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| Phoenix edge out the Moondoggies for first seed to Nationals. |
The drive up to Waterloo on that humid Saturday morning was soon overshadowed, quite literally, by rain clouds threatening to burst out into an orchestra of thunderstorms. I had the pleasure of driving two very experienced players to the 2010 Ontario Open Regionals, both of whom picked up with Moondoggies (GOAT's pickup team). During the ride, I got to hear about their experiences playing for several teams, including their worldy exploits.
When we reached the premier outlined fields at Kiwanis Park, Waterloo, Maverick was already running drills to warm up. On the eastern most field, Too Bad was setting up a tent and Grand Trunk was gathering up its forces. The western field had ROY gearing up for their big game against the Moondoggies. A slight south-westerly breeze rolled in as the warm-ups ensued. At ten minutes to nine, a horn sounded signalling the matches to commence shortly. The excitement was building all around as Phoenix and Maverick, huddled in their own teams, expressed their eagerness to start the game with deafening roars!
The game started exactly at nine and attracted the most attention in the first round of matches. Phoenix, with only two lines worth of players, was making its presence felt in the quality of its offence. At one point, they were leading Maverick quite commandingly. But Maverick was not deterred. Following some great disk movement by the handlers and forcing a few great layout-D’s, Maverick was able to catch up and the game was tied at twelve’s when the hard cap horn sounded. Universe Point! With an easy break force throw near the end zone, Maverick torched the mythical bird, and took the game 13-12.
During this time, Too Bad was trying desperately to break through Grand Trunk’s defence. Too Bad players on the sideline were supporting their teammates on the field through a barrage of verbal cues. Upon Too Bad turning over the disk, one sideline player commented, “We’re making some bad decisions; we just need to make better decisions.” Unfortunately, those decisions didn’t come soon enough as Grand Trunk overwhelmed them and won 15-8.
On the opposite side of the park, the Moondoggies left ROY howling as they asserted their 15-0 win. The Moondoggies held true to their abilities and fought each battle tirelessly. They defeated Grand Trunk 15-9 by forcing amazing turnovers and running great give-and-go's. Their seemingly victorious day was ended by a loss to the athleticisim of Phoenix. Andrew Carroll got two amazing layout-D's, one of which halted the Phoenix offence at their end zone. Phoenix took the game to half at 8-3 and won it 11-9. Despite beating the Moondoggies, one Phoenix player couldn't help but drown himself in an ocean of F-bombs for every failed attempt at scoring. It came to a point where, my group of friends chose to relocate to a safer viewing distance before things got out of hand.
Too Bad faced ROY and the weather started to get worse. With strong winds and an irritating level of precipitation, both teams had to focus extra hard to stay in the game. ROY's offence was being tested by Too Bad's strong cup. They were able to break through a couple of times, but turned it over further down the field. Nathaniel Brown could be seen running as fast as he can with his knee brace coming lose. It reminded me of the scene from Forrest Gump. Too Bad was able to weave through ROY's defences with their unorthodox playing style. There were some great attempts to score on both sides, but Too Bad ultimately took the victory 11-8.
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| Maverick's Dan Benvenuti (middle) scores a great point. |
When we reached the premier outlined fields at Kiwanis Park, Waterloo, Maverick was already running drills to warm up. On the eastern most field, Too Bad was setting up a tent and Grand Trunk was gathering up its forces. The western field had ROY gearing up for their big game against the Moondoggies. A slight south-westerly breeze rolled in as the warm-ups ensued. At ten minutes to nine, a horn sounded signalling the matches to commence shortly. The excitement was building all around as Phoenix and Maverick, huddled in their own teams, expressed their eagerness to start the game with deafening roars!
The game started exactly at nine and attracted the most attention in the first round of matches. Phoenix, with only two lines worth of players, was making its presence felt in the quality of its offence. At one point, they were leading Maverick quite commandingly. But Maverick was not deterred. Following some great disk movement by the handlers and forcing a few great layout-D’s, Maverick was able to catch up and the game was tied at twelve’s when the hard cap horn sounded. Universe Point! With an easy break force throw near the end zone, Maverick torched the mythical bird, and took the game 13-12.
