May 2007 Archives
We are very, very proud to announce that your UrbanHonking Croquet Team is now in the third spot of the Portland Croquet League. With Steve Schroeder out of town this past weekend UrHo brought in the first alternate, Josh Berezin. He teamed up with Daniel Peterson and played the first match of week two. While there was a practice game on Saturday, the UrbanHonking team was simply outclassed by the devastating skills of the Make Like team. Berezin attempted to skip ahead to assist Peterson, but the tricky L-shaped course and the chaos of the close quarters only gave UrHo a likely third place, for which there are no points.
Make Like ran the course and scored both first and second place, taking all three points for the match and leaving both UrbanHonking and Courier with no points. Certainly we were all nervous going into the second match where Mike Merrill and Matt McCormick (M.M.M.M., or "4M") drew red, leaving them with the disadvantage of being the first to move out.
McCormick and Merrill both flailed aimlessly in the beginning, unable to pass the third wicket. In an amazing and lucky comeback, Merrill and McCormick used their famous teamwork to leapfrog to the front of the pack, but they were still two to three wickets behind the leader, Corey Lunn of Team Make Like. All hope seemed lost and Merrill was grumbling about the strategic advantages of going on the attack to try to take Lunn out of the lead, but McCormick urged they stay the course and Merrill was able to make a perfect series of six shots to win the game, leaving second for Make Like.
So the final score was Make Like 4, UrbanHonking 2, and Courier 0. And that means the final results are:
1. Half & Half :: 8 points // 3 wins
2. Make Like :: 6 points // 2 wins
3. UrbanHonking :: 4 points // 2 wins
4. Acorn :: 3 points // 1 win
5. Jaguar Realm :: 3 points // 0 wins
6. Courier Coffee :: 0 points // 0 wins
(official results posted at portlandcroquetleague.blogspot.com, and more pictures on flickr)
A bit of fun trivia for you: UrbanHonking's four points all come from one player, who was not originally even slated to be on the team!
Note: Our sincere apologies for not getting the last two games of the season online. We'll be editing these together for a season-end highlight reel to be posted soon along with the official stats for everyone.
The Playoffs
The playoff game last night between UHAC and Kiss My Pass was a tense and bitter battle to the finish. The red-shirted Kiss My Pass (KMP) came into the game full of fire and scored the first goal in just the second minute of the game (0-1). The Boys In Green quickly adapted to KMP's fancy-footwork and Gil, coming into the game with an injury, faced off with their best player, got around him with the ball, and scored (1-1) to tie it right back up! The KMP then seemed like they were adjusting to the UHAC game, and things started to get a little physical. Paul, reffing from the sidelines, warned the teams about getting too rough.
Josh rushed the ball, stealing it away and had time for a quick shot, but missed the net. Encouraging cheers emanated from the UHAC bench and the sidelines. KMP responded quickly and got an attacker past the green line of defense, Gene came out of the net to challenge and they managed to get another one in (1-2). Taking advantage of futsal's unlimited subs rule, Gene and Looper were alternating in the net every time KMP scored, so Looper came back in for Gene. But Gene returned after not too long when the red-shirted devils were able to dodge and weave past the defense again their hotshot star poked one past Looper (1-3).
Things then got a little physical and Tim G. came out on top of the battle for the ball and scored for UAHC (2-3)! Gene scooped up a slow shot and immediately threw it deep. It ended up bouncing off their keeper's hand but Gil was there and scored to tie it back up (3-3). With eleven minutes left in the first half, KMP was applying pressure and keeping UHAC on the defensive. Gil managed to pull some fancy moves and get a shot off, but it was deflected by their keeper and UHAC had no luck in the corner kick.
Gene, showing his aggressive new playing style, was much more willing to rush out of the net, and sometimes even the box. He was warned about his sliding. With eight minutes left there was a powerful shot from KMP that passed by two of the boys in green and snuck by Gene (3-4).
Soon after that goal Gil drove one to the net, but with no shot passed it to Josh, who was unable to get past the keeper but Tim was there to knock the deflected ball home (4-4). Coming in fast from the sidelines KMP managed to shoot a sharp angle past Looper (4-5). The red-shirted KMP seem to get especially aggressive after they get scored on, but then they slow down and get a little sloppy, keeping the score very close. They then pressured the ball close enough to the net that Tim G. accidently knocked it back into the net (4-6).
Down by two again, UHAC got aggressive and kept shooting with no luck. KMP made a break and got close the net, but Looper was taking no chances and dove straight onto the ball. They came in again with a fast break and made a pass to a man who was maybe two feet from the net, but his kick missed the ball! Very close. The devils in red were all trying for the fast break, but Curt stole the ball and managed to out-move the lone defender to get a shot and sent it right pat their keeper! It was an amazing play (5-6). Just two and half minutes left, and Gil shot from close-in but the keeper managed to move right it front of the ball. You could hear the 'THWACK' of the ball hitting his gloves and the start of the groans... but the ball kept going right through his hands and between his legs into the back of net (6-6)!!
