O'Hara Ultimate

End of Season

noreply@blogger.com (Tom Cook) — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 00:00:00 +0000

So with the fall season over, a quick reap of the team's record and future.

The Open team finished 3 - 4 and really put it together after KitKat in the Hat with a convincing win against Methacton and a huge beatdown of Radnor. The light attendance at KitKat allowed for much more playing time for the sophomores and some of the other less experienced players, it was a big growing moment, especially the loss to Stuyesant at KitKat. Overall, the open team finished 4 - 6 but showed a lot of potential for the spring, and definitely have the potential to make States and upset a few teams. While there is no doubt that Pennsbury is still the class of PHUEL, O'Hara Ultimate will make a push toward the top of the league if every player continues to grow and work hard.

The Girls team only had one game, crushing Radnor, but also had some players get major playing time at KitKat as part of BabaOhara Combo team. A number of players showed huge steps in playing ability and a ton of desire to continue to grow and get better. GirlSquad is still the best team in PHUEL and should be looked at as one of the elite programs in the state.

I had previously forgot to mention something about the Radnor game. Jax had the first ever Callahan for GirlSquad in that game. She was playing great defense and just wanted the disc more than any offensive player in the area, it was one of the highlights of the game.

The Alumni game will be Saturday November 29th at 12 noon. All former players are invited to come out and take on the current team. Depending on numbers, a male/female ratio will be enforced. See you then.

Radnor

noreply@blogger.com (Tom Cook) — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 03:21:00 +0000

Radnor Girls

O'Hara was Radnor's first ever game, so it was fitting that GirlSquad would welcome their girls to PHUEL. GirlSquad graduated not only Katie, but also Monica, Savage, and Boylan. On top of those losses, a few other players transferred, and other were hurt, well, Becky was hurt...again. Even with all of those losses, GirlSquad has high expectations for the year, and this first chance to play together was welcomed.

Being a GirlSquad game, the weather was less than ideal, lots of wind, rain on and off most of the day, and a bit on the cold side. GirlSquad is used to the weather, honestly, I'm not sure how well they could play on a nice day. The weather would not affect the girls at all, at least, the O'Hara Girls.

GirlSquad started on offense with the wind to start the game, and jumped out to a quick lead. It was downhill for Radnor from there. GirlSquad poured on the points, both with and against the wind. Playing in the stack, Meag showed off here best Katie impersonation with 7 assists and a score, and even played a shut down role as the mark in the cup. Poncho played a great game as the reset handler, with Reg chipping in a slash in the endzone. Judy had four scores including a nice almost-layout. The cup worked to perfection and GirlSquad cruised to an easy 13 - 1 win. Meag was far and away the player of the game with an impressive performance.

The most telling part of the game was the absence of turnovers, even in the windy conditions. The team as a whole had very few drops and were constantly aware of the location of the disc and how they were being played defensively. It was truly a remarkable game.

Radnor (open)

Thinking redemption, the open team faced off against Radnor. The first game of the season was a disappointing loss to Radnor, our first ever, however, every game the team has looked better and better. The past few weeks of practice has featured a lot of cup defense and zone offense, and the introduction of a 2 handler zone offense, now known as rocketship (2 -2-2-1.)

Radnor came into the game undefeated in the fall, except for a loss in the final of KitKat in the Hat to a very good Watchung Hills team. This, however, proved to be the game where Waste put it all togehter. The team played flawlessly with just about everyone chipping in. The cup devastated Radnor's offense and Radnor's cup never had a chance to set up with Whitey and Henkel moving the disc quickly and efficiently. Henkel had a handler's slash and Squared was on the receiving end of a slash of his own, as O'Hara Ultimate annihilated Radnor, 15 - 4. Even with all of that scoring, player of the game honors went to Sleeves for his shut-down defense and all around fantastic play.

Once again the sophomore boys showed that they are continually stepping up their game. A great example of that is Eric's layout hand block from the top of the cup! The team as a whole has come along very well since the beginning of the fall and is now playing like cohesive unit that shows great promise for the future.

