small photo set from the semis and finals

In the semis, DoG took out a game Subzero team (that was missing several starters - e.g., Murray, Paco, Goldstein, Rupp) and Metal maintained a couple goal lead on the UK’s Clapham and finally closed them out to bring about a rematch of last fall’s regional finals between the 2 Boston / Cambridge area teams.

Actually, the dingy gray weather was reminiscent of many October weekends at the Devens fields, but the rain stayed away. Metal appeared to have a full or very-nearly full roster, including the new faces from Pike. DoG had 12 or so returners and about 10 tryouts; the only absent and healthy veterans were Doug Moore, Josh McCarthy, and Matt Hims (and Fortunat for Saturday).

1st half:
Metal, abetted by new mates from Clapham, were raucous at the onset, and opened up the scoring on a huck to Jeff Graham. A midrange shot from Forch to recently repatriated New Englander Mike Zalisk evened things up. The game’s first turnover was committed by Metal under heavy pressure, Colin Mahoney ripped down a high floater in transition, and, after a time-out, converted the break to Zip (go figure) at the front cone.

Metal knotted things 2-2 after a long gainer to Danny Clark over fast-closing DoG tryout John Korber. Metal then had a chance to get back on serve after a DoG turn near their own goal, but TM got pushed back some before Zalisk got a sensational layout D reaching around the wrong side of his man, and DeFrondeville ended up hitting Mueller with a 30 yard hammer at a high stall for the tally. DoG next came down in a zone, got a D from Zip, gave it away, got it back and scored to go up 2 breaks.

After another quick turnover, Metal’s Micah Flynn laid out off the mark to get a block on a throw by Ariel Santos, and Metal eventually put it in. After a DoG score credited to a long toss from Ben Friedenson to Jim Parinella, and Graham score for Metal, the score was 5-4 DoG. Next came the 1st of several looong throws from DoG tryout Paul Vandenberg, this one a backhand about 75 yards to fellow Brown alum and familiar target Zip, who flipped it to Parinella for the short score. The play of the game for Metal followed, with Ryan Todd going full extension for a score on a throw tailing away from him, reminiscent of the ultivillage highlight clip he had for Pike last year. Even better for fans of the black and red, the next DoG possession saw Metal’s Stout getting a layout catch D, then catching the goal to tie things up.

The Count showed he, too, had warning track power in connecting with Parinella for a 60 yard gain; Jim threw the very short one to Zip for the assist and a more nicely-balanced personal stat sheet. After Metal went efficiently through a DoG zone to score (7-7), Ziperstein took DoG to half by going WAY up over both Forch and Stout to rip down a hooking blade Al threw from just outside the front cone. 8-7 DoG, receiving to start the 2nd.

2nd half:
In some way that involved my pen’s ink running out, DoG scored (very quickly thru a zone?) to open the 2nd half , then took the game to 10-7 when, after Paul Batten got the disc back for Metal via a handblock on C. Mahoney, Zip took away a deep shot, and DoG ended up scoring from Korber to Mahoney. DoG then really took the game by the scruff of the neck after a Josh Cohen layout D on an in-cut, followed by a beautiful break-mark goal from Mueller to Dylan Boyd.

Metal calmed things a bit with a solid possession to bring it to 8-11, before an easy bomb from Paul V. to Fortunat made it 12-8 in a game to 15. After a miscommunication led to an easy D for Neale Mahoney, crossed signals between thrower and receiver from only about 8 yards out for DoG allowed Metal to cut it to 9-12, beginning a mini-run.

Parinella, apparently playing handler, then turned over an iffy hammer to the middle of the endzone, Stout caught a long gainer, then scored with a hammer to fellow big man Keegan Uhl, 10-12. As DoG awaited the pull, I asked DoG’s Coach Wicks if Paul V.’s big backhands to this point precluded teams from forcing that way; he responded by saying that he wasn’t sure if it was safe to force flick either, so … the next big throw was indeed a long flick from the young handler, but this one hung up some, and Metal’s Stout made a nice defensive play positioning to keep intended target Zip from really having a play. A couple throws later, Stout (again!) lays out to catch a 60 yarder for a goal to further dig in to DoG’s lead, until things return up-field after a travel call on the throw. Metal then turned the next short pass over immediately and DoG quickly scored what had to be a disheartening goal, 13-10.

