Regionals - Day 1

It all came down to this. Detroit, Michigan played host to the 2008 Great Lakes Regional. The top 16 teams from Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, West Virginia, and Kentucky took the field to determine which two teams would represent the region at Nationals.

We had taken the 2^nd seed in the East Plains Section and were now seeded 8^th going into the tournament. The Great Lakes Regional was set up in a double elimination bracket format. Two losses, you’re out. No time to get it back Sunday, no other tournament to rebound; your season is over.

A 40 minute drive ahead of us, we left the hotel at 7 am sharp (good work on that one guys). We arrived at the polo fields with copious amounts of warm up time, so we took advantage of it and got ready to play. Cleated up, we started our warm up about an hour before our game. Some dynamics, drills, sprints, scrimmages, story time with headwear, and a hell of a lot of excitement highlighted the hour of anticipation until we stepped on the field. It was game time.

Miami was pitted against University of Chicago (9^th seed) in our first round game. We came out strong and refused to let them in it from the start. The wind was gusting and we threw a smothering zone to take their offense out of it. Miami takes the first 3 or 4 points and forces Chicago to take a timeout and regroup. There was electricity in the air; after every score we ran on the field letting the entire complex know Miami was here to play. Our defense refused to let them move the disc, pushing them back, and trapping them on the sideline. We took a convincing halftime lead and decided there was no letting up. A hiccup for a few points was fleeting, but instead, Miami’s patient offense and hard defense steamrolled through the rest of the game. Big plays on both sides of the disc and good execution led to only 6 scores from the Chicago side and gave Miami the 15 points it needed to get a quarterfinal matchup with #1 seeded Michigan.

We like to make a point of refusing to let the “big boys” intimidate us and prepare and play like it’s any other team. Once we get it in our heads that we can run with the top teams, we loosen up and play some solid ultimate. We came out of the gates with a clear apprehension to execute the way we know how. The exceptional season that Michigan was having and their extremely talented roster put us on the defensive from the start. We surrendered O points like it was nothing and could not make use of turns on D. A lackluster first half found us down about 8-1 or 8-2. It was a brutal game on our end and the final score reflected it. Score reporter has it at 15-6, but I happen to think it was 15-4. Michigan’s elite group of players and our inability to find any semblance of an offense were the nails in the coffin. Not looking to dwell on the loss, Miami took a long, deep breath on prepared for our next game.

In between games we’d run around and catch all the awesome action unfolding on all of the different fields. We learned that our next game would be against Kalamazoo (repeat from last year) after their win over Indiana. In the Michigan game we abandoned our zone D but decided to put the pressure on the Kalamazoo handlers. This game started much like the Chicago game. We were fired up and ready to come back from a blowout loss. Kalamazoo couldn’t run an effective zone offense and our defense forced turn after turn after turn. Besides flirting with some sloppy points, we had the game under control from the get go. Regaining the fire we lost in the Michigan game, Miami put up another 15-6 victory.

Here we were again. Win/Loss/Win. A fourth game on Saturday to determine who gets the right to play on Sunday. We were in the same game last year and put up a 6-2 run to start the game on Notre Dame. A timeout from Notre Dame and a complete meltdown later, we lost 15-8. A disaster of a last game. We huddled up and committed to a different outcome this year. Only half the teams in the Great Lakes were left standing, still with a shot at Nationals. Michigan State stood in our way to a ticket for a second day of play.

We learned quickly that State was another team that zone was not going to work against. We abandoned the defense that had bolstered victories earlier that day, dug our spikes in, and played some hard man D. A close first half was highlighted by inordinate amounts of turns. The wind was gusty and strong all weekend, making it hard for cutters to safely and easily catch the disc. We took the half 8-7 and punched in another to go up two breaks. That’s when it started to fall apart. They scored their O point and then we got broken. Tie game, 9-9. Our offense gives the disc up, they break, 10-9 State. Another break, 11-9 State. To make it 5 straight points, State scores another and widens the gap to 12-9.

Miami is a team that can go on runs; a team that can get emotional and take over a game. We can get momentum and do some special things. This ending was special.

We scored our next O point after the horn had sounded for soft cap. 12-10 State in the lead, with the cap on, game was to 14. Miami buckles down and breaks MSU to bring it within one. Feeling the momentum swinging, feeling that electricity running throughout our day, we were mounting the comeback. We forced another break to tie the game at 12s. Nothing’s stopping us now. The entire game had a question looming “Would this be the last time 8 seniors would ever play in a College Ultimate game?” The answer was in the balance and Miami capped a spectacular 4 point run to push MSU to the brink. At 13-12 (Miami leading), Michigan State took their offense down the field and put in a goal that forced the 13-13 tie.

Double game point, universe point, the last point to decide who’s going home and who still has a shot at Nationals. One more point would decide the fates of many and the evening air was palpable with nerves and excitement. The culmination of a season, of many seasons, came down to this one point. A line of stalwart veterans received the disc and went to work. An incut here, a swing pass there, Miami was patiently working the offense up the field with wind gusting across the field. Out cuts were difficult to pay off because of the intense wind but Snaps was deep. He was deep and he was open. This game was all or nothing and Jack decided to make it all or nothing on this throw. He puts up a flick huck from mid-field, with a considerable head/cross wind, and time just stopped. Our hearts stopped and no one inhaled or exhaled for those 6 seconds. The flick was forced OI and it started to travel the length of the field. It started to carry left and Snaps backtracked, inching closer and closer to the out of bounds line. He peddled backwards some more and it looked like the wind might carry the throw a few feet too far. An entire season on the line and it was going to be decided in mere moments. The throw starts coming down hard, Snaps stops a couple feet from the line, and puts his hands up. Behind his defender, two arms extended, Snaps catches the most decisive huck in Miami history. The disc firmly in his hands and feet in the endzone, we erupt. Time went from completely stopping to a complete blur. Someone hit the fast forward button because in an instant a scattered mass of white jerseys stormed the field and mobbed Snaps with sheer elation.

With a sideline of cheering onlookers, we jumped around the end zone in pure chaos. A sea of bodies celebrating what we had accomplished as one. We completed an unbelievable late game comeback by scoring 5 of the last 6 points. It was an unprecedented feat for this program, a thrilling game, and we were still alive to play another day. Out of over 500 teams in the nation, (at this point in the respective Regional tournaments), we had outlasted all but 35 of them. A chance to play on Sunday and take our shot at the 2^nd spot to Nationals; it was beyond exciting. All of the conditioning, drills, and countless hours preparing ourselves through the years was paying off.

We somehow composed ourselves enough to survive a car ride back to the hotel. We showered up and made our way over to the Olive Garden conveniently situated next door to our hotel. Salad, breadsticks, and excessive amounts of pasta/lasagna/chicken/etc. sat triumphantly in our stomachs ready to turn into energy for Sunday. We retired to our rooms and slept soundly with dreams of upsets on a road to Boulder…