World Cup Diary Santiago Gonzalez
Editor's Note: The IQA is pleased to publish another World Cup diary, where players from around the world tell us their story. If you want to share your tale, send it to editorial@internationalquidditch.org and you could see it in this space.
5:40 to Maryland (4/14/13)
Many people took a look at our team going into the World Cup and said we couldn't beat Maryland and win our pool, or that we couldn't advance past the Round of 32. We set off to prove to everyone that not only could we do just that, but also we were capable of so much more.
When the Lost Boys arrived at World Cup early on Saturday morning, we almost hit another team with our van. While driving through the parking lot, the team from Maryland got out of their cars and began unloading their equipment out of the back of the van. We needed to go park somewhere and they were in our way. I found this oddly appropriate.
You see, in Pool 11, there was one big game for our team, No. 4 Maryland vs. No. 27 Lost Boys at 5:40 p.m. And for the first time, they weren't on the games we watched online or in the scouting reports we got from teams, they were right in front of us. That was the moment it all became real for us.
Our first game against Arkansas was much tougher than we expected. They played much higher than their film suggested and the brother chasers #18 and #81 were a challenge for our team. They played hard and took us to the wire but Steve DiCarlo pulled us to a 90* - 40 win.
In the time after that game, we all took our own paths to really appreciate the action. Most of the former Emerson players went and saw ECQ play, or spent time with Matt Lowe at the Quiyk table or with Allison Gillette on her golf cart as she took care of things all weekend as head of game play. We all at some point stood in awe of the growth the entire IQA has made.
After a couple hours, with a 160*-10 win over an undermanned but grit-filled Illinois State team, we sat together a mere 20 minutes before our Maryland game. There wasn't much in the way of nerves: we had cleats to lace, water bottles to refill and a couple more trips to the medical tent to take. By the time we all finished, we were on the championship field, staring at Maryland as they warmed up.
They were a deep team with great mixture of youth, talent and veteran leadership. They had the ranking, the press and the hype of being one of the teams that could win the entire cup. We had the West's support, an infinite amount of ibuprofen, and each other. And we were more than okay with that. In our pre-game huddle, we joked around and our captains told us, “It's [not our] job to win this game. All we need to do is have some fun and see what happens.”
Those at the game saw Tony Rodriguez continue his rise as one of the most elite keepers in the world, “Molto” (what we call the beating duo of Michael Mohlman and Chris Seto) take a page from Texas and use physicality against the Maryland beaters, and our female chasers holding their own and sometimes getting the better of the Maryland girls, whom many consider to be some of the best in the IQA. We were ahead of Maryland, but not by much.
Until it happened.
Harry Greenhouse got his second yellow of the game and was ejected. It was this moment that our silent hopes started to turn into smiles, tugging at the corners of our mouths.
We were going to win.
Only moments later, with his extremely swollen right arm, Steve pulled the snitch and we all dog-piled on top of him. Face paint ran down our cheeks as tears of joy were quickly wiped away as we shook hands with the upset but respectful UMD squad.
We ended the night 4-0 and were poised to be one of the top 10 seeds depending on point differential. We shared a team dinner at TGI Friday's in full uniform before going our separate ways to our hotel rooms. The last thing I saw before my eyes shut were the words “If we win first game against NYU, USC [will be] in the Sweet 16.”
Photo by Monica Wheeler
How Sweet it is to be Loved By You…r Region (4/15/13)
Lost Boys woke up on Sunday with one goal: to take care of business. We were set up with a contest against NYU in the Round of 32 and knew we couldn't play like the big teams who had gone down early due to over-confidence. They held their ground, but we won. Then came a Sweet 16 matchup against the University of Southern California.
Most don't know, but our first game was a beatdown with USC back in September. Now, with both teams full of changes and improvements, we were set to play a group in Florida that half of our squad could walk to on a nice day in Los Angeles. Personally, I have a great affinity for the World Cup version of the USC team due to everything they've been through. They lost one of their most important players, then David Demarest couldn't come to World Cup with them, and worst of all, their coach bailed right after their less-than-impressive Western Cup appearance. But they came to World Cup and shocked everyone and sure enough met us in the Sweet 16. Before our game, some of us warmed up together and set the tone for a friendly yet competitive game that felt much tighter than the 130*-20 final score during our first victory of all time against USC.
Then it came. The game that now lives in the brain of all those in attendance. BGSU vs. Lost Boys. A few things will stand out to me from that game until the day I die:
1) BGSU's teamwork: A ton has been said about Dan Daugherty and while it's entirely deserved, the way they communicate is unreal. There's nothing but trust between each and every single player on that team.
2) For a lot of that game, it felt like we were playing a mirror of our own team. During breaks I had the pleasure of talking to some of the other team and we both went from energized to exhausted to overwhelmed, and then, finally, into “whatever it takes” mode.
3) The image of my teammates, bent over and grasping at whatever air and energy was left in their bodies, as we attacked again and again.
4) Most importantly, the hands of players from USC, UCLA and Skrewts helping me to the bench after my concussion.
Obviously I wish the game had ended in our favor, but losing that game provided something for everyone on our team to hold onto going into next season. Beyond that I've never felt the kind of support that our region gave us. When we couldn't carry ourselves any longer on the field, we each eventually took a look at the stands and realized they were all there for us. They wanted us to win. Andrew Waldschmidt walked up and down the sideline at one point and yelled words I'll never forget:
“Look around you. You see this? This is what we play for right here. Dig in and find whatever you have left and give it right now.”
After the game, we ran through the tunnel our regional neighbors made for us, entering as beaten and wounded warriors and exiting into the waiting arms of our friends, who cried with us. I remember hugging August Luhrs from USC and we cried together, but the sheer amount he cared about us made me start smiling and laughing as tears flowed down both of our cheeks. I've played for about five years and I've never been part of a moment like that and I highly doubt I ever will be again.
We watched as UCLA took on Texas in the finals. Even though UCLA lost that game, the courage, pride and sportsmanship they showed in the game made all of us in the West know that they were the right team to represent us in the finals. Afterwards, we all went to our hotels and finally were able to unwind. Lost Boys and NAU hot-tubbed yet again, this time with the knowledge that both of our teams were elite and not a single person could take that away from us.
Lost Boys left Florida still hearing the echoes of our cleats on the pavement, still feeling our hands picking each other up off the floor and the soreness of the amount of smiling we had all done in a mere 48 hours.
So now we all reset. Heal our broken bones and begin to train for next year.
Nevertheless, we'll never forget that for one weekend the little community team that couldn't… really could.
And we will again.
Photo by Kat Ignatova, Photo Editor
