MOFO Pumps up
posted by Yeungblood @ 6:44 pm
Friday, August 25, 2006
Sunday, August 20, 2006
Monday, August 07, 2006
2006 UPA YCC
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Game 1, Des Moines
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______________________________________________________________Game 2, New England
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______________________________________________________________Game 3, Minnnesota
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______________________________________________________________Game 4, Seattle
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______________________________________________________________Game 5, Cincinnati
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______________________________________________________________Semi Finals, New England
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______________________________________________________________Finals, Cincinnati
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______________________________________________________________2006 UPA YCC Champions
posted by J @ 4:58 pm
2006 UPA YCC Recap
MOFO competed in the UPA Youth Club Championships in Minneapolis
Saturday dawned cloudy with a strong cross field wind—promising plenty of turnovers and long points. The first round saw the Minnesota team match up against Seattle, New England against Cincinnati, and Manitoba against Des Moines. Seattle came out strong at the start of the game, but Minnesota tied the score up at 3-3, prompting a timeout call from Seattle. The two teams stayed even for a while, but Minnesota eventually pulled ahead using their zone defense and took half 8-5. Seattle scored the first point after half with patient offense, but then found themselves in a rut as Minnesota went on to win the game, final score 15-6. Cincinnati struggled at the beginning of their game and found themselves lagging behind New England, 5-1, but they found their stride and, capitalizing on quick offense and a dropped pull by New England, went on a seven-point run to take half 8-5. New England played a stronger second half and kept Cincinnati honest but could not overcome their momentum as Cincinnati went on to win the game, 14-11, in the soft cap. Strong wind and many turnovers plagued the Manitoba and Des Moines game as the Iowa team went up 2-1. Manitoba came back to bring the score to 5-2, but Des Moines followed up with their own comeback to tie the game at 5-5. Manitoba pulled away to take half 8-6 and kept up strong defense through the second half. The game ended 13-8 in the soft cap on a sweet layout in the end zone by Manitoba.
The second round saw match-ups between Minnesota and Cincinnati, New England and Manitoba, and Seattle and Des Moines. Minnesota played good zone defense and moved the disc well but struggled to get the disc into the end zone, and Cincinnati, coming off their great comeback in the first round, took half, 8-3. Minnesota continued to have trouble completing throws and Cincinnati outscored them 7-3 in the second half to win the game, 15-6. New England and Manitoba had difficulties throwing in the wind, and poor throws and drops made for long early points. New England eventually took half, 8-5. Manitoba began a wild comeback, tying the score up at 9-9 during soft cap and scoring the next two points as the hard cap whistle blew to win the game, 11-9. Des Moines went up 5-1 early in the game, but Seattle returned points to bring the score closer at 7-6. Des Moines took half but Seattle kept the game close until 10-8, but after the strong wind created more turnovers and Des Moines had a nice break for the score, Seattle began to tire and Des Moines took the game 15-9.
The third round had games between Minnesota and Manitoba, New England and Des Moines, and Cincinnati and Seattle. Minnesota and Manitoba were neck and neck early in the game, but the Minnesota team pulled ahead with their solid zone defense and some good offensive plays to take half 8-5. The teams matched each other until the score reached 11-8 for Minnesota, but the Manitoba team pulled out their intensity and their second huge comeback of the tournament so far and tied up the game in soft cap, 11-11, eventually finishing off Minnesota 13-11. Meanwhile, New England went up early on Des Moines, and even though they had trouble completing hucks in the wind they took half 8-5. They continued to struggle with deep completions but played solid defense against Des Moines and won 15-8 in soft cap after some nice offensive plays. In the Cincinnati-Seattle game, Seattle couldn’t quite get their offense together and Cincinnati was on a role after their huge comeback in the first round and their great game in round two. Cincinnati went up 7-1 before half, and kept scoring (including a Callahan) to win the game 15-4.