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| Bryan Cunningham(51) plays hard defence as Phoenix's Aaron Kucherawy (47) plans the next cut |
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| Too Bad fought hard in the weekend, but failed to qualify. |
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| Moondoggies' Andrew Butler (right) snatches the disk for a point. |
On the opposite side of the park, the Moondoggies left ROY howling as they asserted their 15-0 win. The Moondoggies held true to their abilities and fought each battle tirelessly. They defeated Grand Trunk 15-9 by forcing amazing turnovers and running great give-and-go's. Their seemingly victorious day was ended by a loss to the athleticisim of Phoenix. Andrew Carroll got two amazing layout-D's, one of which halted the Phoenix offence at their end zone. Phoenix took the game to half at 8-3 and won it 11-9. Despite beating the Moondoggies, one Phoenix player couldn't help but drown himself in an ocean of F-bombs for every failed attempt at scoring. It came to a point where, my group of friends chose to relocate to a safer viewing distance before things got out of hand.
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| Calm, cool, and collected. The Moondoggies prepare for their next game. |
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| ROY's Nathaniel Brown leads his team from the front lines. |
Too Bad faced ROY and the weather started to get worse. With strong winds and an irritating level of precipitation, both teams had to focus extra hard to stay in the game. ROY's offence was being tested by Too Bad's strong cup. They were able to break through a couple of times, but turned it over further down the field. Nathaniel Brown could be seen running as fast as he can with his knee brace coming lose. It reminded me of the scene from Forrest Gump. Too Bad was able to weave through ROY's defences with their unorthodox playing style. There were some great attempts to score on both sides, but Too Bad ultimately took the victory 11-8.
The first day ended with a brutal four game loss for ROY, who were now contemplating their chances at qualifying for Nationals. Maverick defeated Phoenix, Grand Trunk defeated Maverick, Moondoggies defeated Grand Trunk, and Phoenix defeated Moondoggies. What more was needed? This resulted in a three-way tie for first place between Phoenix, Moondoggies, and Maverick. After Grand Trunk's universe point win against Maverick, one player couldn't contain his frustration about the unexpected turn of events as he said, "I can't believe [Phoenix, Moondoggies, and Maverick] are all tied up now, that f**ks everything up!"
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| Firebird grabbing some unexpected wins. Photo by Tushar (iamultimate.com) |
Firebird turned some heads as they won 13-11 against Grand Trunk and 14-7 against Too Bad. In the second day, Firebird and ROY faced off in their playoff game. Despite sustaining many injuries, Firebird was able to pull through and win 12-8. Firebird's game against Maverick resulted in a universe point loss for Firebird placing them in the 4th seed. ROY, placed in the 7th seed, had to face Firebird again. Many of the injured players on ROY decided to play this game to the finish. Through sheer determination and quality playing, ROY was able to defeat Firebird 10-9 in a universe point win. After taking even more injuries during their ROY game, Firebird did not lose hope. Now, Firebird had to face Too Bad in the Game to Go. Firebird was able to dominate from the start and sealed their victory and a seat at Nationals with a 11-8 win. It was too bad for Too Bad, but they will be tenacious as ever in the coming seasons.
The final seed going into Nationals are as follows:
1. Phoenix
2. Moondoggies
3. Maverick
4. Grand Trunk
5. ROY
6. Firebird
Phew, I'm glad that's over. Now the exciting part: Nationals!
Nice recap Dinesh.
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to add that Firebird beat Roy on Sunday in round robin in a close one. We later faced them in the 4v7 playoff game where a couple of our key injured handlers who hadn't cleated all weekend decided to play.
It was a hard fought win for us and I give credit to Firebird for being so tough. In the prior game they lost on universe to Maverick which would have made them the 3rd seed. In addition they suffered a couple of bad injuries to their handlers during our game. I'm glad they were able to rebound in the Game to Go and make it to Nationals. They definitely deserved it and we're looking forward to playing them again in Sherbrooke.
-Jaleel
Hey Jaleel, thanks for your comments. It really helped me paint the picture in my mind because I wasn't there on Sunday. Sounds like I missed a lot.
ReplyDeleteWith luck and work, Too Bad will be back at Nationals next year. Let's see how it goes.
ReplyDeleteGee-off