Cheltenham

noreply@blogger.com (Tom Cook) — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 18:12:00 +0000

Game three, this time, with some excitement. O'Hara Ultimate traveled up to Cheltenham, on the team bus no less, and arrived well in advance of Cheltenham. The team prepared for a challenging game, while not having Whitey or Squared.
As the game started off, O'Hara Ultimate showed some life, playing very good defense, and actually moving the disc well on offense, with Henkel and Ben doing a fine job handling, and Zakk and Brett coming into their own with fantastic cuts. Just about every member of the team had some playing time, and was able to contribute.
The first half was a see saw match, going back and forth, with O'Hara takign the half. Coming out for the second half, a dominant defensive performance by Zakk, French, and Sleeves gave O'Hara a solid 4 point lead. Once the game went to 14 - 10 O'Hara, Cheltenham rolled out a zone, and began to torment the O'Hara offense. Cheltenham was able to score three quick points to bring the score up to 14 - 13. With desparation in the air and O'Hara Ultimate feeling the game slip from their gasp, the offense began to move deliberately and methodically down the field. The handlers, Henkel, Ben and Brett were able to walk the disc down the field, but kept stalling just shy of the goal line. After a turn, an amazing D would give O'Hara another chance, but 4 times in a row, the offense could not punch it in. The final attempt left Henkel stranded in the far corner of the field, mere feet from the endzone with too much clogging and lazy cuts to find a chance to score. When Cheltenham turned a huge huck into an immediate score, O'Hara had nothing left, losing 16 - 14.
Once again, on the brightside, lots of experience for the younger players. This team will have learned a lot by the time the spring rolls around, hopefully O'Hara Ultimate will have a chance to play a game with a full line-up sometime soon.

Wissahickon

noreply@blogger.com (Tom Cook) — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 22:29:00 +0000

Game two of the fall, unfortunately, same result. The game, against friendly foe, Wissahickon, was an interesting game to be a part of, once again, good enough defense, but not enough offense. Squared highlighted his ability to completely shut down any and every deep throw and French made a big splash in his first game, showing off talents eerily similar to an early Magerr.

Wissahickon is a good team, but not nearly as talented as O'Hara made them look. Jumping out to a 7 - 0 lead, thanks to a healthy dose of uncalled travels (Wilcox, we miss you) O'Hara just could not get anything going. Wissahickon ran a cup defense that O'Hara was frequently out of position to defeat, created turn, after turn, after turn on the Wiss goal line. That close to the endzone, Squared could not cover enough of the field.

It was not until Frenchie and Zak got in the game that the offense showed any life. Zak's solid cuts, and French's desire for the disc became infectious. French scored the first two O'Hara goals, getting on the board, 7 - 2. After a halftime talk that highlighted on calling the travels and fouls, O'Hara started to put it together in the second half. Wiss moved to a man defense that Henkel, Squared and Whitey were able to run a three-man weave and move at ease. Unfortunately, a lack of patience made it difficult to score. After spotting Wiss a 7 point lead, O'Hara managed to score 6 to Wiss' 5, but it was not enough as O'Hara lost, 12 - 6.

Some bright points from the first two games, Zak has real talent and potential, ditto French. Squared is a major defensive force. Ben can be a solid handler. Whitey makes so few mistakes, his game is near perfect. The biggest surprise is Brett. Kid came to play this year and is showing some true potential, great things for this junior. Blue and the GirlSquad are getting mentally ready to play some tough games and make some waves in the spring. As the fall progresses, I am sure that things will start to fall in place and this team will pull together to make a good run at a City Championship, and have some real excitment at States.

Fall Season Opener - Radnor

noreply@blogger.com (Tom Cook) — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 13:21:00 +0000

O'Hara Ultimate graduated a ton of great players last year. Handlers, cutters, incredible D, depth, all lost to college. Knowing full well the fall would be rough, the team decided to schedule just a handful of games and focus on rebuilding in the fall. The first game, against rival Radnor, a team that we had never lost to, would be the first test of the season.

Before the game, the team fought for transportation, and the school has granted the team busing to every away, a major milestone for the club. Now, on to the game recap.

The team split into A and B squads for the game, and had high hopes for both. First, A Team. The first teamers had a difficult time moving the disc early. The handlers, Henkel, White, and Squared, were not able to get good looks down field to move the disc, and would often have slight miscommunications that would cause a play to break down. Offensively, there were very few cuts available to make downfield throws. Overall, it was a rough first game. O'Hara fell behind early, and despite playing good defense, could not muster up enough offense to win, falling 15 - 7 for the first ever loss to Radnor.

