Colorado Cup recap

After a month-long break and a grueling retreat weekend, Riot was back in action for Colorado Cup during the weekend of July 30-31st. This was the first time Riot has attended Colorado Cup and the tournament has grown in prestige and competitiveness over the years. This year the field of 16 team was split into 2 divisions, with Riot in Division I along with other powerhouses Fury, Capitals, Traffic, Brute Squad, Molly Brown, Zeitgeist, and Underground. Riot was eager to test itself and get lots of reps with a relatively small roster. The team got its wish with some incredibly tight games and a roster of just 15 healthy players by the end of the weekend.  

Riot's first game on Saturday featured Zeitgeist in the Bay Area's first tournament of the season. Turning it over just a handful of times, and connecting well deep, Riot jumped out to a 7-0 lead before taking half 8-2. Zeitgeist put a few more points on the board in the second half, but the game was all Riot as the match finished out 15-5. It was a true team effort with Ds, goals, and assists scattered throughout the statsheet. As it turns out, that game ended up as the only one all weekend where the expected roster of 18 players were all healthy enough to play.

The next game was the 1-2 match-up of the pool against Capitals and Erin was out from the start with calf cramps. The last time these two teams played, Capitals came from behind to win in the semifinals of Nationals, leaving a bitter taste in Riot's mouth. This time, the plot line was a little different. Riot jumped out to a 3-0 lead on the strength of D-blocks by Kawai, Rohre, and Claire, with Smalls and Surge scoring off of hucks. Capitals then scored their O point and earned two breaks back off of Riot turnovers. Tie game 3-3. Capitals earned another break after a Riot endzone turn to go up 5-4 and then took half 8-6 on an errant Riot huck. Early in the second half, Claire also went down with a quad injury, leaving 16 players to finish out the game. Riot quickly generated a break with its junk D to tie the game at 8 a piece and the two teams traded until Capitals earned the break back off the fifth Riot endzone turnover of the game. Facing a 9-11 deficit, it was crunch time for Riot. Quickly working in the next O point, the following D point was a bit of a gut-check as Capitals had the disc three times but each time Riot D clamped down and was able to get it back before Alyssa found Shannon for the goal to tie the game up again. 11's. Riot again got the disc back with hard-nosed defense and scored to take the lead for the first time since 4-3. The soft cap was on, game to 14, and Riot was now on a roll. A Riot D-block set up the ex-Brute Squad connection of Rohre to Kawai to bring it to game point and then Nora earned a D for Riot to cap the game with a Bermi to Val shot. Riot had gone on a 5-0 run to finish out the game 14-11.

The last pool play game of the day was against a familiar foe: Traffic. For this game, we'd regained Erin in the rotation, but Claire was still out and Drew joined her with matching quad injuries. Riding the energy of the last game, Riot came out hard and efficiently took a 4-1 lead. Again, Riot's deep game was clicking with pinpoint hucks coming from Caitlin, Maddy, Bermi, and Val, allowing Riot to take half 8-4. After halftime, unforced errors quickly lead to two breaks in a row for Traffic. Riot righted the ship with a Bermi-to-Kawai huck goal at 9-6 and the teams traded the next few points to 11-9. Then a handler turnover gave Traffic a short field to work with and they got one step closer, 11-10. On Riot's subsequent O point, two huck turnovers had to be recovered with great defense by Bermi and HM, allowing Riot to hold its advantage. The end of a long, hot day was contributing to Riot execution errors and Riot gave up another break to allow the game to be tied at 12-12 when the soft cap came on. After two points of trading, it was double-game point, with Riot receiving. A nice Bermi huck set-up Riot just outside the endzone and HM was able to reel it in for the win, making this the second DGP victory for Riot over Traffic this season.

The high altitude, blazing sun and heat had certainly taken its toll on the team, so the evening was all about recharging. Showers, ice baths, and a delicious dinner cooked by our hosts Susan Turnquist and Tim Hibbs definitely helped matters. As did the laughs that invariable come from Riot Trivia. Any guesses as to who on the team has tied her head to an airplane seat so she could sleep? 

Winning the pool meant that Riot benefitted from a first round bye and our quarters match up was the winner of Showdown vs. Underground. Underground emerged victorious 13-11 over the Texas women, setting up the third Seattle vs Seattle game of the season so far. Riot's offense had struggled on Saturday to find its rhythm, but on Sunday morning it had found its groove. Riot only had two turnovers in the entire first half and opened up its deep game with a completed huck almost every point. Coming out of half time with an 8-2 lead, Riot worked the under game a bit more in the second half, en route to finishing the game 15-3. 

On to semis. Traffic upset Molly Brown in their quarters match-up, so Riot faced Traffic for the second time of the tournament--the fourth time this season. Muscle injuries kept Erin, Claire, and Drew out of this game, so the sub calling was relatively easy with only 15 players in the rotation to choose from. The teams traded breaks until Traffic capitalized on a Riot miscue and took the lead at 3-2. Riot had chances to earn back those breaks on its next two D points, but misfired hucks and an endzone turnover kept the game even at 5-5. The next point, Riot got its break back to stay on serve when Nora ran down a Maddy huck for the goal. Despite multiple first pass turnovers on the next point, Riot earned another break to go up 7-5, an advantage the team held into half at 8-6. A Rohre D-block out of half time helped Riot extend its lead to 9-6 and Riot had a chance for a break the next point but did not capitalize. The next point was a hell-point with Riot earning multiple D's only to give the disc back on huck turnovers. Fatigue appeared to be affecting both Riot decisions and execution and Traffic was finally able to put it in. Traffic got another break the next point, tying the game at 9's. Riot ground out the next point with patient offense, setting up Kreilkamp to throw the goal to Jinny cutting up-line. Traffic answered with its own no-turn point. Then, a Riot drop and throwaway allowed Traffic to take the lead 11-10 and three points later more Riot miscues let Traffic extend its lead to 13-11. Riot scored its O point on a long awaited Surge to Val connection, but Traffic refused to cough up the disc on its possession. Riot fought hard for its next O point, earning back a Riot endzone turnover with a clutch lay-out hand block by Maddy on Traffic's own goal line.  Riot then patiently worked it against Traffic's straight up mark until Bermi found Shannon in the goal for Riot to come within one at 13-14. Traffic scored their last possession with no turnovers, winning the game 15-13. Riot and Traffic now stand at 2-2 on the season as regional rivals expecting to play each other again at Sectionals and Regionals.

Going in to the weekend, Riot's goals were to work on the new offensive and defensive concepts that the team had practiced at its retreat the weekend before. Not all were executed perfectly but Colorado Cup was another step closer down the road towards where the team wants to be come October. 

A huge thank you to all the friends and family who supported the team in Boulder. Abby chauffeuring players to and from the airport, the Eun-believably delicious slurpees on Sunday, and an Ambler relative on every sideline. Very, very much appreciated!

And now to prep for ECC...

[Photos courtesy of Ken Forman of Forman Photo]