Southwest Regionals Recap

The season came down to one weekend. All the tournaments before including Sectionals were considered "tune-ups" to the task at hand. Scottsdale, Arizona and Barrio played host to the UPA Southwest Regionals, hosting 9-Open teams, 15-Mixed teams, 8-womens teams, and 6-masters teams. So in all, there were several hundred ultimate players in town playing on most arguably the best grass in the Southwest.



LA Metro was seeded 2nd in the tournament behind top seeded Barrio. Operation Kapow, Cougars, and Brown Chicken Brown Cow rounded off the top 5. The situation was simple. Top seeds at the end of pool play would play a crossover to determine placement into the Championship Bracket with two wins on Sunday earning a bearth in the finals and a guaranteed bid to Nationals. A loss in quarters or semis would automatically send you to the backdoor bracket, and a harder road for that final bid.


We had been working all season for this. I remember the first practice we had after we had completed the tryout process. Our captains had set the bar high for this season; to qualify for Nationals. I remember thinking that it would be tough and questioned whether the team or I had the mental stamina to do so. The regionals loss to Cougars in 2008 had left a scar on our team and the returners knew how difficult it was to come so close to achieving every ultimate player's goal. However; as the season wore on and the more our team began gelling and playing well, the more I began to believe and the more I realized that we had the potential and the ability to be a Nationals-level team.

The time was now. And every win was not enough. As it has become a battle-cry for our team, "not enough" was on the minds of every member going into Scottsdale. We had won sectionals, but that alone was not enough. We were riding a 12+game win streak, but that too was not enough. We were hungry, we were amp'd. We had our sights set on a goal, and boy did we want it.

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Saturday
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Round 1 vs. Swingline
The first game put us against the 3rd ranked team in our pool, Swingline out of Colorado Springs. The goal of this game was to get us checked in and focused on playing our very best right out of the gate. We played very well going up 4-0 from the get go and then went on a 6-0 run at 7-3 to win 13-3. We played well this game with only 3 turns to show for it but we knew that we weren't playing at our best. Early round slowness definitely showed with many of our players and we didn't have the intensity or energy that our captains demanded.

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Round 2 vs. Love Tractor
The wind began to pickup and it became a straight up and down game with a lot of zone play. We used this game to tweak and groove our zone defenses and were successful in generating easy turns deep in the offensive zone, including a great callahan by Lindsey. Fun game, we went on three 4-0 runs to take the game 13-4.

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Round 3 vs. Mesteno
A very solid team, these guys were the first team that made us work for what we wanted. Although the score-sheet showed us leading the entire game, it was a lot closer and a lot more heated than expected. They ran a lot harder and were more skilled than the previous teams and showed a very formidable deep game. We resorted to playing hard defense against this team and essentially scored two scores for their every one. Breaking up wind, yielded an easy turn/D and thus a down-wind goal. Metro runs away with the win 13-7.

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Cross-over vs. Brown Chicken Brown Cow
It seems like we can't seem to avoid playing these guys. We've played them at nearly every tournament we have entered.

Calstates (W 10-8)
Stanford Revolution (L 8-11)
Discos Calientes (W11-8)
Sectionals (W 9-8*)
Sectionals (W 11-10*)

*-universe point

We had a 5-1 record against this team with the combined score standing at 49-45 in our favor. It is a CLOSE rivalry. Two universe wins at Sectionals, and no win margin greater than 3. So when our team found out that we were playing BCBC, it was no surprise and we knew exactly what we would be up against. Someone on RSD put it pefectly. We could practically call each other's lines whenever we played each other.
The game slotted at 4:30pm after a 2 hour bye so it would test our ability to refocus as well as recover. Apparently we were in good shape as we shot out with an early break with a great play from Trogdor, and then dumped on 3 more to find ourselves up 4-0, taking half at 8-4. BCBC scored 3 breaks from 7-12 to make it 10-12 but we scored the next 3 of 4 points to win 15-11. This game was very intense with both teams showing off their deep guns. It felt like a Sectionals game with members from LA Merge, Strike-Slip, Monster, Lady Condors, and OCD all watching the matchup. We scored the last goal as it was getting dark and with it knew that the win would eliminate the possibility of a potential matchup with powerhouse Barrio before Finals.

We were 4-0 on the day, feeling great as we ended the day at Rays Pizza, and a nice swim in the hotel pool.

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Sunday
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Waking up at 7:00am, there was a certain focus as people got ready, getting their gear together and arriving at the fields. I can honestly say we were probably the first team running our warm up jog around the entire complex in complete silence, focus, and poise. We knew what we had in front of us. Two wins to Nationals.

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Quarterfinals vs. Party Van
From those who played with Pleasuretown, we learned never to take teams lightly. That was something I believe we had improved on over the course of the year. The addition of seasoned veterans with Nationals experience has given the team more mental toughness, poise, and swagger to complement our youth, grit, and energy. We established our dominance with two quick breaks behind the D-1 line and then a 3-0 run to bring it to 8-3 at half. After half, Party Van began putting their offense together and we traded points to bring it to 11-7. Enough was enough, and after a quick timeout and a "wtf let's go" talk by the captains, we went on a run to put it away, 15-9. It was a good win for us and allowed us to work on playing at a higher level than the game before. This was neccessary because we all knew how important the next game was going to be. We watched the last couple points as Kapow beat Cougars in the other quarterfinal to set up the matchup most of RSD wanted to see. On the line was a bid to Nationals.


