Well, this game started off with a few glaring issues. First, Surprisingly Thicker (skyblue) and Tealing and Dealing (Teal) are definitely too close of colors for both of our teams to wear our normal jerseys, but luckily skyblue elected to wear white for the game (thanks Jenny!!), so teal got to wear their snazzy Jags jerseys. Issue #2, there was a giant puddle right in the middle of our field. Both teams were a little torn on what to do with this, with some players wanting to play in the puddle and splash around while other players wanted to modify the field so we didn’t have to deal with it. After a long 20 minutes of trying to work the field around the puddle, we realized we’d just suck it up and play in the puddle. Which I was totally down for.
The game started a little sloppy for Tealing and Dealing. It was obvious that players on both fronts were trying to avoid the puddle in the first half, and I felt like this led to some lazy play, particularly on our side. We came out on O and despite scoring first, we would end up going down 8-6 at half, coming out on D after half. I didn’t feel like we did anything particularly awful with our play, but rather just uninspired play. We would have an unforced turn and it seemed like we would just give up on defense. But luckily we have the king of halftime speeches himself, Joe Fleury. Joe reminded us that we play our best when we play loose and it felt like tensions were high, so this was just a gentle suggestion to have fun and the game will come to us. And in the 2nd half, that’s exactly what happened. Just like against red, we had a halftime deficit to make up. We’d come out of halftime breaking 3 times in a row, putting us up 9-8, back on serve. We didn’t do anything special this half besides up our defensive intensity and create turnovers for Thicker. We played loose on offense and at this point, I think everyone’s shoes were soaked, so no one was afraid of the puddle anymore. The rest of the game was pretty much on serve, with us getting one more break and winning 15-13. Close game and although we won, I’m still upset that no one had a layout into the puddle. This was a big missed opportunity for some splishing and splashing summertime fun.
Now for highlights. This was probably our worst attendance of the season, with 5 players out, so playing time was heavy for everyone there. Nes continued to show off her poise and confidence against a zone. Fletcher wasn’t feeling great, yet had some timely plays including a beautiful backhand huck to Josh and the game-winning hammer to the one and only Sam. Sam also continued to do his thing, being a menace in the zone with his variety of throws. Liz and Caio provide so much space to operate on the rails, pulling defenders and moving into the cutting space when we get in a pickle. Manny was poised with the disc despite many fast counts at stall 8. Ellie continues to be superhuman on the defensive end, adding 2 more D’s and a score to her brilliant season. She also does a great job staying chilly with disc even when our handlers are being silly. Josh had a huge impact with a 1-2-3 game (1 assist, 2 scores, 3 D’s). I don’t usually write these reports to hype up myself or Joe, but I’ll have to write a generous snippet about us today. Joe and Billy played their best games of the season respectively. Billy contributed big with 7 D’s and 5 scores while Joe had 5 assists and 2 D’s. Joe had some crazy throws in there including a huck to Ellie, a huck to Billy, and another crazy huck to Billy for our PLAY OF THE GAME. I wasn’t really even open, but Joe just ripped an inside flick perfectly in to the back corner of the end zone and hit me great in-stride. I also can’t mention Joe’s game without mentioning the hammer he threw that went 30 feet into the sky, which might’ve been the highlight of the day (for comedic reasons). I almost gave Joe the MVP, but decided he has to get 10 assists if he wants that honor. Instead, I’m giving it to someone who has played great all season, and has been #2 or #3 on the MVP tracker a few weeks, Haydn!! Haydn has been great all season, providing cool and collected cutting and handling for our team. But I think what really separates him from a lot of players his his tenacity on D. I didn’t know who Haydn was before this league, and now I feel confident putting him on any player in this league. When the disc is in his hand, I know the right throw will be made, which makes him amazing as a popper or handler in the zone. He finished with an assist, a score, and 2 big D’s that really helped us make our 2nd half comeback.
Surprisingly Thicker is a force to be reckoned with. They made this game very difficult for us throughout and they were missing a few key pieces. Aaron Colverson did Aaron Colverson things. Ben was absolutely slicing up in the midfield. Thomas was a pest on defense, making my life tough and having some great catches on O. This is a team I did not think would have such success, but their balance of cutters, handlers, and experience makes them a really tough matchup. This was a super spirited game and definitely one of the more fun games I’ve played this season. Teal is definitely a 2nd half team, making multiple late game comebacks. We definitely have to work on our energy in the 1st half, although a good comeback is really hype. And I’ll say it, I think playing in the water was kind of fun. Would do it again. And if you ever find yourself playing on the marsh field, here’s a tip. Get wet early. Your defender won’t want to cover you if you run right through the water early. That’s it. Seal the Teal.