Paul Batten caught a 30 yarder at a high count to close the gap to 11-13, before Jimmy P hit Forch with a 35 yard flick. On the last chance for Metal’s offense, Colin gave great deep help to D a huck to Graham, eventually leading to Zip to Fortunat to close the door and earn Death or Glory their 2nd Easterns in a row, 15-11.

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From DoG’s point of view, they had to be pretty happy, especially getting the win while trying to keep working a lot of new players into the rotations. Zip looked more comfortable than he ever did last year, and the offense in general was clicking well (4 turns, 2 breaks allowed) often scoring very quickly. Forch seemed to have to carry less of the load, and Al and Jim didn’t need walkers. The defense was able to keep up pressure, reflecting at least in part the conditioning focus so far.

As for Metal, they’re still building, they’ve added talent, and they seem increasingly less likely to be plagued by inconsistent performances from game to game. Also, if opponents don’t know to account for Brian Stout yet, they probably will soon.

Some rough stats:
DoG
Zip: 2 goals thrown, 4 caught, 2 Ds
Forch: 2 goals thrown, 4 caught
Jim P: 2 goals thrown, 3 caught
Al Df: 3 goals thrown
Paul V: 3 goals thrown

Metal
Stout: 1 goal thrown, 1 caught, 2 Ds
Graham: 1 goal thrown, 2 caught
Todd: 3 goals caught
Batten: 1 goal caught, 2 Ds (both handblocks)

This past weekend at the UPA Championships, DoG stepped back into the sport’s spotlight, reaching the semifinals for the first time since 2002 and surpassing their seed (8) and others’ expectations in doing so.

Many of us thought how we played in the first game would be a strong predictor for the rest of our tournament, and the team proved ready to play, beating San Diego 15-3 (a far cry from last year’s double game point escape vs. Goat). Next against Chain, we were not as sharp but pulled ourselves together to win 15-12, playing a strong 2nd half. Last game Thursday, and 1st game of the power pool we’d complete on Friday, was #1 seed (and eventual champ) Furious, to whom we lost 15-10, playing a decent 1st half but a poor 2nd, as the monkeys went on a defensive run similar to last year’s game.

Friday morning we played defending champ Sockeye very close, losing 15-13, but showing ourselves that we could win any game we had left, as our play was improving game to game. The improvement continued in the afternoon as DoG came out strong and put it to local rival Twisted Metal 15-8. So, at 1-2 in the power pool, we finished 3rd and would take on the 2 from the other side, which turned out to be Bravo, after they lost a tough one to Jam. Happily, we had no pre-quarters game to interrupt our afternoon prior to the dinner at Marie’s.

The quarterfinal game Saturday morning against Bravo was arguably over after the 1st couple of points, as the O looked razor-sharp and the D was playing with an intensity not yet seen, making the Coloradans work hard for every single completion. To their credit, Bravo did not fold up entirely, but being down ~6 breaks in the 1st half was way too much, and we closed it out 15-10.

Losing in the semifinals is bittersweet, to be sure, but the sweetness of getting there cannot be dismissed, especially for a team for which the majority of players had never gotten that far before. In brief, the game played out similarly to the previous day’s. We were on serve at half, 7-8, though several chances at being up more had been missed by the D’s offense, struggling versus the challenging wind. In the second half, Seattle made a few more big plays on defense against our O and pulled away a little to win 15-11. It was a hardfought contest, and Sockeye certainly earned its return to the championship game.

The bitter part of the tournament’s end was real, and we had to leave with, and live with, the belief that we could have played just a little better and won the whole thing. Yet, the appreciation for the heart and focus our teammates had displayed for the whole tournament was equally real, and we get to live with that, too.

So, the workouts are over. What began in April, or years ago, is done for now. Game 1, team 1 is upon us. Now we get to see what we are.

And according to JCo, the pig is still intact.

The official updating results site is here: score-o-matic.

The seeds and schedule are out for the UPA Championships, hereafter referred to as Nationals. Nationals, that is, at which we get to try to take down the #1 seeded Canadians, Furious George from Vancouver.

Thurs. the 27th, we face San Diego’s PBR Streetgang, Chain Lightning, and then Furious. We’ve not faced San Diego recently; Chain, we lost to by 1 in August (and knocked out of last year’s tourny by ~3 in the pre-quarters); FG, we beat by 1 or 2 at Santa Cruz. The thing is, that Furious team was missing several stars and has since won the sport’s toughest region, the Northwest. They also came back in our quarters game last year to eliminate us. In fact, games between these 2 teams have almost all been close and exciting through the years.

