and we continue...
Coming into the weekend taking the 7th seed, the Dogs were in a pool including Regional rivals Duke and UNC-W, and in a pool with a lesser-known PA team from Millersville.
The Dogs were coming into North Carolina hurting with both Hickson's (Michael, Scotty), Kofi Thompson, and others that could not make the trip out. Along with absences, the Dogs had to deal with the unfortunate knee and ankle injury of Andrew Roca that happened the Tuesday practice before. Now equipped with a fancy Don Joy brace, his return is questionable for the Tally Classic.
Saturday:
Millersville was a big surprise in this group as they showed the Dogs in the first game that it didn't matter if no one has ever heard of them. They played hard and came down with great catches that saved them each game. The Dogs however kept it close as they started inching back. Coach Bill Igar was testing out some new lines and new strategies that would assure victory in this very chilly, windy morning. Leading away the defense was Ben "Lefty" Kuykendall and John "Waldo" Sullivan. There line was fresh with the middle tier which took a huge step up on the team this weekend. Leading away the offense was Brandon Geick and newcomer Handler Kyle Bettis, who really came into this position almost seamlessly. The Dogs O-line consisted of Quint Wharton, Jeff Surmin, Brandon "COLDShaw" Shaw, and some new faces along the way such as Matt Carlson. The Dogs lost this one 9-12.
Duke Game (AKA the Matt Carlson Miracle Game)
With a hard loss to an unknown, the Dogs had to push through and beat their Regional rivals setting the tone for the year. This is where Matt Carlson comes into play... He couldn't be stopped. Period. Racking up almost 5 D's and 4 scores, he was almost as deadly on offense as he was on defense... Almost. Because this kid was covering Duke's most solid handler/cutter/do-it-all type and shut him down for the edge we needed to win. This game started Matt Carlson's amazing weekend, without a doubt Player of the Weekend. The offense putting it in when we needed it and the defense wearing them down as well as on a turn "Lefty" letting the guns loose... the Dogs came away from the game victorious 11-10.
UNC-W
Coming fresh off the knowledge that Millersville just beat UNC-W, the Dogs still had hope to take the 2nd seed in our pool, just have to beat the Seamen. UNC-W still a Regional darkhorse at times, played a hard fought game against the Dogs. Matt Carlson is still putting in work with the help of unstoppable break throws by Brandon Geick. Kyle Bettis and Jeff Surmin were both handling and making it look easy at certain points. The Dogs took it to almost to universe point, and lost it right on the goal line. Tough way to end the game and day, but the Dogs looked forward to dominating Sunday. Final Score: 14-16 UNC-W.
Saturday Night/Sunday Morning Before the Games:
In the first match of the "Markers", Dan Andrews took the Gold. No one got injured doing this game so thats good enough for me.
Sunday:
First game of the day was Rhode Island. All the teams the Dogs played that day were relatively unknown, but UCF won't make that mistake twice. This game was a fight to the finish. The Dogs really picked up their man defense this weekend and this game was a little different. All Zone, All Breaks... For Geick that is. On the O side, they kept breaks to a minimum and kept the disc moving. On D side everyone wanted a piece. By the end of the game, the Dogs racked up on D's and almost got two callahans (on the same point). Charles Andrews caught the game winning Callahan that started the day off right. UCF takes it 9-8.
After Rhode Island, Edinboro, Drexyl, and George Mason didn't keep within 5 points of the Dogs.
The Dogs blewout Sunday feeling the sting of not being in the Championship Bracket... But the Dogs still played as if they were in the Championship bracket.
So some shout outs...
Player of the Weekend: Matt Carlson
Vet of the Weekend: Kyle Bettis
Rookie of the Weekend: Taylor Armstrong (made a recovery for the first day and made a huge play that put the Dogs closer to a win)
Markers Champ: Dan Andrews (he'll be defending his title against the B-Team and Womens team come Southerns)
Tally Classic comes up this weekend and all the Dogs except for Roca (for now) are ready to play. This should be the Dogs first big test with their full roster.
Someone took their time and effort to push sleep aside and finish the Ultimax video in one sitting. What a nice guy.
========> NoPy Out.
Dogs of War 2010: Ultimax from Dragpo Productions on Vimeo.
The Dogs travel to Greenville, North Carolina for Ultimax.
No comments:
Post a Comment