The game sped up in the final minutes as the red-shirted devils of KMP worked to regain their lead and UHAC fought to take the lead for the first time. With just fifteen seconds left Gil scores again, and UHAC takes the lead heading into the second half (7-6)!!!
Second Half
The second half started with Looper in the net for UrbanHonking and KMP playing a very aggressive game. With a play that involved more passing than was probably necessary they managed to get a shot from right in front of the net and tie the game back up (7-7). But UHAC was quick to respond with another fast break-away from Curt who made a powerful shot from just past the halfway point which was blocked. The devils were still pushing hard and managed to score of a rebounded shot (7-8). With one of the better players camping near the goal they managed to pass it up to him and with no defenders he scored quickly (7-9). Gene came back in and made some great close-in saves.
Gil rushed up to their best player who rather than passing it to safety attempted to outfox our favorite Frenchman. But he learned a valuable lesson about the French when Gil touched the ball past him, sidestepped around him, and gracefully put the ball past their keeper (8-9). Fifteen minutes left on the clock and someone on the UHAC bench mentioned that their number one player seemed to be slowing down, which is perhaps due to his losing his one-on-one matchups with Gil, who picked up a header and scored again! Back to a tie game (9-9)!
The devils of KMP acted out on their frustration and shoved Gil off a ball, giving him a penalty kick. It seemed like UHAC was bound to take the lead again, but the shot was blocked. To make matters worse, KMP rallied and scored almost immediately after (9-10).
Looper was in the net for a corner kick that almost made it in, but he reached out and deflected it, only to have them gain control and shoot again, but it went wide. Just nine minutes left on the clock when another fast break managed to pull Looper out and they scored (9-11). Players on both side seemed to be tired and moving a little slower but still playing hard. In a long stretch with no goals scored there was another foul on Gil (an indirect), but the shot was blocked. UHAC picked up a corner kick, no luck, then KMP got a corner, but still no more goals.
Gene came out of the net to shut down an attack, then moved out of the box and stretched out to kick the ball, resulting in an illegal slide. He blocked the shot, but drew his first yellow card in his futsal career and UHAC was then playing a man down! They took advantage of the imbalance and managed to score (9-12). With just a minute and thirty seconds left it is hard to recall what happened. UHAC was no longer a man down but I seem to have scrawled "shit is getting fucked" in my notebook before noting that KMP scored again (9-13). UHAC did keep playing hard, with a corner opportunity with just thirty seconds left, but their keeper grabbed and held the ball, ending the game.
Owner's Thoughts
While UHAC lost the match, and is out of the playoffs, it was a terrific game and could have easily gone our way. We were missing Peter, Tim C., and John and certainly fatigue had something to do with the final score. It's unusual to feel good after a loss, but the season is over and UrbanHonking AC is the best we've ever been. I'm very excited for future seasons and the future of this franchise. And I want that Rivals Cup Trophy back!
UrbanHonking is proud to present our second official sports team, The UrbanHonking Croquet Team. The UrbanHonking Croquet Team is playing in the inaugural season of the Portland Croquet League, which is being run by Jeff from the Half and Half (he is also a player on the Half and Half team).
Last Sunday we played our first match against Team Acorn and Jaguar Realm. While Team Acorn is, as you might imagine, made up of members of the Acorn, Jaguar Realm is headed by none other than UrbanHonking AC's futsal nemesis Zach Dundas. If only Mr. Dundas were more of an asshole he could be my arch-nemesis, but alas, I fear we are destined to be friends. Anyway, your UrbanHonking Croquet Team played well in their first match despite being new to the game and facing very inclement weather.
The format is that each team is made up of 2 to 4 players. A match consists of two games where three teams play, each team has two people playing in each game. The first player to win a game scores two points for their team, and the second player scores one point.
Our first game it was Matt McCormick and myself (chosen because our initials are M.M.M.M.) and with some groundbreaking team-work and strategy I was able to score the first two points! Zach Dundas' Jaguar Realm teammate, Jeremy "The Shark" was right behind me and made second place for one point.
The second game was UrbanHonking Croquet Team Captain Daniel Peterson playing with Steve Schroeder. As UrHo had already scored two points we were targeted as enemies and unable to score. Team Acorn finished first for two points, and Jeremy "The Shark" snuck in for second place again, putting all three teams in a three-way tie.
The other three teams played at another course, and the full standings are available at portlandcroquetleague.blogspot.com. This coming Sunday team Courier hosts makelike and UrbanHonking for week two.
Photos from our first match are on Flickr under the tag portlandcroquetleague, and there is a writeup and more pictures at portlandcroquetleague.blogspot.com.