After Thurs., our wins and losses (and sometimes, others’) will control our path. If we play well enough in Pool A to get to the Power Pools, then we’d face the likes of Jam and Santa Barbara. In this format, the good teams end up playing almost every other good team — so there generally are not easy (or hard) routes to the semis.

If DoG plays its game, and does so from the very first point, it has a chance to return to the semifinals and maybe beyond. For likely the first time, though, in this tournament’s history, 7 or 8 other teams can reasonably think the same way about their prospects. It will be a brawl.

elsewhere:
Alex’ thoughts on what it will take for teams to get through
Jim has “fun” with stats in looking at Pool A likely outcomes

Death or Glory has apparently long been the motto of the British Army’s Queen’s Royal Lancers.

The 17th Light Dragoons was raised in 1759 following General Wolfe’s death in Quebec, with the regiment’s motto of a Death’s Head and the words ‘Or Glory’ chosen in commemoration of him.

Next time we redo our logo, I know who I vote we talk with first.

Official full results

DoG defeated Williams (WUFO), Pony (NYC), and Chuckwagon in torrential rain on Saturday, giving up a total of 8 goals in the 3 games. The finals were at 1130 on Sunday vs. Boston sectional rival Twisted Metal, which had whipped Canada’s GOAT (the 2 seed) at Saturday’s end.

This time around, the DoG/Metal game was a tighter affair early on than it had been weeks earlier at Sectionals. A deep D by Zip that a trailing Metal player caught for a goal on the 1st point, a couple of DoG O turnovers on the goal line, and DoG was down a break midway through the 1st half - a break that would be magnified if not gotten back, since TM would receive to start the 2nd. Fortunately, the D started to find more of a groove and got 2 breaks to close the half. Metal didn’t go away, but DoG, sparked in particular by the energy of Josh McCarthy, played better ultimate in the latter half of the game and the final was again 15-12. The only casualty the team had from a weekend of cool weather, muddy fields, and buckets of rain was Zip’s hamstring, which kept him out of ~ the last 3/4 of the finals. Oh, and Ben, who lost the annual RoSham push-up elimination challenge.

The win gives DoG its 10th consecutive Northeast region title (last loss was in 95, though revenge was served at Nationals), the longest current streak in the Open division.

We won. In fact, DoG has never lost a game at sectionals. This year had us playing oft-times feeder schools Brown and Tufts as well as Maine’s Red Tide before matching up with Boston’s other top team, Twisted Metal. The final was 15-12, with Metal closing the gap at the end, playing hard into the gloaming and benefitting from some DoG sloppiness in closing the deal. Ol’ One-Day Sigelman really came through for DoG, as did whoever got Coach Munter coffee, finally.

Others’ takes: Seigs stirs the pot

With almost the entire roster decided, DoG played its “home” tournament (Devens, MA), the Boston Invitational, at the end of June. For the first time in a couple of years, the locals won the event, buoyed by the return of college’s Callahan award winner, Josh Ziperstein. Both the semis, over Minnesota’s SubZero, and finals, over New Jersey’s Pike, were very close, with the final highlighted (?) - or at least marked - by a 45 minute break for lightning to pass before the DoG offense resumed its possession to score the winning goal.

August saw the team traveling quite a bit, with tournaments in Colorado, Maryland, and California. At the Colorado Cup, DoG finished second behind the hosts, Johnny Bravo. For so early in the season, we played fairly well, though eventually faded a bit in the thin air. We did not fare as well two weeks later at the Chesapeake Invitational, losing in the quarters. Playing, as in Colorado, with about 3/4 of the team, and missing some key vets, the team played respectably on Saturday, losing only once, by 1 to Atlanta’s Chain Lightning. Sunday morning, though, North Carolina’s Ring of Fire blitzed us on their way to winning the tournament.

The Labor Day Invitational in Santa Cruz, CA, presented the toughest and deepest field of competition we’d face until Nationals. All but 3 or 4 players made the trip cross-country. Our performance was, well, mixed. Once the fog cleared on Saturday, we beat Kaos (Bay Area), Furious George (Vancouver), and Oaks (Bay Area), before losing to defending UPA champions Sockeye (Seattle). Sunday, though, the team came out a little flat for the early-morning finish of pool play against Doublewide (Texas) and lost a close game before absolutely imploding versus a Santa Barbara Condors team firing on all cylinders in the semifinals (as a tiny solace, the Condors did go on to win the tournament).