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Sokei-sen Report — Women’s Lacrosse

Keio holds a number of sports competitions with Waseda University—called Sokei-sen—each year. This friendly rivalry dates back to 1903, when Waseda first challenged Keio to a baseball match. There are now Sokei-sen in a wide variety of sporting and non-sporting events, and while the baseball Sokei-sen is now known throughout Japan and regularly draws an audience of more than 20,000 spectators, there are many other sports that have a Sokei-sen of their own that are equally competitive and help to define the Keio school spirit.

For the Summer 2015 newsletter, we put a spotlight on the Keio Women’s Lacrosse Team, who on May 17 took on Waseda in the 23rd Lacrosse Sokei-sen.

It was a beautiful clear day here at the Hiyoshi Campus Athletic Field and the stakes were high for Keio as they wanted to build on the historic 8-game winning streak over Waseda in the Sokei-sen, but it was Waseda that struck first with the opening goal in the fifth minute.

The game was tense with Waseda dominating possession, but in the 12th minute, Saki Takeyama (4th Year Faculty of Economics) broke through to equalize with a magnificent goal from a nearly impossible angle. The game went back and forth, and the teams headed into halftime tied 2-2.

Keio came out into the second half with renewed energy and scored their next goal in just the opening 30 seconds, sending the crowd into a frenzy. Waseda though, did not give up and tied the score again. However, from here on in, Keio proved its dominance in the women’s lacrosse, scoring the next three goals, including one in the final minute, to claim their 9th consecutive win in the Sokei-sen by a margin of 6-3.

Congratulations to the Keio Women’s Lacrosse Team for their outstanding performance.

In the coming months, there are several other Sokei-sen matches, including tennis, kendo, sumo, track and field, and shorinjikempo. If you are interested in supporting Keio and experiencing the Keio school spirit, please follow this link (Japanese language only).

The captain of the Keio Women’s Lacrosse Team, Yoshiko Sakamoto (4th year, Faculty of Policy Management) who earned the MVP of the Sokei-sen shares a moment with her teammates after the game. This year’s team slogan “Be the heat” is visible written on the player’s arms.

Club Date Venue
Sumo September 5 Yasukuni Shrine Sumo Ring
Tennis (Women’s) September 5 Ariake Tennis Park Tennis Courts
Jyunkoshiki Baseball September 5-6 Waseda University Higashi Fushimi Baseball Field
Tennis (Men’s) September 8 Ariake Tennis Park Tennis Courts
Track and Field September 20 Waseda University Tokorozawa Campus Track and Field Arena
Kendo (Women’s) October 18 Hiyoshi Commemorative Hall
Badminton
(Men’s & Women’s)		 October 31 Hiyoshi Commemorative Hall
Kendo (Men’s) November 15 Hiyoshi Commemorative Hall
Rugby November 23 Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium
Shorinjikempo November 29 Basement Floor of the Keio Senior High School Gymnasium
(Hiyoshi Campus)

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