Tournaments
SPRING
March 14-15, 2003 - Terminus (Atlanta, GA)
May 17-18 - Juniors Nationals (Birmingham, Al)
May 24-25 - Know Swill (Ligonier, PA)
June 21-22 - Solstice (Toronto)
Tournament Write-Ups
Terminus
A team of 8 Mt. Lebanon players and two other players traveled to Terminus
in mid April under the alias "Pittsburgh Impulse."
Roster: David Vatz, Ben Banyas, Eric Brune, Steve Hall, Justin Krebs, Dave
Hoedeman, Evan Jenkins, Chris Winschel, Mike Kale, Nate Shestak
Game 1
Impulse 13
Woodward Varsity 4
Impulse got a quick start in this game with strong zone
offense and stronger zone defense. On the second point of the game,
Nate Shestak caught a callahan playing as a wing in the zone defense, giving
Impulse a 2-0 lead. Impulse remained strong throughout the remainder
of the game, and ended up beating Woodward Varsity soundly, with a final score
of 13-4.
Game 2
Impulse 13
Paideia JVx 1
Another easy game for Impulse, the game was marked by very
efficient fast break offense off of turns created by a strong zone defense.
After taking half 7-0, Impulse experimented in the second half with
the horizontal stack and used man defense through part of the game, and allowed
Paideia JVx to score one time. Impulse finished strong, scoring the
last 3 points of the game, and winning 13-1
Game 3
Impulse 8
Chapel Hill 11
This was the game that everyone on both Impulse and CHUF
were waiting for. Both teams were well matched, and Impulse started
strong by scoring the first point on a huck from Brune to Banyas for a quick
score. However, Chapel Hill wasn't about to let Impulse dominate on
the deep game without showing off one of their own. A string of hucks
against an Impulse man defense gave Chapel Hill 5 scores, bringing the game
to 5-2. Chapel Hill went on to take half 8-3. After half, Chapel
Hill got a quick 3 points. However, Impulse wasn't done. After
half, a surprise switch to a zone defense caught Chapel Hill off guard. Chapel
Hill had trouble coping with the Impulse 1-3-3, whereas Impulse was able to
tear through the Chapel Hill zone defense with remarkable simplicity, manufacturing
a 2 minute shredding of the Chapel Hill zone. Impulse scored 4 points
during this stretch while Chapel Hill was completely unable to score. At
11-7, cap was put on, and Impulse scored the final point to end a hard fought
game 11-8 in favor of CHUF. After the game, the captain of CHUF remarked
that if we had continued the game to 15 points, the game wouldn't have been
won by more than one point by either team. Great game to all!
Elimination
Quarterfinals
Impulse 15
Jordan 5
Impulse started this game very strong, and left their mark
on Jordan with some spectacular defensive plays from Eric Brune. After
taking half easily 8-0, Jordan surged back, scoring two points in a row. However,
due to some poor spirit from Jordan (spiking), Eric Brune decided to take
the game into his own hands. In what was the best play of the tournament,
Brune made a spectacular defensive layout, blocking a throw that was nearly
7 feet off the ground. After trading a few more points, Impulse ended
up winning the game 15-5, earning them a spot in the Semifinals against defending
national champions Paideia.
Semifinals
Impulse 5
Paideia 15
Impulse began this game with a zone defense, which in retrospect
was not the best decision. Paideia was able to easily cut through the
Impulse zone, and scored easily through the first half. The only Impulse
point scored in the first half was a short pass from Hall to Banyas off of
a turn. Paideia ended up taking half 8-1. Paideia continued their
dominance in the second half by taking the first two points to make the score
10-1. However, Impulse was beginning to understand how to neutralize
the Paideia offense. Impulse executed their modified man defense with
great success. The final nine points of the game was marked by a spectacular
70 yard huck from Vatz to Brune. Paideia only beat Impulse 5-4 in the
final nine points of the game, leaving everyone with the feeling that the
game was much more hard fought than the 15-5 score may suggest.
And with that, the Pittsburgh Impulse ended their run at
Terminus 2003. Impulse ended up in 3rd place overall.
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Nationals
In mid May, Mt. Lebanon Ultimate traveled to Juniors Nationals in Birmingham, Alabama to compete among the 16 top teams in the nation for the National title.