The B team was a completely different story. The B game was played mixed, 5/2 ratio, and that worked right into O'Hara's favor. With Blue, Reg, Poncho, and Colleen getting playing time in the A game, Becky took charge. Recording the first slash of the season, Becky was the top handler and game manager for the B team's total domination of Radnor B. French showed his ability to become a defensive stopper and major threat on offense. The B team cruised to a 15 - 3 shellacking of Radnor.

All in all, many lessons were learned, mostly about timeliness of cutting. Hopefully, with more practice and experience, the team can begin to pull it together.

States - Girls

noreply@blogger.com (Tom Cook) — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 14:24:00 +0000

GirlSquad had just come off their official crowning as City Championships, and was looking to States to avenge their Easterns losses. Last year, O'Hara fell just one point shy of winning, and this year, was determined to win every game.

Lower Merion

Of course the tournament would start out in a familiar way, against cross-town opponent, Lower Merion. O'Hara GirlSquad came out rather flat, owing that to a sluggish morning, and early start. The wind would become a crucial part of the game, as both teams decided to rely on the huck-and-play-D tactic. At some points, the game seemed to break down into a game of catch between Katie and Emily, the Lower Merion star. In the end, Reg in the endzone and Katie and Monica on D, once again proved too much for Lower Merion to handle, with O'Hara winning, 7 - 5, in what would prove to be the closest game of the day.

Mt. Lebanon

The Mt. Lebo Girls came into the tournament as one of only two teams from Pittsburgh and the team with the best record, going 9 - 1, the only loss was in the semi-finals of the Pittsburgh Championship. They happened to catch the GirlSquad in a game that would prove to be the most dominant performance by an O'Hara team ever. With the wind gusting hard, O'Hara GirlSquad moved the disc as if it were a perfect still day. On defense, the girls were dominating, on offense, the movement and flow of the disc was pure artistry. GirlSquad cruised to a 12 - 3 victory and had finally looked like the championship-caliber team they are.

Haverford

Once again, a familiar opponent from nearby. Haverford, in their first year, has progressed quite far, but this day belonged to O'Hara. The game was close, 9 - 3, and had a few scares, Reg hurt her leg and Blue's injury from Eastern's was acting up again, when this game closed, the stage was set for a showdown with the PHUL champion, North Hills.

North Hills

The North Hills Girls were an athletic bunch, pretty much cheerleaders with a flick. What they had in talent, they lacked in sportsmanship. The game was close, back and forth, with the North Hills Girls showing why they were the PHUL champions with very good hucks, luckily O'Hara had Katie shutting down the deep game. A scary moment came when Monica caught an apparent goal and called herself in, a NH player was right with her, and violently grabbed Monica's arm during an argument about whether Monica was in or not. Monica kept her cool, and eventually relented that she was not in and immediately threw a goal to Katie. With O'Hara firmly in control, the second half was a mockery, with NH hucking deep, not playing D and generally unspirited, O'Hara easily won, 10 - 5.

Second Day

Lower Merion

The semi-finals featured the top two teams from Philly, and O'Hara dominated. Blue and Reg played limited points to rest their injuries and GirlSquad did not miss a beat on a picture perfect morning. The wind had calmed down and Katie lead the girls to complete control of the over-matched opponent. Even with the limited playing time, Reg managed to score 3 goals on 4 catches, and blue played key D and added a few of her own. GirlSquad cruised to a 12 - 3 victory and completed a season sweep of Lower Merion with a combined scoring of 57 - 20.