In the final Saturday round, Minnesota matched up against New England, Manitoba played Seattle and Cincinnati met Des Moines. New England took a small early lead and Minnesota continued to have trouble finding the open person in the end zone. Eventually New England took half, 8-4. In the second half, New England switched to man defense and Minnesota seemed to be deflated, going scoreless in the second half. New England finished off the game 15-4. Manitoba took an early lead against Seattle and took half 8-2, but the points had been long with many turnovers. Immediately after half, Manitoba faced a taste of their own medicine as Seattle went on a four-point run to bring the score to 8-6. Manitoba scored as the soft cap went on and managed to hold onto their lead to win 11-6. And Cincinnati had their closest game of the tournament since their first round comeback against an eager Des Moines team. Cincinnati did well in the first half, taking it 8-3 including another Callahan, but began to make mistakes that the Iowa team capitalized on and Des Moines began their own comeback, eventually taking the game to 10-8. The next few points were intense but Cincinnati eventually found their rhythm again and won the game 15-10.
Sunday morning will see match-ups between Manitoba and Cincinnati, New England and Seattle, and Minnesota and Des Moines. The first match-up will be an exciting game, as both teams are currently undefeated. Cincinnati appears to be the favorite so far, but Manitoba’s comebacks are evidence that they are a force to be reckoned with. New England also had many close battles and their game against Minnesota showed that they are not out of the running for the championship. At this point, it’s still really anyone’s tournament.
Sunday Mixed Recap
By Anna Mebust
Last Round of Pool Play
Sunday morning promised some good match-ups as the strong wind continued from the opposite side of the field, and the two undefeated teams duked it out for the top seed. Manitoba and Cincinnati both looked good at the start of the game, keeping it even until the game was tied at 4-4. Cincinnati then went on a four-point run (due in large part to #3 Sarah Findley, who scored nearly half of Cincinnati’s points in the first half and earned a critical D) to take half 8-4. Manitoba, hoping to earn the official label of “comeback team,” earned the first two points after half, but Cincinnati had a strong desire to hold them down and went on a six-point run to bring the score to 14-6. Final score was 15-8, Cincinnati over Manitoba, earning them the No.1 and No.2 seeds, respectively, in the championship bracket.
New England faced Seattle in the only game that could seriously affect the seeding for the next round. After a couple of close losses on Saturday, New England really brought it in this game and went up 5-1. Seattle’s strong women helped them nearly match EMU in the rest of the half (New England took it 8-4), but New England’s solid offense and experience took the younger team by storm in the second half and they won, 15-5, earning themselves the No.3 seed and Seattle a No.6 seed. The Minnesota vs. Des Moines game was the closest game of the morning. Minnesota started out with the lead at 4-1 with their zone, but Des Moines kept the score within three as Minnesota took half, 8-6. In the second half, Minnesota started out well but continued to have trouble finding the open person in the end zone and Des Moines took the lead, 11-10. This may have been the result of Des Moines switching to man defense, which Minnesota had struggled against on Saturday as well. The score was kept close, within three points, but the New England-Seattle game was already over and both teams knew they would be meeting again in the quarterfinals of the championship bracket. Des Moines eventually won 15-12 in the soft cap, earning the No.4 seed and Minnesota took the No.5 seed.
Quarterfinals
Due to unlucky chance, the first round of the championship bracket had two identical match-ups as the last round of pool play. After beating Seattle in the last round, New England met them again hoping to do the same. New England went up early, but Seattle was playing hard defense and the early points were especially long. After Seattle scored to bring the game to 4-2, New England fought through the next long point and Seattle began to tire. New England took half 8-2. The rest during half helped Seattle as they scored some fantastic points off of great plays (including an incredible layout by #4 Leah Fury) to bring the game to 11-5 New England over Seattle, but New England played extremely hard defense and their experience again worked to their advantage as Seattle struggled with turnovers. It was #26 Rachael Westgate on New England with a Callahan for the final score, 15-5, and New England advanced to the semifinals against Manitoba.
