EPS Trophy 2018

On Saturday 17th February, the first multidisciplinary sports event in the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences took place at UoB. The day consisted of tournaments in football and netball, with trophies awarded to the winners in each as well as an ultimate EPS Trophy for the combined winner. Societies across all of EPS competed, including BUMS, PPS, MathSoc, CivSoc, WISE, EESE, UBRacing, MechSoc, NucSoc, BUCES and UBEco.

Football

Despite average temperatures of 5°C at the Metchley 3G pitches, 13 teams from 9 societies competed for the title of football champions in a heated competition which left players and spectators forgetting all about the cold.

After emerging victorious from the knockout stage, PPS II earned themselves a spot in the quarter-finals. However, any celebrations were short-lived, as their first match was against none other than their companion team: PPS I. In an exhilarating match that pitted coursemate against coursemate, the score remained even throughout—even a tiebreaker penalty shoot-out failed to break the stalemate! The match was finally decided in sudden death, with PPS I stealing a goal, drawing one of the closest matches of the day to a nail-biting close.

The highly anticipated final between BUMS and EESE did not fail to entertain. After an undeserved own goal which put EESE ahead, the game opened up and chances were flowing. BUMS clawed back an equaliser before half-time with a long-range strike. The second half had equally as many chances but both teams failed to convert, so it went to a dramatic penalty shoot-out. BUMS appeared to be on their way to winning before blundering their 4th and 6th penalties, allowing EESE to clinch a victory. Mohammed, one of the winners from EESE, told SATNAV: "We played [BUMS] in group stages, and they were the toughest opponents we had."

Netball

Meanwhile, in the UB Sports and Fitness arena, 7 teams were battling it out for the netball trophy.

After winning their first match against CivSoc, MechSoc were confident going up against BUMS. But despite starting off on equal footing, BUMS quickly began to dominate. Throughout the second half, all the action was around MechSoc’s goal post, where they put up a brave defence against BUMS’ goal shooter. But the attack from BUMS proved to be brutal, who managed to secure their place in the semi-finals with a record-breaking 10 goals! Under the euphoria of victory, one of their members exclaimed: “We are the champions—we’ll definitely be back next year!”

The day ended with a thrilling final between BUMS and CivSoc. BUMS didn’t hold back, scoring in the first minute with a fantastic shot from their goal attack, but CivSoc took back control just seconds later and sunk an equaliser. This close fight lasted most of the first half, with complete to-and-fro action between the two teams. But after a few near misses from BUMS, we witnessed an incredible quick-play from CivSoc as they scored four consecutive goals in just a few minutes. With strong passes from their centre player and some fantastic distance shots from their goal attack, it was clear CivSoc were starting to dominate. The final minutes showed every player on the court at their best, but CivSoc ultimately claimed a fierce victory of 7-3, making them EPS Trophy netball champions!

As finalists of both the netball and football matches, the ultimate winner of the EPS Trophy 2018, taking the honours as sporting kings and queens of the college, was BUMS!

BUMS told SATNAV:

“It’s been really fun. This is the first time the EPS Trophy event is running, so it’s exciting to be part of something new! It’s been great to hear the collective cheer from the people watching—it’s always good to feel supported.”

The whole day saw a fantastic celebration of the college and a great coming-together of the EPS societies. SATNAV had the chance to speak to some of the terrific organisers, Curtis Collins, Bee Rich and Zak Viney: “We’re so glad everyone’s come together, it’s nice to see such college spirit. The most rewarding thing has been hearing how much everyone has enjoyed the day and how they can’t wait for next year—I hope we’ve set a legacy! It’s been a lot of effort to organise, and we’ve definitely learned a lot for next year, but it’s been absolutely worth it!”

From Issue 15