Wednesday, July 18th, 2007
Queen City Tune-Up
Finish: runner-up; 5-2 record, both losses to winner Ring of Fire
(UPA score reporter summary)
The above summary line is almost identical to the one heading the Terminus results back in March, unfortunately. While last weekend’s tournament in Charlotte, NC, did provide a good chance for tuning up the team’s game in the oft-dormant dog days of July, the results were disappointing. After a back and forth match-up to end Saturday which the Carolinians won by scoring 4 of the last 5 goals, Sunday ended with an overwhelming performance by Ring of Fire and a 15-6 rout.
What the weekend did provide was a chance for most of Chain Lightning’s newcomers to get their feet wet playing with their new teammates, and several games with lots of playing time for the ~15 players present, on fields whose quality is comparable to those in Sarasota.
Rookies Segal, Gainer, and Seiling display varying degrees of scoreboard comprehension
Outside of the expected level of play from Ring, both Los (from the Raleigh area) in pool play and El Diablo (from Savannah/Charleston/Atlanta) in the semifinals gave Chain well-played games, perhaps pushing us harder than we expected. The cross-over / “showcase” game on Saturday afternoon with Ring saw Chain convert 5 defensive breaks for goals, only to have Ring answer each time, keeping the score either on serve or to Chain’s advantage, until Chain’s offense faltered late, giving up a 12-11 lead on the way to a 13-15 defeat.
The video of the finals would be a textbook example of the tape you just burn on the way to putting the game behind you. Okay, maybe you watch once, in case the images of Ring players catching deep goals behind their defenders and Chain throwers responding to pressure by basically handing the disc to their opponents were not sufficiently seared in your collective memories. The Atlantans scored the first 2 goals of the game, on defensive breaks no less (one bomb from Kid, one near-Callahan zone D from Kid); they even got the D on the next point, but a first-pass turnover led to a RoF score. Then they broke the Chain offense 6 times in a row, on their way to taking the half 8-3. The second half saw half a spark from the Chain players, but the errors, especially near the goal line, were too many, and the Ring defense fed on the excitement of the pasting.
Kirby on the receiving end of a long shot from Barrett, providing a rare highlight from the finals
–photo via Ian–
Ring of Fire did a tremendous job of putting pressure near the frisbee on defense and converting goals quickly, frequently on long throws to receivers running open deep (vet Kris Bass had 2 particularly nice grabs). Their leadership seems to have things headed in the right direction, even in the absence of Augie Kreivenas (retired), Ray Parrish (not playing this year, I believe) and Chris Hinkle (playing from out of region, but absent this weekend). There are also at least a couple of new, younger players on the team who provided some extra athleticism and intensity, fiery playmaker Stephen Poulos (formerly of Tampa’s Bulge) in particular.
For Chain Lightning, the outcome should serve as a good, early reminder of what kind of games one sees as the summer and fall progress, and how much work it takes each season to be ready to compete in those games.
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