After the last round, both Des Moines and Minnesota knew that this could be anyone’s game, but they had to want it. Des Moines took an early lead 3-1, but Minnesota returned their drive and earned the lead 4-3. Des Moines found their rhythm as Minnesota continued to struggle with finding the open player in the end zone, and the Iowa team took half 8-5. Minnesota switched to a four/three women/men format after half, and between a girl-girl connection for one score and a timeout for another, they brought the game close at 8-7 Iowa over Minnesota, but the strong offense by the Des Moines team combined with Minnesota’s continued struggles on the end zone line culminated in a five-point run by Des Moines. Minnesota finally got it together and started making a comeback, but strong defense by Des Moines kept the points long and the hard cap whistle blew as Minnesota was down 13-11. Now unable to win the game, Minnesota lost heart and Des Moines scored the final point 14-11 to advance to the semifinals against Cincinnati.
Semifinals
Cincinnati, the top seed, faced Des Moines in the semifinal round. The day earlier, Des Moines had given Cincinnati a relatively challenging game, but Sunday the Iowan team had just played two very long, intense games against Minnesota and was undoubtedly tired. Cincinnati had not yet lost a game, and they were certainly not looking to do it in the semifinal round. Cincinnati scored the first point and Iowa soon matched it, but within a few points it was clear that Cincinnati was on their game as they went up 5-1. Iowa finally managed to punch in a hard fought point to bring the score to 5-2, and the teams exchanged points evenly until Cincinnati took half, 8-5. Iowa’s exhaustion became apparent in the second half of the game as Cincinnati took off. Iowa had a couple of other nice scores, but Cincinnati won the game solidly, 15-8.
Meanwhile, on the next field over, what was arguably the best game of the tournament was taking place. New England, after losing in pool play to Manitoba during a huge comeback by the Canadian team, was looking to come out strong and play hard, while Manitoba knew it would take a lot to beat the Massachusetts team. This game would undoubtedly be close and intense. Manitoba had the first score, then an awesome layout by New England’s Andrew Lunetta, catching the trailing edge of the disc, ended in a score to tie the game 1-1. Points were extremely long due to the great defense played by both teams. Manitoba eventually scored on a push pass, 2-1. An exchange of great hucks brings the score to 3-2, but more hucks in the next point were turned over due to the strong wind. Lunetta scored the point for New England to tie it up at 3-3. Manitoba connected their huck to go up 4-3, then scores again to lead 5-3. A great cut by Lunetta was rewarded with a score for New England, and some really great catches followed to tie the game once again at 5-5. A nice grab in the end zone and suddenly New England was leading 6-5 and the excitement was nearly tangible. In the next point, great defense by the New England cup nearly resulted in another Callahan by Westgate, and New England scored 7-5. Manitoba called a timeout and started fighting back with a great catch by #89 Mark Lloyd to bring it to7-6, but New England was on a role and took half 8-6. Another score for New England, followed by a really awesome layout catch by #14 that was almost OB, and suddenly New England was up 10-6. Manitoba kept their cool, though, and a great catch brought score to 10-7. Another great throw and catch brought the score to 10-8, and New England began to get nervous as the comeback team inched ever closer to their dwindling lead. Another great huck by Manitoba brought the score to 10-9. The soft cap whistle blew as Manitoba had a fantastic D and around break for the score to tie it up 10-10, game to 12. EMU finally found themselves again and scored with a great catch from Tom Bassett, but Manitoba brought in another point to tie the game once again at 11-11, double game point. The New England team demonstrated their exemplary spirit in this last point of semifinals, as a completed huck (followed by another pass in what would have been a score for New England) was sent back in an uncontested stall 15-yards in front of Manitoba’s scoring end zone. After the turn, Manitoba played extremely patient offense, dumping and swinging over and over until someone finally got open and they scored to win the game in their third humongous comeback of the tournament, 12-11, to face Cincinnati in the final.
