Tales from the Electric City

The time and place: Friday, Wendy's, Scranton PA. The Gunx had just arrived and were preparing to eat when Bridget broke the news that day one was cancelled due to the weather forecast. Ouch. No Saturday games. The team was understandably upset about this turn of events, but the mood lightened when we arrived at the appartment we'd be staying at. It was sick, and we partied with Scranton long into the night.

Saturday we were able to play two short scrimmages vs. Scranton and the Scranton alumni. We started strong with a three point run against Scranton but ended up losing 5 - 3. Scranton Alumni rolled for four points straight, before we picked up the slack and scored a few to make it 5 -2 or maybe 5 - 3 (?). Sideline hilarity ensued. People were table-topped, including yours truly. The weather was fairly epic. The mistake that probably cost us the game against Scranton was not setting zones on the turn. Our zone d was looking strong and if we had ran it throughout we probably could have done some more damage.

Sunday: The fields were sort of rolling hills, like a rippling wave. Or something. Anyway, it was kind of neat. In any case it made far less of a difference in the games than the wind did. Wind was something like 20 or 30 mph I'd guess (although honestly I have no clue. It was strong. Yeah.). Obviously, we saw a lot of zone. First game of the day was against Bloomsburg A, and they ran a Florida style four man cup. The Scranton alums also ran a four man, and it left me wondering whether this is directly due to UFUCT's influence or if its just a coincidence. I'm willing to bet its trickle down strategy, but whatever. In any case we got rolled in the first half. Only scored one point, on a crazy OI flick huck that Charlie threw. It dropped way short but was somehow caught just inches above the ground, leaving defense and offense alike flabbergasted.
Second half we rallied, and also began setting zones on the turn instead of man defense, which improved our game a lot. Our zone d was pretty fine, and it allowed us to score three more times in the second half before the hard cap. Final score 12 - 4 Bloomsburg.

Our second match was against Kudztown. They had a dude on their team that looked like BJC and it turned out they actually know each other. Small ultimate world. Gunx came out strong with a two point lead but failed to score again until the second half. By this point we were playing zone every defensive point, and in the strong wind we were able to consistently generate turns. The offense could not convert, but we played some strong offensive points. Doober had a couple of possession saving layout grabs that were pretty sweet. Kudztown had a couple of strong throwers that were able to score despite the wind and our persistent zone, and perhaps also the Gunx got complacent after taking an early lead.

In the second half we went 1 and 1, and the game definitely seemed in reach. Sure we were down five but our zone had rallied and the final point of the game was a series of big offensive plays followed by shut down d before we converted on the third attempt. We might have been able to convert quicker if I had been less intent on jerking it deep. Unfortunately we got capped, and the final score stood at a disappointing 8 - 3, the game an epic comeback that might have been.

The third game was not to be, as RC hammer dropped out and all the other teams had matches. Dave felt that such a lackluster display of testicular fortitude must be punished, and unleashed a mighty shark attack as a challenge to all enemies of the Gunx. Scranton and the other PA teams in attendance are not going to forget us in a hurry, that's for damn sure.

Various statistics:
Points were caught by Kelsey, John, Nathalie, Charlie and me.
Dave and I had three assists each, the seventh thrown by Charlie.
Dave's landsharking was assisted by John, Doober, Mitch, Charlie, Brendan and probably others as well.

Strategic thoughts and mumbo jumbo:
Zone d: Getting pretty sick. Our cups were forcing turns left and right. Our midfielders need to work on shoring up the holes in the cup, and by bacon I need to get more aggressive as a deep. On the other hand, our communication in the zone is getting stronger, and a lot of players began play their roles very confidently.

Zone o had its ups and downs. When it worked we had flow like the Rhymenocerous, but sometimes the wind was just too much and someone would do something silly like huck a hammer or throw a thirty yard OI flick into the wind. Our offensive problems were twofold: Throwing mechanics and decision making. Too many throws were released high, too many open cutters overlooked. Some players had bright ideas like the afformentioned OI flicks and hammers. I'll take responsibility for most of the hammers, although hammer pulls are good money when the wind is fairly consistent. One problem that can be easily addressed is that the cutters need to move more, and stretch out the zone.

Thoughts on the tournament:
Scranton is one heck of a classy team. They ran a great event and although we only got two real games I do not feel that the weekend was in any way wasted. They put us up and threw a great party, and let us scrimmage with them and their alumni. Definitely a team I'd like to play against and party with in the future. In the long run I feel the weekend will prove beneficial for the team, as it was great for team bonding and dynamic building. It was fun. Fun is cool.

Now we come to what is in all likelihood the last week of practices of the year, and the Gunx host Marist this coming Saturday for our final game of the season. If we don't win I'm not shaving my mustache until 2009. We're going to win.