Roster: David Vatz, Steve Hall, David Hoedeman, Nate Shestak, Tom Decesar, Mike Kale, Emily Caffee, Max Glick, Chris Winschel, Nate Narey, Justin Krebs, Evan Jenkins, Ben Webster, Daniel Winer
NOTE: Teamname (pool seed, overall seed)
Game 1 - Pool Play - Mt. Lebanon (3, 11) vs. Chapel Hill (1, 3)
Mt. Lebanon 6
CHUF 15
Our first game of the day was against a team we had played at Terminus and lost to 11-8. The game started with some zone points, forcing CHUF into some quick turns. Lebo followed suit with one or two turns, allowing CHUF to score the first point. However, Lebo fought back with a quick point of their own. After tying the game at 2-2, though, CHUF began to pull away. The score was 8-4 at half and CHUF played a remarkably efficient second half, winning the game 15-6. Overall, CHUF was a very athletic team, anchored by two 6'3"+ players and one incredibly fast reciever. They never dropped passes and rarely threw it away. A very good team, and one that eventually makes it to Semifinals.
Game 2 - Pool Play - Mt. Lebanon (3, 11) vs. Watchung Hills (4, 14)
Mt. Lebanon 13
Watchung Hills 4
A rematch of a 7-5 game that Mt. Lebanon lost during the fall season, this game was sure to be a close match from the beginning. Or so we thought... Watchung Hills was a very short team, and had difficulty dealing with a decently tall Mt. Lebanon team. Lebo's main advantage in this game was athleticism - we were faster and taller than them, which gave us a big edge. Watchung Hills never had much of a chance in this game, falling to Mt. Lebanon 13-4.
Game 3 - Pool Play - Mt. Lebanon (3, 11) vs. Northfield Mt. Hermon (2, 6)
Mt. Lebanon 10
NMH 15
This game was incredible by all means. The game started with a very flat Mt. Lebanon team, allowing Northfield to take the first half 8-2 and then go on a quick 5-0 run to begin the second half. However, following a timeout, Mt. Lebanon renewed their fire and began to manufacture some points. Between the many hucks for quick points and great defense by everyone on the field, Mt. Lebanon was able to produce an 8-1 run on NMH, after which Lebo was down 14-10 on a very scared NMH team. In the end, Mt. Lebanon lost 15-10, but it was a game that will stick in everyone's heads for a long time.
Prequarters - Mt. Lebanon (reseeded as 3 from the C pool) vs. Hopkins (reseeded as 2 from the A pool)
Mt. Lebanon 10
Hopkins 15
Mt. Lebanon came out flat in this game too...Hopkins took to Lebo with 5 quick points off of a very good deep game, jumping out to the 5-0 lead. Lebo began to fire back with hucks of their own, bring the score at halftime to 8-3. Mt. Lebanon renewed their fire (again) at halftime and began to fire back with great defense and a sweet deep game on offense, bringing the score to 10-8. However, Hopkins was just too strong for Lebo to handle, and scored 5 more points to Lebo's 2, winning the game 15-10
Consolation:
Mt. Lebanon vs. Scarsdale
Mt. Lebanon 3
Scarsdale 6
We only played 9 points due to rain and lightening...score was 6-3 Scarsdale when the game was called, at which point we were on a 3-1 run and had the disc 30 yards out from the endzone. icon_sad.gif Regardless, it was a grudge match vs. a team we had played many times before...too bad we couldn't play it out.
Mt. Lebanon vs. Lexington (for the 13/14 or 15/16 place)
Mt. Lebanon 15
Lexington 5
Mt. Lebanon was clearly better than a young Lexington team. Quick scoring, a great deep game, and sweet defense gave Lebo the fast 15-5 win.
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Know Swill
Just one week after Nationals, Mt. Lebanon went to the tournament that they host anually, Know Swill. Know Swill was held at Ligonier Camp and Conference Center, in the heart of Ligonier, PA.
Roster: David Vatz, Steve Hall, David Hoedeman, Nate Narey, Justin Krebs, Chris Winschel, Tom Watterson, Tom DeCesar, Emily Caffee, Mike Kale, Daniel Winer, Max Glick
Saturday - Scramble Play:
Round 1 - Mt. Lebanon vs. Lincoln-Sudbury
Mt. Lebanon 13
Lincoln-Sudbury 1
Mt. Lebanon came out very hot in this game, with a strong 1-3-3 zone along with powerful zone offense against the Lincoln-Sudbury clam defense. Lincoln-Sudbury had one very strong player on their team who had great hucks...especially the flick side. LCSB showed a good deal of heart and great spirit in this game. Final score: 13-1 in favor of Mt. Lebanon.
