Gulf Coast Warmup Recap
This past weekend, Luna made our way to Tuscaloosa, AL for our first out of state adventure. As our final chance to play together in the fall, we were pretty jazzed to play, even missing some of our teammates and coaches. For some, it was there first time venturing into the South outside of Atlanta.
The team was surprised to find the weather much more comfortable than the chilly weather anticipated, with extra layers stuffed into bags by the end of the first round. We took on Alabama-X, a split squad with some of their returners from last year. The first part of the game was an excellent start for Luna, with some really clean play. But Alabama recovered and used their 4-man cup to get a little breathing room and take a close win, even though Phebe did what she does best and got a ton of Ds.
Next, we took on Tulane and then Clemson. Both teams liked to use their speed and hucks. The Muses had a couple of really strong handlers that were tough to stop and a few key miscues on offense put us in a tough spot. We had trouble finishing possessions against Clemson's crowding zone, but learned a ton about how to move the disc and attack their cup.
Coming off three straight losses, Luna finally put it together against Mississippi State. Having learned lessons against hucking teams, we played better handler defense. The game's finest moment? A backhand huck from Jin that, while in the air, she paused to verbally admire: "Wow, that's pretty good!" Arty skied a girl to make the catch, at least. Mississippi State was very physical and the Luna ladies banded together to handle the game with good spirit and class. They had a late run, but with the help of rookie Saumya and her many goals, we pulled out our first win of the weekend.
We took on our friends Kennesaw State next and played the usually spirited game with them. Lexi was bombing hucks for KSU, but Jin, Dani, and Arty were all killing it. It was really close until the end, but Luna prevailed, 9-7.
Fortunately, that meant we got to sleep in! We lost Lina and Bernie, who had to go home, along with Arty's awesome parents, but the reinforcements arrived, just in time for us to make the rookies (and Phebe and Coach Keith) eat a bunch of random sauces from Chick-Fil-A.
Sunday started late courtesy of our first round bye, but we found only rematches. We played Mississippi State first, and they were really fired up. We struggled out of the gate, and some beautiful flowing possessions ended with silly turns that cost us. Rookie Bear tried her best, with a Phebe-like defensive effort. Unfortunately, we could not take double game point and lost.
Its always fun playing KSU and we were happy to play them again, even though its somewhat frustrating to travel to a tournament and play an opponent from down the road twice. Our offense was really out of sorts, even though Saumya had some nice grabs and JULES SKIED SOMEONE. But we started late and a random cap led to an anticlimactic ending. Junior caught a layout goal, but it was too late and KSU beat us for their first time ever. While we really like them, we definitely are eager to get our revenge in the spring.
The weekend didn't go quite the way we had hoped, but the team is finally starting to come together. The rookies seem like they are starting to understand what they can and what they should do. There was so much learning! In fact, rookie Crystal took home the Defensive MVP jersey! Dani maintained her hold on the Offensive MVP jersey with a ridiculous weekend. Maybe she'll keep it all year!?! Bear was given the Rookie MVP award.
Dave (Arty's dad) was showing off his photography skills, so we should have some sweet shots to share soon!
SPRING IS COMING!