Final
Uncertainty surrounded the predicted outcome of the final match-up between Cincinnati and Manitoba. Cincinnati had decisively beaten the Canadian team just earlier in the day, and Manitoba was exhausted after its long and emotional semifinal game against New England. However, Manitoba was becoming known as the “comeback team,” and exhilaration from last win was bound to help them bring out their best. Cincinnati pulled to Manitoba and set their zone defense, but Manitoba broke it well and scored the first point, 1-0. Cincinnati chose to play four women in the next point. Turnover after turnover plagued both teams as nervousness, aided by the strong wind, caused poor throws and drops. The four-women point benefited Manitoba more than Cincinnati as a connection between Samie Lovat and Melanie Dorie brought the score to 2-0. The wind picked up some, and it seemed Cincinnati was in a hucking rut as deep throws went up and were incomplete time and time again. Manitoba eventually scored, 3-0, prompting a timeout call from Cincinnati. A nice huck by Manitoba resulted in another score, 4-0, and Cincinnati started to get worried. Manitoba set a zone and Cincinnati struggled to break it, but they calmed down on the hucks and patient offense resulted in a score to finally enter the game, 4-1. Points continued to be long as Cincinnati struggled with turnovers and Manitoba was starting to get tired. Manitoba was able to find the hucks, as well as work it short, and they scored two more points to go up 6-1. Cincinnati finally connected on a deep throw and brought the score to 6-2. Turnovers were now more a result of good defense than poor throws, although throwers were having trouble placing hucks in the wind. Scott Chadwick scored his second point for his team in the game to bring the score to 6-3, and Cincinnati was starting to dream of a comeback. Manitoba crushed those dreams with a relatively short point to go up 7-3. Cincinnati, desperately wanting to score again before half, played very hard defense but nerves were still clearly affecting their playing. This point was extremely long as huck after huck was incomplete, and exhaustion caused turfed discs and drops. Finally, an awesome layout catch by #13 Samie Lovat in the end zone gave Manitoba the half, 8-3, with only about 15 minutes until soft cap. Another hard fought point followed half and the soft cap whistle was blown with the score still at 8-3. Manitoba finally worked the disc in once again to score 9-3, game to 11. Both teams began to play frantic offense, picking up the disc immediately after a turnover from the other team and throwing it right away, often resulting in yet another turnover. After tons of incomplete hucks, a connection was finally made for Manitoba to go up 10-3, and Cincinnati lost hope of a comeback as hard cap was only a few minutes away and it was game point for Manitoba. After more huck-and-turn exchanges, Manitoba finally put it in, Sean Brooks to Matthew Artemiuk for the final score just minutes before the hard cap whistle is blown. Manitoba MOFO wins the Mixed division, 11-3 over Cincinnati OCD.
2006 Fall, UPA Ultimate News
Saturday Mixed Recap
By Anna MebustSaturday dawned cloudy with a strong cross field wind—promising plenty of turnovers and long points. The first round saw the Minnesota team match up against Seattle, New England against Cincinnati, and Manitoba against Des Moines. Seattle came out strong at the start of the game, but Minnesota tied the score up at 3-3, prompting a timeout call from Seattle. The two teams stayed even for a while, but Minnesota eventually pulled ahead using their zone defense and took half 8-5. Seattle scored the first point after half with patient offense, but then found themselves in a rut as Minnesota went on to win the game, final score 15-6. Cincinnati struggled at the beginning of their game and found themselves lagging behind New England, 5-1, but they found their stride and, capitalizing on quick offense and a dropped pull by New England, went on a seven-point run to take half 8-5. New England played a stronger second half and kept Cincinnati honest but could not overcome their momentum as Cincinnati went on to win the game, 14-11, in the soft cap. Strong wind and many turnovers plagued the Manitoba and Des Moines game as the Iowa team went up 2-1. Manitoba came back to bring the score to 5-2, but Des Moines followed up with their own comeback to tie the game at 5-5. Manitoba pulled away to take half 8-6 and kept up strong defense through the second half. The game ended 13-8 in the soft cap on a sweet layout in the end zone by Manitoba.
