CHAMPIONS!
We had a great weekend, showing that we could battle the wind and snow (yes, snow) to pull out another tournament victory (the third Brown tournament sweep of the year!). We showed that we could win the mind game. Down 9-3, we cut off Tufts' streak not once but twice, pulling ahead the first time scoring 11 points to their 1 point to put us 14-10, and then pulling it together once more at 14-14 to win 16-14. Great job Disco!

A post on rec.sport.disc:

Despite the howling winds, driving snow, and sub-arctic temperatures, I found myself thoroughly entertained as I watched the women's finals at Yale Cup this weekend. It was a fantastic game, between clearly two very talented teams, Tufts and Brown. As I do not get to watch many games in person, I am less than familiar with the names of many players, and I apologize in advance for any mispellings (I pieced together names and numbers from cheers, web sites, and the like). That being said, allow me to offer an account of this exciting game.

Both Tufts and Brown had little trouble advancing to the finals, Brown having had the luck of a forfeit in the semifinals. Thus, the two squads were itching for a competitive, hard-fought game. Brown took the first point, marching the disc up the field against Tufts's quasi-zone (apparently three people playing zone chasing the disc, and man-to-man behind them). It looked like it may be just another blowout by Brown, something the rest of the women's field at the Yale Cup seem to know all too well.

Tufts, behind the impressive handling of Johanna Neumann and Sally Mimms, stormed back to score the next goal, and the next, and the next. The quasi-zone was causing major problems for Brown. It forced Brown to make many swing passes behind the cup, hoping to break through or go around. The man-to-man behind the cup, however, prevented Brown from effectively utilizing their poppers and wings. It came as no surprise that passes would be dropped or thrown away in the cold and windy conditions, and Tufts forced Brown to make lots of passes near their own goal line after either a pull or a punt by Neumann. Brown, I am told, was missing at least two of their usual zone handlers (Megan Owen and Danielle Schwartz), and it showed.

Tufts had no interest in working the disc near their own endzone against the Brown (true) zone. A pass or two, and then a punt down to Brown's end of the field by Johanna was the plan of the E-Women. Once down there, their stifling D led to turnovers and quick strike scores.

The first half was all Tufts, and the teams went into the huddle at 8-2 Tufts.

Coach Lori Parham psyched up her team during halftime, and they came out with confidence and hunger for the win. Brown's zone offense was moving the disc in the second half much more effectively than in the first, behind excellent popping by Whitney Kakos and Rebecca Center, and confident handling by several of the women including Pauline Lauterbach, who saved offensive possessions on numerous occassions by making excellent catches of throws caught by the wind. Plus, the defense was humming, and Neumann's hucks were being knocked down time and time again (often by Lauterbach), not to mention the several point-blocks Kakos dished out to Neumann.

Not quite all of a sudden, but after efficient offensive possessions following inspired defense, Brown went on a 8-2 run to knot the game at 10s. Tufts seemed to be gaining momentum, but Brown just kept at it, going up 11-10, then 12-10, then 13-10. At this point, one would expect a team to just roll over and play dead. But not Tufts. They got their heads screwed on straight and were ready to battle. Tufts marched down the field, only to be stuck in the forehand corner. To no one's surprise, as the count got high, team leader Neumann cut up the line to the front corner and looked to be free from her defender for the goal. The disc was put to her at the front cone, but Center laid out at the last moment to knock the disc out of bounds and deny the goal. Brown then went 70 yards to go to game point, 14-10.

Again, a lesser team would throw in the proverbial towel, but Tufts has spirit, and, equally important, confidence. After an unbelievably long hell point, with Brown squandering several chances within 5 yards of Tufts's goal, E-Wo put the disc in the goal, and staved off an early exit. 14-11. Another tremendous pull by Neumann had Brown starting the point on their own endzone. During Brown's run (from 8-2 Tufts to 14-10 Brown), quite obviously, Neumann's pulls for Tufts were a non-factor. But, now that Tufts scored, they had their most potent weapon available again: field position. Neumann's pull set Brown up deep in their own endzone, and they barely made it out before the Tufts quasi-zone led to a turnover and transition goal. 14-12 Brown.

Again, and again, Tufts played the field position game to their advantage and tied the game up at 14 all (game to 16 now), with Tufts pulling. Once again, Tufts forced the turnover, and were marching toward their first lead in a while. Again, the forehand up the line to the front cone, and again Brown prevents a devestating score, this time courtesy of an athletic lay out D by Addie Egan. Inspired, Brown walked the disc down in business-like fashion, patiently using every player to break the quasi-zone, even several first year players who may not have had stellar throws, but were patient with the disc ('Bubbers' (?) and 'R.V.,' among others, were creating space on the wings, and getting the disc when the defense did not respect them). Brown up 15-14.

Now that Neumann was no longer pulling, Brown saw their opportunity and took it. Poppers Kakos and Center, and handlers Kate Leslie, Sarah Cook, and Perry Kurshan worked the disc so patiently that Tufts seemed to expect a drop sooner or later, considering high wind conditions. But Disco Inferno gave a lesson in fundamentals, throwing and catching through the qausi-zone like they were playing indoors. Finally, they put the disc in the endzone and took the game (and the Yale Cup), 16-14.

Brown and Tufts should both be congratulated for playing an outstanding game of ultimate on a day when other teams had, literally, just given up. It was a hard-fought battle, and though Brown won this round, I am confident that each team learned a little bit more about the other, and intend to use that knowledge to its advantage come Regionals.

Congratulations to Lori Parham and the whole Brown team.

Richard Posner, C.J., U.S.C.A., 7th Cir.