Round 2 - Mt. Lebanon vs. NA/Hampton Combo
Mt. Lebanon 13
NA/Hampton 4
Mt. Lebanon came out flat in this one, allowing the surprisingly strong NA/Hampton team to score a few quick goals near the end of the first half and the beginning of the second. Outstanding play by their two stars, Alexis Louden and Josh Shaffer, led to a more powerful team than Mt. Lebanon expected. Great game and great spirit by everyone. Final score: 13-4 in favor of Mt. Lebanon
Round 3 - Mt. Lebanon vs. Wilson
Mt. Lebanon 13
Wilson 0
This being their first ever tournament, the team from D.C. showed a good combination of spirit and skill. A small confrontation occured between an irate Wilson coach and Mt. Lebanon due to a handstand that Mt. Lebanon player Evan Jenkins did on the line posing for a picture, as the Wilson coach called it "terrible spirit." Kinda ridiculous if you ask me. Regardless, without letting their coach influence our perception of their team, we found the entire Wilson team to be very easy going, well spirited, and full of heart. Final score: 13-0 in favor of Mt. Lebanon
Round 4 - Mt. Lebanon vs. Pennsbury
Mt. Lebanon 13
Pennsbury 0
We have played Pennsbury many times before (including at last years tournament, where we were 1-1 against them). With Grateful Dead playing from the Pennsbury sideline, we played another game against a team with good spirit. Pennsbury sorta gave up at times, as a man on their sideline yelled to them "once they (lebo) get past the brick mark you should just walk to the line..." Truly, these guys are so easy going and love the game more than any other team we've ever played against. Always a fun game! Final score: 13-0 in favor of Mt. Lebanon
Round 5 - Mt. Lebanon vs. Allderdice
Mt. Lebanon 13
Allderdice 3
In all honesty, this was one of the most frustrating games many Lebo players have ever been involved in. It was a case of Allderdice respecting us TOO much, and as a result, not even trying. They often sat on the line after the Pull, waiting for us to get down to them. It became frustrating. Regardless, they were all having fun, and all had good spirit although they didn't try. Final score: 13-3 in favor of Mt. Lebanon
After day 1, Mt. Lebanon was in second place (EGAD) with a power rating abour two tenths away from the first place team (Fox Chapel/Central Catholic). All would be determined the next day during Elimination...
Quarterfinals - Mt. Lebanon vs. Lincoln-Sudbury
Mt. Lebanon 15
Lincoln-Sudbury
In another fun and spirited game against Lincoln-Sudbury, Mt. Lebanon used what worked earlier in the weekend, playing zone on the LCSB team. Unlike in the previous game, Lincoln-Sudbury was moving the disc quite well against the Lebo 1-3-3 zone, but often turned it over in the red zone, thus squandering many scores. The highlight of this game was during halftime, when Mike Kale laid out into the giant puddle of standing water for no real reason, followed by a line of Lincoln-Sudbury players laying out into the same puddle. It was quite a scene! What an enjoyable game, thanks to LCSB for such spirited play and always knowing how to have fun!!! Final score: 15-2 in favor of Mt. Lebanon
Semifinals - Mt. Lebanon vs. Princeton
Mt. Lebanon 15
Princeton 5
A rematch of the 11-8 Mt. Lebanon victory during the fall season, this was certain to be an enjoyable game from the beginning. Princeton scored the first point on Mt. Lebanon, showing them that it would be a game. Mt. Lebanon fired back, though, bring the game to half quickly at a score of 8-2. The second half was very similar to the first, with Lebo ending up winning a spirited and enjoyable game with Princeton by a final score of 15-5.
Finals - Mt. Lebanon vs. Montreal
Mt. Lebanon 12
Montreal 7
This was sure to be a game right from the beginning. Montreal towered over Mt. Lebanon, with 3 players who were taller than any Lebo player. However, at the beginning of the game, the Mt. Lebanon 1-3-3 zone forced the Montreal team in to a few quick turnovers, allowing Mt. Lebanon to go up 3-0. At this point, Montreal retooled their offense, adding a "sitter" or "taxi" to their zone (basically a guy standing right outside the cup), and used it very effectively. However, Mt. Lebanon scored at will all game. Whether it was patient zone offense or quick hucks, the Montreal defense made at most 1 or 2 D's all game (almost every turn was a throwaway or drop by Lebo). This allowed Mt. Lebanon to simply trade points all game and get 2 extra points off of turnovers to go on to win the capped game with a final score of 12-7. MT. LEBANON WINS KNOW SWILL!!!
