They play a bunch in junk up front and one guy back and the way you beat that is to play two guys deep on the wings, you pump fake deep and see which side their deep goes to, and huck or throw a hammer to the other guy. “I think we did a poor job of splitting the deep. “Truck play a good left/right bracket, and also a front/back bracket where they’ve got a guy camping deep,” reflected Rhino coach Mike Payne. A few points later the game was back on serve after a drop from Hayes, perhaps his only mistake in an outstanding game, led to Duncan Fitzgerald putting perfect touch on a cross field, crosswind flick huck to Hess to tie it up at 7-7. DC got their first break on the board on a five turnover point that culminated in Jeremy Hess getting a heads up block on the goal line and Rowan McDonnell nearly bobbling away a goal on the other end. Once the offense settled down for Truck Stop, the D-Line followed suit. He put five assists on the board in this game, bringing his total to 19 for the weekend, good for third most at the tournament. With the speed and frame of a power cutter but the instincts and touch of a goaltimate aficionado, Monroe has become a menace in DC’s endzone set. Hunting a break to get back in the game, Truck Stop looked to have bottled up Rhino on the sideline, but Raphy Hayes lasered a perfect break flick huck down the line to a streaking Eli Friedman.Īs the half bore on, Truck grew more comfortable and got their small ball working again, relying heavily on Tyler Monroe once they to the red zone. For their part, Rhino were playing loose and looked largely unbothered by the gusts.
Rhino jumped out to a quick 4-1 lead as DC struggled to get their crisp disc movement going in windy conditions. It was a bizarre game, appropriately capped off with a ludicrous finish. To get to that ecstatic climax, Rhino and Truck had to play out a disjointed, hinky game in which Truck Stop kept shooting themselves in the foot and Rhino never quite seemed able to make them pay for it. The problem for Truck Stop was that no one was covering Ian Sweeney.Īs the blading disc soared over Cranston and Lee, Holland just missed getting a hand on the trailing edge, and in swept Sweeney behind the play, clap catching the disc at hip height. Lee was well covered by David Cranston and Troy Holland provided help on the back side. He received the disc around the brick mark and slung a big OI flick huck towards Daniel Lee, as the gathered crowd gasped at the audacity. If you’re Owen Murphy, apparently the answer is to launch a huck into double coverage and let fate or God or whatever take the wheel.Īfter Rhino had just bled away two breaks in a row to a doggedly determined Truck team that was fighting off elimination to force double game point, Murphy evidently decided that he wasn’t going to let a dropped in-cut sink Rhino this time around.
What does one do with this rare shot at redemption? But as Rhino lined up against #5 Washington DC Truck Stop with the score knotted at 13-13 and their season on the line, they had a chance at exactly that. Life rarely offers second chances, opportunities to redeem past mistakes. You may remember how that one played out. #6 Portland Rhino Slam! were receiving on double game point in the quarterfinals of Nationals last season too. Find out how Spin can get you, and your team, looking your best this season. Ultiworld’s 2021 coverage of the club men’s division is presented by Spin Ultimate all opinions are those of the author(s).
Portland advance to semis for the first time since 1993! Octoby Patrick Stegemoeller in Recap with 0 comments Portland Rhino Slam! celebrate catching the quarterfinal-winning goal against Truck Stop.