Condors women 2000

[recap compliments of Corey Sanford]

Saturday:
The first round started off with Brood def. Skirts, Lunch def. Flicks, Condors def. Heroine and the game of the round being San Diego vs. Sugar. Sugar had some players that played with San Diego last fall at Nationals. The Los Angeles based Sugar is trying to build back to where they were two years ago and they were glad to have those players back. Goals traded back and forth in the beautiful playing conditions, with Sugar pulling ahead 6-4. But they could not sustain the fire and San Diego reeled off 5 straight to go up 9-6. Sugar got one back to close the gap, but S.D. reeled off two more to win 11-7. The second round saw Seattle def. San Diego, Sugar def. Skirts, Heroine def. Chick Flicks and a Nationals caliber game, Condors vs. Lunch, with the latter being a contingent of Fury players and weekend pick-ups. Although Lunch showed flashes of their stronger self, the Condors were too much with their entire roster available at the hometown affair. Condors prevailed in the upset. Round three saw everyone hold seed for the first time, with Seattle def. Brood, San Diego def. Skirts, Lunch def. Heroine, and Condors def. Flicks. This closed out pool play in pool B, but in pool A the teams moved on to round four. Seattle def. Skirts and Brood def. Sugar at the cap by only 2. The last round had Seattle def. Sugar and San Diego pulling the upset and def. Brood. Saturday ended thusly:

Pool A
Seattle 4-0
San Diego 3-1
Home Brood 2-2
Sugar 1-3
Burning Skirts 0-4

Pool B
Condors 3-0
Here Comes Lunch 2-1
Heroine 1-2
Chick Flicks 0-3

Sunday:
Sunday morning opened with a crossover between the Skirts and the Flicks to determine which team would advance to the quarters and the unenviable job of having to defeat Seattle. Chalk one up for the hometown team, as the Burning Skirts of UCSB defeated Chick Flicks 8-2. Don’t think the Condors were not out there scouting for talent. Look for some Skirts to star on the Condors this Fall.

Quarterfinals proved what seemed to be observed by most; the pools were not split very evenly. Said one woman, "It’s a bitch to seed these Spring tournaments. It always ends up sort of vague." With Lunch not really bringing the full Fury element, pool B seemed to be the easier route and this was proven in the quarters. Three teams from pool A advanced to the semis, with Seattle def. Skirts 13-2, San Diego def. Heroine 13-9, and Brood surviving a close one against Lunch, 12-10. Only the Lady Condors survived to represent the A pool, defeating Sugar 13-6. Semis were somewhat anti-climactic, with no real close games. All the partying in the Winnebago finally caught up to Home Brood, as Seattle def. Brood 14-9. The Condors def. San Diego 15-9 to set a matchup of two teams from last year’s Nationals, Seattle vs. Condors.

At this point it should be mentioned that this team is called Seattle, not Women on the Verge. Although they were in the finals like they are used to, there were some new names and faces in the mix for Seattle. Along with some players trying out, there were players that will definitely be on the Seattle roster come Regionals. Watch for new players Kati, Mak (from Atlanta), and Beth Wise (from the Philly Peppers), as these women hope to have an impact in the Fall. So with a bunch of new faces, it was only natural that the Condors, playing at home and more familiar with each other, went ahead early. But Seattle kept it close and the teams traded goals through the entire contest without anyone ever pulling away. With the crowd gathered around the field watching the last game being played, the Condors received the pull up 14-13 and going for the win. They got to about midfield twice, but costly throwaways and a drop on a tough low catch allowed Seattle to tie it up. Seattle then applied even more pressure on tough person-to-person D and the Condors again turned it over allowing Seattle to take their first lead at 15-14. And after one last turnover, it was the old school Verge players taking the game in hand, with RP launching the game winner to Brita for the final score. Seattle headed home champs, coming from behind in style, 16-14. They will look good this Fall outfitted in new Gaia jerseys, the first place prize in their division.

Sunday Play
Burning Skirts win pre-quarter vs. Chick Flicks

Quarterfinals
Seattle def. Burning Skirts 13-2
Home Brood def. Here Comes Lunch 12-10
San Diego def. Heroine 13-9
Condors def. Sugar 13-6

Semifinals
Seattle def. Home Brood 14-9
Condors def. San Diego 15-9

Finals
Seattle def. Condors 16-14