Women's Division Coverage - Day Three

By Neva Cherniavsky

Quarters:

Due to Godiva's loss yesterday, and Schwa's poor performance against Ozone, Godiva has a dangerous quarters opponent. There are lots of calls early in this tightly contested match. Godiva throws a zone against Schwa which is marginally successful. Schwa's game is not as chilly as Godiva's, but Godiva makes mistakes early and is down 0-2. They clean up and tie it up, and the teams trade. Schwa works it well against the zone with lots of strange choices that are nonetheless completions. Schwa takes half 8-6 and it seems that Godiva's unbroken semis streak may soon be over. Schwa comes out of halftime ready to win, and soon goes up 11-8.

And just like Friday, when Godiva had one of the best comebacks in the history of the game, the Boston team turns it on when it matters. Their offense starts cleaning things up, making catches and connecting long. The defense also steps it up. Johanna Neumann (#13) runs the offense and Mary Catherine "MC" Arbour (#19) makes lots of nice catches on O and D. During their run the cap goes on and it's game to 13. Godiva makes it 12-11. The next point seems as though it will never end. There are lots of turnovers for Godiva in the redzone, mostly execution errors. On four successive possessions, #12 Dominique Fontinette for Godiva has a chance to win game. She has disc on line twice and doesn't connect; then, she misses a difficult huck layout from Neumann and an easier one that she gets up for, only to drop. Schwa's Tracey Satterfield (#27) keeps picking it up and throwing long, sometimes for an immediate turn, sometimes connecting with #11 Val Hamm. Often it's Neumann with the D. On the final possession it's a short throw to Hamm that Neumann blocks. After several throws it's Neumann to Arbour for the win.

Alias gets up on Riot early. Alias is a fast team, with nice long throws which they use to a field position advantage. Moreover, much of the team is used to this style of play and they often catch swill. Riot makes lots of mistakes, due to a change in wind conditions from the beginning of the game. Alias plays good, hard D, especially #12 Beth Cates. Cates has a great all around game, with nice throws and layout defense. Alias zings it through the zone with questionable throws that they complete. On Riot, Deb Cussen (#27) is a pure, hard working handler. She is always in a good position and has beautiful throws in the wind. On defense, Liz Duffy (#37) is making things happen. The game is tied at 6s after several long hell points; then Riot gets their throws together and pulls away to make it 11-7. Alias stages a little comeback to 11-9, but it's not enough, Riot wins 13-9.

The Ozone-Prime game is a huck fest. Prime's zone is not working well against Ozone. The Atlanta team works it up well and sets their own zone, which Prime hucks over. Prime is great at the reads and they have lovely break throws. Ozone is not connecting, with lots of execution errors. It's 8-6 at half for Prime and the Canadian team pulls away. At 14-10, Ozone stages a two-point run but there will not be another Prime meltdown. The final score is 15-12.

In the last quarterfinal, Fury has no trouble with Nemesis. They switch it up a lot on defense. San Francisco would make turnovers but Nemesis would give it right back. Fury is looking like the favorite to win it all.

Note: Schwa was two points away from making this an all-Northwest semis.

Semis:

Prime versus Fury starts first, a matchup of regional rivals. Prime is hucking a lot and pulling it down. Lara Mussell (#77) and Valerie Dion (#66) are big in the air for Canada. But the team as a whole is very good, with no real superstars. They have great body control in the air and seem to come down with all the swill. Still, Fury puts on a mean zone, and converts Prime turnovers into scores. Their offense is patient with lots of break mark throws. They are also no slouches in the air. Amy Little (#9) and Jennifer Donnelly (#00) work well in the backfield. The points are long and ugly, but Fury keeps scoring. They make it 11-4 before Prime goes on a little run to make it 11-7. But the deficit is too much and Fury wins 15-8.

The second semi was incredible - layouts, hucks, point blocks, and lots of drama. The Godiva offense begins the game looking like the old Godiva, with smooth throws to wide open cuts on both the open and break sides. Riot plays tight, hard defense to no avail; for the most part Godiva scores every time they touch the disc. Occasionally they get a little chaotic, but still the teams are trading up to 4 all. Then the Godiva mystique takes over. Riot looks to punt it a lot, and doesn't connect; Godiva turns this chances into points. At half the score is 8-4. Riot takes a deep breath and comes out fighting in the second half. They are laying out all over the place. Hard worker Cussen is everywhere with lovely flick breaks. Riot scores 1, then another, then another. Godiva is making mistakes and punting it, looking stagnant and confused. There are also a lot of calls in this game; on the point to tie it up, the score for Riot is called back and Godiva makes it 9-7. But Riot wants to win. They score the next two points to erase the deficit. Tied, there's a cap on at 11. Riot goes up 10-9, then pulls to Godiva. Neumann has the disc and Liz Penny (#14) point blocks the flick. A few throws later, it's Vida Towne (#9) to Cussen for the win.

At Regionals, Fury beat Riot 13-5 on Saturday, only to lose in the seeding game Sunday. These teams are closely matched, but Fury is dominating this tournament. Both teams are fast and athletic; it will be an exciting final.

All ideas expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the UPA