The second round saw match-ups between Minnesota and Cincinnati, New England and Manitoba, and Seattle and Des Moines. Minnesota played good zone defense and moved the disc well but struggled to get the disc into the end zone, and Cincinnati, coming off their great comeback in the first round, took half, 8-3. Minnesota continued to have trouble completing throws and Cincinnati outscored them 7-3 in the second half to win the game, 15-6. New England and Manitoba had difficulties throwing in the wind, and poor throws and drops made for long early points. New England eventually took half, 8-5. Manitoba began a wild comeback, tying the score up at 9-9 during soft cap and scoring the next two points as the hard cap whistle blew to win the game, 11-9. Des Moines went up 5-1 early in the game, but Seattle returned points to bring the score closer at 7-6. Des Moines took half but Seattle kept the game close until 10-8, but after the strong wind created more turnovers and Des Moines had a nice break for the score, Seattle began to tire and Des Moines took the game 15-9.
The third round had games between Minnesota and Manitoba, New England and Des Moines, and Cincinnati and Seattle. Minnesota and Manitoba were neck and neck early in the game, but the Minnesota team pulled ahead with their solid zone defense and some good offensive plays to take half 8-5. The teams matched each other until the score reached 11-8 for Minnesota, but the Manitoba team pulled out their intensity and their second huge comeback of the tournament so far and tied up the game in soft cap, 11-11, eventually finishing off Minnesota 13-11. Meanwhile, New England went up early on Des Moines, and even though they had trouble completing hucks in the wind they took half 8-5. They continued to struggle with deep completions but played solid defense against Des Moines and won 15-8 in soft cap after some nice offensive plays. In the Cincinnati-Seattle game, Seattle couldn’t quite get their offense together and Cincinnati was on a role after their huge comeback in the first round and their great game in round two. Cincinnati went up 7-1 before half, and kept scoring (including a Callahan) to win the game 15-4.
In the final Saturday round, Minnesota matched up against New England, Manitoba played Seattle and Cincinnati met Des Moines. New England took a small early lead and Minnesota continued to have trouble finding the open person in the end zone. Eventually New England took half, 8-4. In the second half, New England switched to man defense and Minnesota seemed to be deflated, going scoreless in the second half. New England finished off the game 15-4. Manitoba took an early lead against Seattle and took half 8-2, but the points had been long with many turnovers. Immediately after half, Manitoba faced a taste of their own medicine as Seattle went on a four-point run to bring the score to 8-6. Manitoba scored as the soft cap went on and managed to hold onto their lead to win 11-6. And Cincinnati had their closest game of the tournament since their first round comeback against an eager Des Moines team. Cincinnati did well in the first half, taking it 8-3 including another Callahan, but began to make mistakes that the Iowa team capitalized on and Des Moines began their own comeback, eventually taking the game to 10-8. The next few points were intense but Cincinnati eventually found their rhythm again and won the game 15-10.
Sunday morning will see match-ups between Manitoba and Cincinnati, New England and Seattle, and Minnesota and Des Moines. The first match-up will be an exciting game, as both teams are currently undefeated. Cincinnati appears to be the favorite so far, but Manitoba’s comebacks are evidence that they are a force to be reckoned with. New England also had many close battles and their game against Minnesota showed that they are not out of the running for the championship. At this point, it’s still really anyone’s tournament.
Sunday Mixed Recap
By Anna Mebust
Sunday morning promised some good match-ups as the strong wind continued from the opposite side of the field, and the two undefeated teams duked it out for the top seed. Manitoba and Cincinnati both looked good at the start of the game, keeping it even until the game was tied at 4-4. Cincinnati then went on a four-point run (due in large part to #3 Sarah Findley, who scored nearly half of Cincinnati’s points in the first half and earned a critical D) to take half 8-4. Manitoba, hoping to earn the official label of “comeback team,” earned the first two points after half, but Cincinnati had a strong desire to hold them down and went on a six-point run to bring the score to 14-6. Final score was 15-8, Cincinnati over Manitoba, earning them the No.1 and No.2 seeds, respectively, in the championship bracket.
