Regional
Centres
BAMOS
Dec 2017
13
Priestley Cup 2017: Unimelb triumph
in the heat
Kimberley Reid
The University of Melbourne
On the 23rd of November, the Victorian AMOS cohort pulled on
their boots for the annual Priestley Cup soccer tournament. The
conditions were tough with a maximum temperature of 31.9°C.
Sadly, CSIRO couldn’t field a team, but the Bureau of Meteorology
and Monash proved to be formidable opponents for the
reigning champions: Unimelb. News that the Bureau played in
a weekly indoor soccer contest spread to the two universities.
But Monash came prepared with more substitutes than any
other team and a professional looking warm up routine. Despite
travelling the shortest distance, the Unimelb players arrived on
the field last, so the Bureau of Meteorology and Monash kicked
off for the first match while Unimelb warmed up.
The weather was hot, but the footwork was hotter, and the
Bureau and Monash put on an excellent show. At the end
of the thirty minute game, the scores were 1–1 and a draw
was declared. The Monashians may (quite reasonably) claim
the fixture led to their downfall: the Bureau got to rest, while
Monash played Unimelb in the second match.
Oxford and Cambridge, Harvard and Yale, Melbourne and
Monash. There are few sporting rivalries as passionate and
beautiful as those between two universities. With scores level
in the dying minutes, every player put their body on the line to
try and score the winning goal. A clearing kick from defence,
followed by a header from the midfield to Martin Jucker who
guided the ball to the back of the net in the last seconds helped
Unimelb win the second game by 2 goals to 1.
Unfortunately for Monash, their chance of winning the Priestley
Cup was over. Meanwhile, Unimelb and the Bureau lined up for
the final match. Both goal keepers were invaluable only letting
in one goal each. The game ended in a draw but Unimelb
retained the Priestley cup because they had one win and one
draw compared to the Bureau’s two draws. MVP Zebedee
Nicholls had the honour of collecting the cup on Unimelb’s
behalf.
Pizza and beer on the Unimelb balcony followed the tournament
where sporting rivalries disappeared and players enjoyed
sharing a meal, conversation and love for the game.
Special thanks to Martin Jucker for organising everything and
Abaz (from Unimelb Geology) who refereed.
The winning team from The University of Melbourne (clockwise from left): Roland Stirnberg, Ewan Short, Zebedee Nicholls,
Sonya Fiddes, Martin Jucker, Kate Saunders, Corinne Sanders and Kimberley Reid.