd of June in Groningen against the Giants.

We like to wish all the Laterals the best of luck in their exams. Study hard, then play harder.

Sunday April 28 Match report:
On a beautiful sunday afternoon, the Laterals faced their mortal nemesis from last year, the Amsterdam Crusaders. Last season, Amsterdam beat the Laterals by 1 point in a dreadful yet exciting game. This year it was time for payback. With a team of only 5 and no subs, it was bound to be a tiring game against the 10 crusader which are potential candidates for a playoff spot.
Nonetheless, with a attitude of "lets have fun" the game began rather tense. After two conversions of the Crusaders the score was 13:0. The offense of the Laterals just wasn't producing any points but defense was stable. In the second quarter the turning point of the UC Laterals occurred as Max Kraan, a fresh Lateral, sacked the QB on the last down and prevented a TD. Immediately after the sack, on a pass by Martin, Max managed to tip the ball over the Amsterdam defender and Mohammad was there to pick the ball in mid air and race off to the end zone. Unfortunately, his flag detached just before the end zone so the Laterals were stopped just prior to the end zone line. NO worries as the TD was immediately converted by a run from Martin through a trick play. The defense held firm and forced a turnover on the Crusaders which immediately was converted by Gael on a full field run. THe half ended with a 13:13 tiebreaker.
With a few changes in defense and offense, the Laterals started their half with a vicious offense when Max converted for a TD and broke the tie. After another wonderful solid defense Mohammad by zigzagging through a few players got to the opposition end zone to increase the gap. The Amsterdam managed to convert one more TD in the third quarter to get closer to the men in red. The Crusaders started feeling the time pressure and started making riskier passes. The Lateral defense was right on spot when Martin intercepted a pass on crusaders which lead to another TD for the Laterals. Hessel, became of upmost importance for the laterals as the running back since the Laterals could not risk passing plays in the last few minutes of the game, not to mention the defensive pass block on the last hope of Amsterdam. The game was sealed when Martin caught a long ball interception and through speed and agility dodged 3 Amsterdam defenders in his path.
Overall, a slow start but a solid defense kept the Laterals in the game for the first half and the offensive tank that rolled over the Amsterdam Crusaders in the second half resulted in a 44:20 win! This moves the Laterals into 5th place and marks their second victory of the season! Congrats boys!

Final stats:
Martin Klima: 3 TDs + passed for 3 TDs
Gael v.d. Bossche: 2 TDs + 1 EP
Mohammad Akbar: 1 TD + 1 EP + passed for 3 TD
Max Kraan: 1 TD

Final Score:
UCU Laterals 44-20 Amsterdam Crusaders

The Laterals would like to wish a very happy birthday to our awesome teammate Rick Kruijs, currently on exchange in Northern Ireland. Gefeliciteerd Rick!!

Let us all wish our founding father Alex Whan a happy B-day! Thank you for taking the initiative of starting this team a year back! We miss our American patriotic QB! :D

Updated roster for the upcoming season starting this Sunday (3rd March) against the Utrecht Dominators!

Season 2013:
Gael van den Bossche (C)
Mohammad Akbar (A)
Martin Klíma (A)
Max Kraan
Hessel Hettema
Jikkie Verlare
Eric Balkissoon
Rick Kruijs (currently on exchange)
Tycho Tromp (currently on exchange)

Three weeks until the opening game of 2013! Laterals Nation get PUMPED!!!

The UCU Laterals would like to wish everyone a happy new year! Stay tuned for an exciting second season of the Laterals. Interested people are welcome to join the team if they want. We are also looking to start a UCU cheerleading squad. All girls are invited and encouraged to take the initiative and give their support for the Laterals.