Meet the Captains 2023-24

We are excited to introduce you to the captains leading the six CUAFC teams! Find out more about the captains, their season so far, and their hopes for the coming year!

Blues Captains , (Left to Right: Emilia, Abbie, Cai)

Men’s Blues: Cai La Trobe-Roberts

Hello, I’m Cai, the men’s Blues captain this year. I’m a third-year economics student, also in my third year at CUAFC. We’ve had a successful first term, playing some lovely football with an almost entirely new squad. The goals have been flowing, with Cai and Joey at the top of the goalscoring charts and Deniz leading the league in assists. At the very end of the term we struggled with over half our starting team out injured, resulting in a tough loss to Nottingham. They’re our first opposition next term, so we’ll be looking to avenge that defeat quickly. However, three big league wins have accompanied two cup victories, leaving us well placed for promotion and a cup victory. With a potential treble on the line at varsity, we’re looking forward to finally getting a Cambridge win under the lights at the Abbey. On a personal note it’s been a difficult term, having been out of action since gameweek 3 after a brain injury. However, the boys have stepped up brilliantly. Special thanks to Vice Captain Reece for all his help.

Women’s Blues: Abbie Hastie and Emilia Keavney

Hello, we are Abbie and Emilia, the Blues co-captains for 2023/4. We are both third years in our third season at CUAFC, studying History and Engineering respectively. We wanted to captain the side. We wanted to captain the side to give back to a team which has given has both so much in our first two years at university. The Blues have had a successful first half of the season, winning 2, losing 2 and drawing 1 in the league and beating Warwick in the first round of the cup. In the second half of the season we hope to win all of our league matches, having already played against our biggest rivals Nottingham Trent twice. Last season we were incredibly successful, reaching the final of the National Cup and winning Varsity for the first time in six years, for which we were rewarded with the Osprey’s Team of the Year award. We want to replicate this cup run in Lent and retain the Varsity trophy under the lights at the Abbey!

Falcons (Men’s IIs): Thomas Edmonson

Hi all - I’m Thomas, captain of the Falcons. I’m a third-year student studying law, and my very first experience of Cambridge was joining the squad for pre-season as a first year, meaning this has been the third season I’ve played for the club. I wanted to be captain as I feel like the club has been a defining part of my life, and so the opportunity to give back and to help shape the dynamic of the Falcons this season was a no-brainer. We’ve had a tough start to the season in the league, with some hard teams in our division this season, but are aiming to bounce back in Lent with all eyes on Varsity to make it 3 wins out of 3 in my time here.

Eagles (Women’s IIs): Georgia McConachie

Hi! I’m Georgia and I’m captain of the Eagles this year. I’m a third year Philosopher and this is my second season with the Eagles. I was really keen to take up captaincy when the position opened up during my rather short stint as CUAFC Secretary over summer. I loved being on committee and seeing students come together to run a successful club, both men and women! I also loved playing for the Eagles last season and after we suffered from a bit of a mass exodus with lots of our players leaving Cambridge, I wanted to step up and give something back to the club! With 12 new players on the squad and only 5 remaining Eagles, it has taken a bit of time to adjust and settle into the season. A few formations later, and with the support of our new vice-captain, Anna, we finished the term on a high with a 3-1 win against the team placed 2nd in the league. Now we’ve got our eyes set on a big Varsity win next term!

Kestrels (Men’s IIIs): Jake Parish

Hi, I’m Jake, a second year Law student. I've been with CUAFC since my first year and am currently the interim captain of the Kestrels, stepping in during the absence of an official captain. This season, the Kestrels have shown great promise, winning all our games so far, including two notable victories over the Falcons. With dynamic squad movements, the Kestrels have had an impeccable first half of the season. As we move into Lent, our focus is on increasing our game count and aiming to secure the Varsity title, a goal set to rectify last year’s setbacks and demonstrate our team’s strength.

Merlins (Women’s IIIs): Pauline Pfeuderer

Hi, I am Pauline, a 2nd year PhD student in Cancer Biology. I am excited to be this year's Merlins captain and it has been great being part of the development of forming the first proper Merlins squad. Unfortunately, the matches we had scheduled so far got cancelled last minute but we are extremely happy with the performance of everyone and it’s the most enthusiastic Merlins squad we’ve had so far. We are extremely excited about playing the first women’s 3rd team varsity this season and are optimistic that we can also make it the first win!