[TFDA] Orange County Spring League -- Tourney Results!

Christian Schwoerke schwoerkec at yahoo.com
Mon May 8 13:23:14 EDT 2006


This past weekend, May 6 and 7, six teams played up to seven two-hour games at the Efland-Cheeks
soccer field in order to prove themselves the best in the second annual Orange County Recreation
and Parks Spring Ultimate League Tournament.  In Sunday’s single-elimination finals, White Trash
Kin overcame Snakes on a Plane, 15-13, to win the right to babysit the league trophy, the Bliss
Cup, till next year’s tourney.  

The six-week season, beginning March 18, spanned the Saturdays leading up to this past weekend. 
Season-ending standings had White Trash Kin on top, with Snakes in second place.  None of the
teams were out of the running for the tournament, however, and it was commonly acknowledged that
the regular season normally had little bearing on the tourney’s outcome.  Typically during the
regular season there is spotty attendance, so it is with relief on the tourney weekend that
captains finally see the fully-manned team they drafted nearly two months before.  (On the other
hand, two teams--Askew/Romantseva and Blue Cheese Incidents--had several key absences this past
weekend.)

Regular Season Standings

1. White Trash Kin       6 2
2. Snakes On A Plane     5 3
3. Chuck Norris          4 4 
4. Askew/Romantseva      4 4 
5. Blue Cheese Incidents 3 5 
6. Luck of the Huck      2 6

Saturday’s weather was clear and dry, a perfect complement to the four games that each of the
teams played in a modified round-robin format, beginning at 9am and concluding at 5pm.  Each game
was played first to 13, with enough leeway (~10 minutes) to ensure that there was adequate travel
time to and from a third, auxiliary field.  With an uneven 8-10 mph wind, most teams experimented
with a zone defense, though some teams relied exclusively on man-to-man defense for the entire
day.

Saturday’s Standings

1. White Trash Kin       4 0
3. Chuck Norris          3 1
2. Snakes On A Plane     3 1 
4. Askew/Romantseva      1 3 
6. Luck of the Huck      1 3 
5. Blue Cheese Incidents 0 4

Chuck Norris upset seed, even while playing with an incomplete complement, beating Snakes in a
lopsided 13-8 game.  White Trash Kin also was dealt a swift Chuck Norris assault and found
themselves falling behind in the second half before a late rally gave them a 13-10 win, and the #1
seed for Sunday.  Nonetheless, momentum seemed to be favoring Chuck Norris going into Sunday’s
play...

In other Saturday play, Blue Cheese Incidents could not find itself all day, though it rallied
strongly in the third round against Luck of the Huck, falling finally 9-13.  The Askew/Romantseva
team went winless till the final round, when they played tough against Luck of the Huck,
outscoring them 13-10.

Saturday’s results led to Sunday’s quarterfinals matchups, with Snakes against Blue Cheese
Incidents and Askew/Romantseva against Luck of the Huck--while White Trash Kin and Chuck Norris
had byes.  In these rematches from the previous day, the outcome remained the same for Snakes
(beating Blue Cheese Incidents 15-10), but proved luckier for Luck of the Huck, able to take a
quick lead at the outset to finish with a 14-9 victory.

Sunday’s quarterfinals round, while beset with a drear, morose sky, was played in largely dry
circumstances.  The semis and finals, however, were marred by several light to heavy drenchings,
with the last third of the finals played entirely in steady, cold rain.  Despite more frequent
mis-throws and doinks, the games were competitive in the semis.  Chuck Norris faced off against
Snakes, but the kick-butt, black-shirted team fell behind at half, 3-8, and could never recover
against the warm and fast-running (!) Snakes.  Snakes went on to win 15-10.  Meanwhile, in the
other semis game, Luck of the Huck was trying to uncover one more shamrock on their way to a
second victory, but White Trash Kin played steadily to take a 14-10 victory.

The finals paired White Trash Kin and Snakes, with Kin having the on-paper advantage of fewer
games thus far played.  The game did not begin that way, however, as the Snakes took the first
point without a miscue.  In the second point, defensive layouts by two of the Snakes (including
co-captain Baker Pratt), indicated that the Snakes were not ready to roll over, much less slither
away.  The first several points were traded, but at 5s, Snakes put on a run and took the half,
8-5.

White Trash Kin’s top-shelf player, Troy Revell, kept the Kin’s offense and defense fired up with
strong play, throwing and catching deep, and keeping close to his man to prevent even the most
innocuous pass from being completed.  Kin’s women, too, were working well in subduing their
serpentine counterparts.  After half-time, Kin roused itself for the first goal of the second
half, bringing the score to 6-8.  Snakes answered, again creating a three-goal margin.  Kin bore
down and over the course of the next six points was able to tie the game at 10s.  Working a
somewhat sputtering spread-motion offense, Kin was most successful in scoring when it kept the
disc moving, with no thrower holding it for more than a second or two.

Snakes were beginning to show signs of fatigue, but Kin was also beginning to wear down, and it
was with some surprise that Kin called a seeming momentum-stifling timeout after going up 11-10. 
With Joshua Murphy, Bryan Steffen, Rocky Payne, Chrystian Plachco, Snakes had themselves a
swift-moving contingent of young talent, so it was no surprise that Snakes was able to come back
after the timeout and again tie the game.  Kin, however, was prepared to push, and it did so,
getting the next two points, going up 13-11.  Scores were traded, with Kin at gamepoint 14-12,
then again at 14-13.  The second time Kin was poised at gamepoint, they did not falter, and the
game ended with Kin’s co-captain Dwayne Purper doing a piroutte reception just over the goalline
to secure the Kin victory, 15-13.




More information about the Ultimate mailing list