Dishin' the disc

This past weekend Holy Cross' Ultimate Frisbee team, the Purple Heys, traveled to Devens, MA to compete in the East New England Sectional Tournament. The tournament was played over two days and was separated into two divisions, the top division featured some of the best club teams in the country while Holy Cross played in the second division against mostly college programs.

Day One began early for the Heys, leaving Hogan at 7:00 a.m. to get to Devens, the team was saddened to find out that their first round game against a club team known as Drunken Clams did not start until 11:00. The first official game of the year for Holy Cross was a little disappointing as the team struggled to find its offensive flow. Defensively, HC managed to produce turnovers and get scoring opportunities, but the team failed to convert on most of them. In the end, the Drunken Clams took the game in a rout, 15-3.

Holy Cross' second game against Harvard B, a strong second team from a school perennially contending for a spot at the national championships, was also a little one-sided. Holy Cross started off fairly strong, keeping the game close until the score was 4-3, but then Harvard began taking it to the Holy Cross defense. Outstanding efforts from Cassidy "Bluto" Edwards on defense resulted in a mild concussion as he took a knee to the back of the head while bidding for an errant throw. But even the best efforts of Holy Cross' defense weren't enough as the offense stagnated and Harvard pulled away, winning the game 15-4.

The Purple Heys' last game of the day was a war of attrition. Having lost the first two games and facing relegation to a play-in game at the bottom of the bracket, Holy Cross needed a win against Bentley College Ultimate. Finally gelling, the offense, led by sophomore handling trio, Corey "LoCal" Evans, Peter "Wembley" Crowley and Robert "Opie" Ryan, was able to establish the long game and open the field up. Big plays in the end zone came from Kevin "Bruce Banner" McClane whose playing with an injured leg led to Holy Cross' dismantling of the Bentley defense and taking the game 15-7.

That win put Holy Cross into bracket play for 9th place in the tournament. Determined to put Saturday's foibles behind them, Holy Cross played some of the best ultimate that injured captain/coach Dan "Gopher" Portnoy has witnessed from the team. The first game of the day featured Wentworth Ultimate. In a tough and hard fought game, the momentum constantly swinging, Holy Cross managed to stay calm and disciplined on offense. The highlight-reel moment of the game was Kevin "Big Bird" McCarthy's toe dragging catch along the sideline to score late in the first half. The game went to the wire with Holy Cross pulling it out 14-13 at the end of regulation.

Advancing to the semifinals of the bottom bracket, Holy Cross was pitted against Tufts B. Tufts has a reputation for unspirited play and they lived up to it. The first play of the game set the tone for Holy Cross as several big gains were reversed due to very questionable foul calls on the part of Tufts. To Holy Cross' credit, they remained focused and took the game to Tufts defense. The deep game served Holy Cross well in this match, with many cutters pulling down long throws in the end zone. Corey Evans' stifling deep defense also contributed to the Heys taking the game 12-8 at the time cap.

For the sixth game of the weekend, a very tired Holy Cross team took on WiPPs a a club team who had played below their ability Saturday and had breezed through their Sunday games. Sadly, Holy Cross could not put up much of a fight against the athleticism and throwing ability of WiPPs and it quickly became evident that the game was going to be lopsided. Holy Cross however, enjoyed the game and put up as many points in a losing effort as they had all tournament. The final score was 15-6.

At the end of the Purple Heys' first tournament, having gone 3-3 on the weekend and finished tenth, beating their seed, it must be considered a success. The addition of freshman Ben Crowe to a team of veterans also worked well, as Ben put in a monster effort for the team and impressed with his skill and work ethic. Ultimately, the team improved immensely over the course of the weekend and got a taste of what it could eventually be capable of.