New England faced Seattle in the only game that could seriously affect the seeding for the next round. After a couple of close losses on Saturday, New England really brought it in this game and went up 5-1. Seattle’s strong women helped them nearly match EMU in the rest of the half (New England took it 8-4), but New England’s solid offense and experience took the younger team by storm in the second half and they won, 15-5, earning themselves the No.3 seed and Seattle a No.6 seed. The Minnesota vs. Des Moines game was the closest game of the morning. Minnesota started out with the lead at 4-1 with their zone, but Des Moines kept the score within three as Minnesota took half, 8-6. In the second half, Minnesota started out well but continued to have trouble finding the open person in the end zone and Des Moines took the lead, 11-10. This may have been the result of Des Moines switching to man defense, which Minnesota had struggled against on Saturday as well. The score was kept close, within three points, but the New England-Seattle game was already over and both teams knew they would be meeting again in the quarterfinals of the championship bracket. Des Moines eventually won 15-12 in the soft cap, earning the No.4 seed and Minnesota took the No.5 seed.
Quarterfinals
Due to unlucky chance, the first round of the championship bracket had two identical match-ups as the last round of pool play. After beating Seattle in the last round, New England met them again hoping to do the same. New England went up early, but Seattle was playing hard defense and the early points were especially long. After Seattle scored to bring the game to 4-2, New England fought through the next long point and Seattle began to tire. New England took half 8-2. The rest during half helped Seattle as they scored some fantastic points off of great plays (including an incredible layout by #4 Leah Fury) to bring the game to 11-5 New England over Seattle, but New England played extremely hard defense and their experience again worked to their advantage as Seattle struggled with turnovers. It was #26 Rachael Westgate on New England with a Callahan for the final score, 15-5, and New England advanced to the semifinals against Manitoba.
After the last round, both Des Moines and Minnesota knew that this could be anyone’s game, but they had to want it. Des Moines took an early lead 3-1, but Minnesota returned their drive and earned the lead 4-3. Des Moines found their rhythm as Minnesota continued to struggle with finding the open player in the end zone, and the Iowa team took half 8-5. Minnesota switched to a four/three women/men format after half, and between a girl-girl connection for one score and a timeout for another, they brought the game close at 8-7 Iowa over Minnesota, but the strong offense by the Des Moines team combined with Minnesota’s continued struggles on the end zone line culminated in a five-point run by Des Moines. Minnesota finally got it together and started making a comeback, but strong defense by Des Moines kept the points long and the hard cap whistle blew as Minnesota was down 13-11. Now unable to win the game, Minnesota lost heart and Des Moines scored the final point 14-11 to advance to the semifinals against Cincinnati.
Semifinals
Cincinnati, the top seed, faced Des Moines in the semifinal round. The day earlier, Des Moines had given Cincinnati a relatively challenging game, but Sunday the Iowan team had just played two very long, intense games against Minnesota and was undoubtedly tired. Cincinnati had not yet lost a game, and they were certainly not looking to do it in the semifinal round. Cincinnati scored the first point and Iowa soon matched it, but within a few points it was clear that Cincinnati was on their game as they went up 5-1. Iowa finally managed to punch in a hard fought point to bring the score to 5-2, and the teams exchanged points evenly until Cincinnati took half, 8-5. Iowa’s exhaustion became apparent in the second half of the game as Cincinnati took off. Iowa had a couple of other nice scores, but Cincinnati won the game solidly, 15-8.