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Semifinals vs. Operation Kapow
Ultimate is a game of runs. That's what I was told waaay back when I had just started playing competitively, but the more I played, the more I realized how true the statement was in addition to how much a team can feed off of the energy from those runs and how it can turn the tide in a game. Thus was the story with our Semifinals match against Kapow.

We started this game on Defense going up-wind and generated the turn. We worked it up wind very well but turned the disc to one of their huckers on the goal line who promptly hucked it to a streaking receiver for a downwind score. 1-0 Kapow. We were a different team than last year. No heads went down to the ground, no worried looks on our faces. We knew that we missed a golden opportunity but didn't let it get us down. Our top offensive line came on and calmy scored to make it 1's and Kapow then worked it downwind as well to make it 1-2 Kapow. From there our defensive lines turned it on and we went out for a little run.

At 1-2, our offense scored easily with a Kief-Barrs deep connection. Our D-line on was put out and we generated a turn about 10 yards out of their end zone on their handler set. Before their defense could set, we quickly picked up the disc and punched it in for the all important upwind break. Counting that score from 1-2, we went on a 6-0 run to increase our lead to 7-3 and took half at 8-4. Our intensity was up, our offensive line was clicking and our D-line simply could not be dealt with. We were playing well, but we knew that we had to keep up the intensity in the second half.

It was still a straight-up and down wind and despite some messy plays and bad turn overs, we had better efficiency through the zone looks and down-wind offensive points. Kapow had to work against our defense even in the down-wind points while we were able to huck at will to open, streaking receivers or work it under with our women. Before we knew it, we were up 14-9 pulling on defense. Game Point. After a Kapow errant huck, we begin moving up the field. We moved it up about 30 yards with some great handler motion and a stop disc left Keegan with the disc a couple yards behind mid-field. We worked the disc across the field with some quick movement between Trogdor, Holly, and the cutters until Keegan gets the disc back and sees Miller streaking deep.

He throws one HUGE pump fake and freezes the deep-deep (Beau's little brother) who isn't sure if Keegan will throw the huck upwind. I remember seeing a smile come across Keegan's face as he put up a HUGE backhand huck that simply floated into the end zone with no one but metro orange and blue under it. We all knew that that was it... and before we even heard Miller clap the final goal, the humungous sideline that had supported the team the entire game spilled onto the field in a full sprint to the end zone.

We had done it., and the feeling was incredible. As I sprinted onto the field, yelling on the top of my lungs along with teammates as Miller clapped the last goal... I could hear the loud yell from the team as Metroids came from all sidelines. We mobbed each other at the goal; hugs, tears, smiles and laughs. We had accomplished what we had been working for all year. We were going to Nationals. Seeing all the tears in people's eyes, the joy that people had, it didn't sink in until afterwards, huddling up with the team. We talked about how much this meant, and that even though we had another game, we should be proud of ourselves and to soak in the moment. The sun was out, it was beautiful, and standing there in a circle with a team full of smiles, beaming with pride, there was no better feeling. The next 10 minutes were a blur. We were calling friends, texting family, giving each other hugs. In a sense most of us still couldn't believe it. The feeling didn't sink in with many of us, and I'm sure it still hasn't for some of us. In our second year of existance, we had qualified for Nationals. The biggest win so far in my Ultimate career.

Metro advances to Regional Finals vs. Barrio
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Finals vs. Barrio
We let up after our big win over Kapow, and went down early 1-5 to the #1 seed. After a smart time out by the captains, we recovered and began trading and going on mini-runs and lost in the end 9-14. We knew that we didn't play to our best, and with several injuries, we didn't have our full roster playing. Barrio played well and simply out-worked us for the disc. Their handler set was very sharp and we seemed to be playing on our heels the entire game. Nonetheless, we settle for a 2nd place finish in the 09 Regional, one place better than last year... but oh what a difference that made.

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*big sigh of relief*

Ask anyone on the team in the week leading up to the tournament, no one could get anything done. Whether at work, at school...everyone's mind was on the tournament, what it would bring and what had to be done. By game time on Saturday morning, everyone was mentally and physically ready; standing behind our leadership, our role players, our playmakers, and we got it done.
In a nutshell, we accomplished everything as a TEAM, with contribution coming from every single member on this 27 person squad. I am proud to be part of this team, this group of friends, and this family. Our season has brought us closer together off the field and the relationships can be seen through the way we play with each other on the field.


I just want to thank everyone for their encouragement, their support, and well-wishes for me and our team. In the next several weeks, we will be practicing hard and ironing out the kinks in our game. Flights are being booked, Hotels are being reserved, and more track workouts are left to be run. It's been a grueling season, but it's not over yet. Let it be said...

LA Metro is going to Nationals, proudly representing Southern California in Sarasota, Florida.

Sounds like something I could get used to. =)



Till next time,
Hammie
LA Metro #10