Day One Recaps: LSU v uMiami
Spectators trickled in to watch No. 28 Louisiana State University (Baton Rouge, LA) and No. 11 University of Miami (Coral Gables, FL) face-off for the first time on Saturday.
Both teams' rankings and reputations made this match one of the most anticipated games of day one. The IQA asked Sarah Kneiling and Sean Beloff (LSU and Miami, respectively) what their teams needed to do to win the game. Kneiling's answer was brief and to the point, "We need to score more points than Miami!" The Hurricanes' Beloff went a little deeper into their strategy, "We need to do three things; keep Bludger control, keep up our defensive pressure, and set the offensive tempo. We're an athletic team and a big key will be our fast break." As soon as Brooms up! was called, LSU got a swift start and scored the first goal. However, Miami matched the goal quickly, and play remained even, up and down, quickly paced. Miami utilized a multiple pass and score offense, and contained LSU with its bludger play. At one point, it looked like Miami was going to get a maintained lead, but LSU rallied, keeping the score tight. The level of physicality increased with every goal, and both teams collected yellow cards and penalty time--and as might be expected, each took advantage of the man-down line to score. The game sped up when the snitch returned to the field, the seekers closely behind. The score was within snitch grab, and both teams put beaters on the seekers. Seekers had to substitute frequently because of the heat and this snitch's ability to keep the little yellow ball safe, even though it kept falling off and the three second reset stopped pursuit. Miami Seeker, Dennis Campbell managed to get the snitch for a final score Miami 150*-LSU 60.This game was everything it was predicted to be. Miami was indeed athletic: they ran a fast break worthy of basketball, and their defense was tight. Make no mistake, LSU was no pushover and gave Miami all they could handle. In the end, as Kneiling explained, "They played their game and we didn't play ours. We got tired." Beloff bragged on his keeper's (Stephen Ralph) play: "This was the best game he ever played!" But the keeper modestly told Mugglenet that it was good to see the entire team benefit. Cliff Weems, father of LSU keeper Ryan Weems, was sitting in the stands cheering his son's team. When asked what he thought of quidditch, he replied, "It's different--it's definitely a sport!"