Meanwhile, on the next field over, what was arguably the best game of the tournament was taking place. New England, after losing in pool play to Manitoba during a huge comeback by the Canadian team, was looking to come out strong and play hard, while Manitoba knew it would take a lot to beat the Massachusetts team. This game would undoubtedly be close and intense. Manitoba had the first score, then an awesome layout by New England’s Andrew Lunetta, catching the trailing edge of the disc, ended in a score to tie the game 1-1. Points were extremely long due to the great defense played by both teams. Manitoba eventually scored on a push pass, 2-1. An exchange of great hucks brings the score to 3-2, but more hucks in the next point were turned over due to the strong wind. Lunetta scored the point for New England to tie it up at 3-3. Manitoba connected their huck to go up 4-3, then scores again to lead 5-3. A great cut by Lunetta was rewarded with a score for New England, and some really great catches followed to tie the game once again at 5-5. A nice grab in the end zone and suddenly New England was leading 6-5 and the excitement was nearly tangible. In the next point, great defense by the New England cup nearly resulted in another Callahan by Westgate, and New England scored 7-5. Manitoba called a timeout and started fighting back with a great catch by #89 Mark Lloyd to bring it to7-6, but New England was on a role and took half 8-6. Another score for New England, followed by a really awesome layout catch by #14 that was almost OB, and suddenly New England was up 10-6. Manitoba kept their cool, though, and a great catch brought score to 10-7. Another great throw and catch brought the score to 10-8, and New England began to get nervous as the comeback team inched ever closer to their dwindling lead. Another great huck by Manitoba brought the score to 10-9. The soft cap whistle blew as Manitoba had a fantastic D and around break for the score to tie it up 10-10, game to 12. EMU finally found themselves again and scored with a great catch from Tom Bassett, but Manitoba brought in another point to tie the game once again at 11-11, double game point. The New England team demonstrated their exemplary spirit in this last point of semifinals, as a completed huck (followed by another pass in what would have been a score for New England) was sent back in an uncontested stall 15-yards in front of Manitoba’s scoring end zone. After the turn, Manitoba played extremely patient offense, dumping and swinging over and over until someone finally got open and they scored to win the game in their third humongous comeback of the tournament, 12-11, to face Cincinnati in the final.
Final
Uncertainty surrounded the predicted outcome of the final match-up between Cincinnati and Manitoba. Cincinnati had decisively beaten the Canadian team just earlier in the day, and Manitoba was exhausted after its long and emotional semifinal game against New England. However, Manitoba was becoming known as the “comeback team,” and exhilaration from last win was bound to help them bring out their best. Cincinnati pulled to Manitoba and set their zone defense, but Manitoba broke it well and scored the first point, 1-0. Cincinnati chose to play four women in the next point. Turnover after turnover plagued both teams as nervousness, aided by the strong wind, caused poor throws and drops. The four-women point benefited Manitoba more than Cincinnati as a connection between Samie Lovat and Melanie Dorie brought the score to 2-0. The wind picked up some, and it seemed Cincinnati was in a hucking rut as deep throws went up and were incomplete time and time again. Manitoba eventually scored, 3-0, prompting a timeout call from Cincinnati. A nice huck by Manitoba resulted in another score, 4-0, and Cincinnati started to get worried. Manitoba set a zone and Cincinnati struggled to break it, but they calmed down on the hucks and patient offense resulted in a score to finally enter the game, 4-1. Points continued to be long as Cincinnati struggled with turnovers and Manitoba was starting to get tired. Manitoba was able to find the hucks, as well as work it short, and they scored two more points to go up 6-1. Cincinnati finally connected on a deep throw and brought the score to 6-2. Turnovers were now more a result of good defense than poor throws, although throwers were having trouble placing hucks in the wind. Scott Chadwick scored his second point for his team in the game to bring the score to 6-3, and Cincinnati was starting to dream of a comeback. Manitoba crushed those dreams with a relatively short point to go up 7-3. Cincinnati, desperately wanting to score again before half, played very hard defense but nerves were still clearly affecting their playing. This point was extremely long as huck after huck was incomplete, and exhaustion caused turfed discs and drops. Finally, an awesome layout catch by #13 Samie Lovat in the end zone gave Manitoba the half, 8-3, with only about 15 minutes until soft cap. Another hard fought point followed half and the soft cap whistle was blown with the score still at 8-3. Manitoba finally worked the disc in once again to score 9-3, game to 11. Both teams began to play frantic offense, picking up the disc immediately after a turnover from the other team and throwing it right away, often resulting in yet another turnover. After tons of incomplete hucks, a connection was finally made for Manitoba to go up 10-3, and Cincinnati lost hope of a comeback as hard cap was only a few minutes away and it was game point for Manitoba. After more huck-and-turn exchanges, Manitoba finally put it in, Sean Brooks to Matthew Artemiuk for the final score just minutes before the hard cap whistle is blown. Manitoba MOFO wins the Mixed division, 11-3 over Cincinnati OCD.
2006 Fall, UPA Ultimate News
posted by J @ 4:52 pm
