SpW5: BYOB vs. Quiet

Week Five – Tuesday – Riverside

Coming off Upset Sunday when Quiet knocked off Good Guys and BYOB took down The Funeral, we here at The Latest came out to this Tuesday night matchup to see which of these teams is actually more upsetting.

Marquee Matchups: Jenny Norris (Quiet) vs. Sarah Heffernan (BYOB) looked to be the night’s main matchup though sparks were sure to fly between Brendan Snodgrass (Quiet) vs. John Sakon (BYOB). By the end, Norris and Heff mostly shut each other down, Sakon was involved in the most scores, but Christian Gaffney (Quiet) and his former teammate/old workhorse Mark DQ (BYOB) probably entertained the crowd the most.

First half: Captain Bob Suvanich to the bespectacled Dan Anthony, 1-0 BYOB. Paul McDonnell (Quiet) has his break throw D’d by Sarah Heffernan, but Quiet gets it back and Travis Rothbloom finds Evan Schulman for the score, 1-1. Quiet captain Gaffney gets a poach D on Dan Gerber and then hits Snodgrass, 1-2 Quiet. The next point takes about 15 minutes and is a classic turnover saga. It starts when Snodgrass Ds Bob’s blade to Sakon, but Sakon calls a foul and it goes back. Bob tries another blade and Gaffney Ds it. Then Heff gets to Gaffney’s break throw before Norris can. Snodgrass Ds Bob again. Gaffney throws away a huck to Snodgrass, but then Gaffney hand-blocks Sakon. Finally Rothbloom finds his captain to put Quiet up a break, 1-3. Though Norris Ds Sakon’s hammer to Josie Pratt, Bob gets it back D’ing a short huck by Gaffney. DQ soon finds Josie for the score, 2-3. And out comes the BYOB zone. Quiet busts that cup and Alex Berzofsky eventually finds Alex Kuo, 2-4. The two Alex’s shook hands and exchanged names after the point. Sometimes it takes 12 games to meet all your teammates. On the field, Snodgrass throws a rare hammer that DQ smacks or macks to the intended target, Schulman, 2-5 Quiet. Next point Snodgrass Ds Sakon’s huck. Gerber beats McDonnell to the Snodgrass throw, but then Gerber tries an IO to no one. Norris eventually finds Gaffney’s button hook cut with a sweet little break, 2-6. Gerber strikes back for BYOB with a pretty, teardrop push pass to a wide open Josie, 3-6. Quiet blows their possession and Sakon finds Heff on the break side, 4-6. BYOB tries Z again and gets the D on the line. Then they get super cloggy. Sakon makes a great bid on a Heff throw but he is OB. Zone is back on. Quiet is patient and successful for about 7 minutes, then Berzofsky puts a dumb floater right to Gerber’s deep D. Then DQ hucks it to Heff, 5-6. More zone. McDonnell drops a swing. Sakon hammer to DQ, 6-6. Quiet’s Nielsen can’t resist his wife, open by 30 yards, but he throws it about 15. DQ hammers to Sakon who makes a nice over the top, looking-back catch, 7-6 (that’s five in a row). Sakon short deep Ds a little throw from Rothbloom, and Bob honey hucks it to Heff, 8-6.

Halftime: In the huddle Gaffney explains that Ultimate is a games of the runs. Sakon tells Bob that they can call more travels, especially on Berzofsky.

Second Half: Sakon break to DQ, 9-6 BYOB. BKap shows up for Quiet. Gaffney finally subs out and tells his co-captain, “Brittany, they’re coming zone. Tell our team what to do.” Quiet doesn’t get the message. Turnover. Sakon to Heff, 10-6. Zone gets another D, Josie skies BKap, and then gets a nasty break off to Heff, 11-6 (that’s nine in a row). BKap finally finds Brad Russell and ends the drought, 11-7. BKap Ds Gerber’s huck to Jordan RoseFigura. Brendan Cambra throws it away. Sakon gives it back with a turf, but Nielsen throws it just out of Gaffney’s reach. Jeff Rohr turfs it. Gaffney overthrows BKap. Gerber puts it up to Sakon in double coverage. Huge sky, 12-7. Gaffney blade to Schulman, 12-8. Sakon finds RoseFigura, 13-8. Gaffney finds Snodgrass, 13-9. Quiet, playing much more intensely now gets the D and BKap breaks it to Nielsen, 13-10. Sakon hucks it to Josie, 14-10. Game point. Gaffney turfs it but then gets a poach D. Sakon D’s Norris’s overthrow. Gaffney Ds a huck to DQ, lots of contact, foul is debated and not called. Norris, high in the stall count, throws up a jump disc to a Sakon D. Kuo gets a fabulous dump D, but then slips and drops a beautifully thrown, easy score. DQ miraculously comes away with an in-cut catch after a full D bid by Gaffney. Schulman hand-blocks Sakon. Rothbloom throws it away. Heff turfs it. Gaffney throws it away. BYOB works it. Dan Anthony gets a newsclips bookends and hits Gerber for the win, 15-10. Turns out it is Bob’s 100th.

An exciting game sure, and it looked like Quiet was crawling back in it in the second half, but…

HERE’S WHAT I DONT GET: BYOB entered Week 5 with a disappointing record of 3-7, and a schedule that included Sunday games against The Funeral and Chicken & Waffles. Onlookers saw this schedule and safely assumed they would finish Sunday 1-1. BYOB thought otherwise. Premiering a zone defense that took advantage of their height, team chemistry, and a blustery day at Inwood BYOB was able to grab seven unanswered points, enough to outlast The Funeral 14-12 for the W in what is the biggest upset of the season, they would go on to have a similar performance against Chicken & Waffles. In this game, a similar story. While the BYOB zone was off to a slow start on this night, they found their footing and used their D’s to catch Quiet out of position, and score quick points. Quiet was caught off guard gave up a 3 point lead to find themselves down 2 at half, and quickly down by more as the second half and BYOB got rolling. Gaffney often laughs off a zone, directing his team to simply throw around the opposition but it wasn’t there tonight. In MUD, it can be difficult to react to sudden strategy changes, especially when short handed.

BYOB enters Week 6 with a record of 6-7. With a game against #3 Nader’s Raiders, BYOB could find themselves in a tie by record for 3rd place. While Nader’s Raiders themselves have won 3 in a row, they have also struggled against zone defense. Will BYOB’s upsetting streak continue?

Special thanks to Mateo Mead for reporting from the field.