May 27, 2003
BMO competed at College Nationals last weekend in Austin, Texas. Nationals is a three day tournament, with pool play on Friday; pre-quarters, quarters, and semis on Saturday; and the finals on Sunday. The players want to thank all the alumni, parents, and other fans who made it out to watch us. It was a fun weekend and we hope you enjoyed it as much as we did. We’d especially like to thank you for taking us out for a delicious and carbohydrate-filled Italian dinner on Friday evening, and for taking care of us on the sideline (drinks, ice, towels, cheering).
In our first game at the 2003 Nationals, we played the 16th seed, Penn State. In Austin’s early morning steam, our offense was relaxed and efficient. Our offensive team had one turnover the whole game but got the disc back and scored that point. Everyone played and contributed on defense, earning turnovers and goals. Final score Brown 15, PSU 10.
After a bye spent in our air-conditioned hotel rooms, we returned to the fields for a midday matchup with William and Mary. They came out with a fundamentally solid offense and a flood of defensive poaches (that is, leaving your defensive matchup to get in the way of potential passes in the throwing lane, and potentially get the D). They hoped to fulfill the meaning behind their team name, Dark Horse, with a run of upsets at Nationals; they did so the next day, by upsetting the first seed, NC State, in elimination play. Against us, Dark Horse jumped out to an early lead. Our offense got somewhat flustered by their poaching defense. After a few turnovers, suddenly we were down 4-1. After calling a time out, we rallied somewhat, but not enough to gain the lead. At halftime we stared at an 8-5 deficit.
Coach Nathan Wicks gave us one message at halftime: “Run harder then them, Brown. If we run harder than them on offense, we won’t have to create with our throws, we’ll be wide open. If we run hard on defense, the plays will come. Run hard, Brown.” We came out of halftime flying. Our defense was all over the field, with layout blocks (CJ Hoppel), skying D’s (Jake Keeler), and stalls causing turnover after turnover. We picked it up on offense, scoring whenever we touched the disc. Stifling man-to-man defense by Dan MacArthur, a trailing edge layout block by Neale Mahoney, a flying layout goal by Zip, strong cutting by William Arnold, and a ridiculous above-the-crowd goal by Jake Keeler propelled Brown to a 6-0 run. With a disheartened William and Mary fading in the scorching heat, Brown rolled on, winning the half 10-3. Final score Brown 15, William and Mary 11.
The third game of the day pitted Brown, the tournament’s #5 seed, against Wisconsin, the #4 seed. The Wisconsin Hodags were coming off of an easy victory against Penn State, and ran hard from the outset. Their marks were tough and their defenders were quick. Our offense stumbled and the Hodags jumped out to a 2-0 lead. After calling a time out, Brown picked up the intensity. Brown tried to claw back into the game, with Paul Vandenburg connecting on deep throws to Zip, Arnold and MacArthur, but the Hodags made every throw and catch a challenge. A number of hard fouls and controversial calls led to a heated second half. Tempers flared on both sides, but the teams settled down to play a hard half.
Wisconsin’s offense was very strong, and their talented deep throwers gave Brown a lot of trouble containing their Callahan nominee, Tyler Spindler, who cut deep often. Brown had to grind out every score, while Wisconsin seemed to score in under six passes every time. As B-Mo’s energy faded, the Hodags picked up momentum, taking half 8-5 and finally defeating Brown 15-9.
As the second place finisher in our pool, we drew Michigan in the pre-quarters on Saturday morning. Despite losing star player Josh Ziperstein to a knee bursitis that had severely swollen up on Friday, Brown entered Saturday’s elimination play with confidence and purpose.
In was overcast and somewhat windy for the start of the game against Michigan. Brown came out strong, led by the unstoppable play of Paul Vandenburg. The Pi-High graduate’s throws were on, hitting his deep receivers Dan MacArthur and Will Arnold through head wind, cross wind, and tail wind with precision and touch. Brown Took half 8-6. Zone defense and patient Brown offense in the second half led to us to the next round of elimination play. Final score Brown 15, Michigan 10.
This set up a quarterfinal matchup with two ultimate powerhouses, Brown vs. Carleton. In the last four years, BMO and Carleton’s CUT combined for two national championships, one runner-up, three semifinal berths, and three Callahan Award (national MVP) winners. This matchup, early in elimination play, would turn out to be one of the most competitive games at Nationals.
Each point was fiercely contested, with crisp throws delivered and defenders laying out all over the field. Brown started on defense, forced a turnover and scored the first point. After Brown droped a disc to tie the game at three, CUT marched down the field to take a 4-2 lead. Brown stormed back. Fueled by a trap-zone with big Jake Keeler as a mark and speedy Danny Mac as a goal-scoring machine, Brown roared to a 6-5 lead. Carleton got one break back and then the teams traded goals for halftime, 8-7 CUT.
After the break, a dubious confirmed stall call by the observer on a Brown goal gave CUT the disc, and they marched it up field to score, going ahead 9-7. An amazing point block by Kevin Loo on Carleton’s 6’5’’ superstar gave Brown the disc to tie the game at nine, but they turned it over and CUT took a 10-8 lead. Brown scored to shrink the lead to one. The teams then traded goals. Then when B-Mo came zone, Michael Franz got a huge come-to block. Carleton’s defense responded and got its own turnover and scored that point. Finally Carleton, having had a bye in the pre-quarters, started to wear down the hard-working Brown team. Brown failed to capitalize on a number of opportunities to score in their end zone offense. B-Mo’s cutters seemed a step too tired to shake the athletic Carleton defenders. Carleton finally pulled away for a 15-12 victory.
Although we aspired to finish in a higher position at Nationals, I can confidently say that my teammates and I are not disappointed with our performance. We played a gritty, patient Brown style. We’re a young team that has and will continue to improve and learn how to be as good as we can be.
Stay tuned for an email to wrap up this season of Brown ultimate. This will include updates about our three beloved seniors, announcement of captains for next year, and a look into the 2003-2004 season.
Sincerely,
Neale Mahoney