2009 Chesapeake Open Tournament Recap
Truck Stop places 7th at Chesapeake Open
Returning to the polo fields of Poolesville, MD, Truck Stop competed against some of the best teams in the nation in its first elite tournament as a full team. Hobbled by a particularly brutal wedding season, the Truck took to the field in Poolesville and set a strong tone early, handling Southern upstart El Diablo 13-8 in the opener.
Game 2 set up a Colorado Cup rematch against Madison Club. Fortunately, this game did not degenerate into the call-fest that had marred the Colorado battle, in large part because the Truck refused to let it get close enough to matter. Smooth offense proved too much for the Madison D, and the Truck rolled to a 12-9 victory in the cap.
After a bye Truck faced Ironside in their first matchup since the Boston Invite… and fell promptly into bad habits. After a virtually flawless first two games, the Truck offense finally exposed some weakness, turning over a couple discs early to drop to a 0-4 deficit out of the gate. After regaining composure the D stormed back to 6-7 before Boston pulled away to a 13-8 victory; disappointing.
Truck faced another NE powerhouse in the elite crossover game, once again challenging the vaunted GOAT. The two teams had battled to a hotly contested double-game point loss for Truck in Boston, and the Truck was determined to avoid the same fate. Both teams protected the disc, with the Truck offense repeatedly finding Calvin Oung deep for monster goals – at one point he scored 5 straight. GOAT rode the precision throws of John Hassell to their own seemingly unbreakable offense before the Truck finally ripped away a layout catch D to open the game and decisively steal the momentum. Just like that, Truck Stop broke again and closed the game 13-9, its first victory over GOAT and a solid finish to Day 1: 3-1.
On Sunday Truck Stop faced regional rival Los in the first round. Hard fought game – the boys from NC proved stingy with the disc and the vaunted Truck D struggled to produce a break. After a close game at half (8-7 Truck), momentum finally shifted and the Truck closed it out 13-11, to set up a quarterfinals matchup with southern powerhouse Chain Lightning.
The game opened with intensity and stayed that way, both teams fighting to get hard-earned Ds. Chain broke first and held to take half 8-6, before a massive layout D and subsequent score brought the game back to even. The soft cap went off at 9-9, but Chain O promptly scored and their D picked up the break to win, 11-9. Great game, solid play on both sides of the disc, but a disappointing loss nonetheless. Chain went on to beat Boston handily in the semis and registered a convincing win over Ring to win the tourney.
In the 5th place bracket the Truck faced Bodhi, the second time in 2009 after coming off a close loss in a big game. This time the Truck came to play, but the boys from Boston proved younger, faster, and hungrier, pulling out a win on double-game. Truck settled for 7th, but the tournament proved one thing: Truck Stop is finally ready to compete (and win) against the best. Notice served.
For full tournament results, click here: http://upa.org/scores/tourn.cgi?div=20&id=6136