Defending champions lose to freshmen ABCs

The freshman team The ABCs upset the defending champions Cougar Hunters in a thrilling 2-1 sudden death overtime victory.

The first game was in the Cougar Hunters’ favor, but two back-to-back catches by freshman Mac Kliman turned the tide. Senior Tim Vanneman did well to slow the momentum against the Cougar Hunters with a catch right after that, but it was not enough to prevent the ABCs from winning the first game with two minutes left.

The second game was dominated by the Cougar Hunters. Freshman Amanda Speilman, Jr. was the lone ABCs player left on the court against five Cougar Hunters with less than a minute left. She survived until there were 15 seconds left on the clock but then was hit by a barrage of hard shots.

The match was tied 1-1, so sudden death overtime was in order. In a chaotic flurry it was a Cougar Hunter who got out first. The Cougar Hunters briefly protested that they caught a ball after the hit, but the referees determined it was after the first out and thus didn’t count.

Tim didn’t want to talk to The Talon, but said, “[The Cougar Hunters] would have won” if they had gotten to the final round.

The ABCs had little time to reflect on their victory before facing Team Bud Casey in the final, but confidently said their “skill” and “everything” about their team played into the win against the defending champions.

See http://vimeo.com/12060899 for the video of the game.