North Hills

After Day One, everyone knew the PHUEL Champs would meet the PHUL Champs to decide States. The game was close, with O'Hara falling behind for the first time all tournament 4 - 2. The North Hills sideline was overheard during a time out saying "Ok, now we just do what we do, blow them out." Apparently, they did not respect the ability and tenacity of GirlSquad. O'Hara quickly answered back, taking half 7 - 5. After half, with all the other teams, Haverford, Lower Merion and Mt. Lebo cheering for O'Hara, GirlSquad had the extra boost to carry them to take an 8 - 7 lead. While the point was being played, the hard cap went on, O'Hara was firmly in control of the disc, near the NH endzone, but couldn't punch it in. The whole sideline was aware that if GirlSquad scored, the game was over, if not, a universe point would ensue, memories of the previous year's universe point loss in the title game flooded through the sidelines memories. The players on the field had no idea about the critical nature of the point, and just played hard. When Reg scored the winning goal, and the sideline rushed the field, it took a few seconds for reality to hit the team, GirlSquad had captured their first Pennsylvania State Championship and the State title in O'Hara Ultimate history.

States - Open

noreply@blogger.com (Tom Cook) — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 13:09:00 +0000

The lead up to States was rather crazy. Originally scheduled to take place in Pittsburgh, a last minute field cancellation forced the venue switch to just outside Allentown, in the shadows of Dorney Park. The change also lead to a number of Pitt. teams dropping out, leaving only 12 teams to compete for the State title. The Open team had played well enough in the spring to earn a 5th seed at States, and hoped to play well enough to prove it was well earned.

Radnor

First game of the tournament, familiar opponent. Having played Radnor already several times in the season, O'Hara was well versed in how to go about beating the Griffins. The first game proved to follow suit exactly as the entire season has, with O'Hara Ultimate defeating Radnor 13 - 7. No real surprises, simply good Ultimate.

Wissahickon

Having come off a loss to Wiss at City Championships due to Curran breaking Ben's nose, O'Hara was ready for a rematch. O'Hara and Wissahickon had proven all year to be very evenly matched, save a 15 - 1 blowout by Wiss earlier in the spring. The game was hotly contested with points being traded back and forth. A few key turnovers in and around the endzone, Szkuds and Curran not quite finding their groove, and once again, too much from the Stavingas, proved to be O'Hara's undoing, falling 12 - 8.

Pennsbury

The City Champs and defending State Champs once again proved why they are such a good team. Pennsbury came to States on a mission, and showed it, defeating O'Hara 13 - 6. O'Hara played Pennsbury as good as any team in the pool, but just could not match the depth of the Falcons.

Mt. Lebanon

In the final game of the day, and O'Hara looking for a .500 finish, the only Pitt. team in the pool arrived with their A game. This would prove to be the most exciting and dramatic game of the tournament for O'Hara. The teams traded points to 3, then Mt. Lebo was able to get a few breaks, and took a halftime lead of 7 - 4, including an incredible, double happiness play that featured a layout at both ends from a Mt. Lebo player. O'Hara Ultimate would not be denied this game however, as they fought back to tie the game at 8. With O'Hara driving, Mt. Lebo came up with a huge D in the endzone and started to work the disc up field, as they approached midfield, they floated a pass over the middle, and playing a masterful deep position as usual, Squared flew in for a huge D. Unfortunately, Henkel made a similiar run at the D and a thunderous collision ensued. Both key players were down and out at a crucial time, Henkel with a bloody nose, Squared with a severely hurting leg. Still, O'Hara drove on after the injuries, determined to win the games last two points savage. O'Hara took a 9 - 8 lead just after the cap went on and forced Mt. Lebo to play conservative, but intelligent. The safe play of Mt. Lebo lead to a 9 - 9 tie, forcing a universe point, with O'Hara receiving the pull going down wind. The play was intense, both teams forcing several turnovers before an exhausted O'Hara scored the winning point, finding Sleeves in the endzone for the win. Both teams collapsed on the field, Mt. Lebo in exasperation, O'Hara in jubilation.

The end of Day 1 found O'Hara 2 - 2, needing a win in the final pool game on Day 2 verse an unknown, and underrated State College.

State College

O'Hara arrived at Day 2 with a savage team, having lost Henkel to injury and team captain Szkud to a family emergency. O'Hara Ultimate was still determined to send the seniors out on a high note. The game began with O'Hara turning the disc over 3 times in the endzone and giving up huge scoring drives to State College, instead of being up, O'Hara found themselves in an insurmountable 3 - 0 deficit. The team fought back, finding weaknesses in the SC zone, but was unable to find enough defense to cause the breaks, and lost 13 - 10, the early lead proving the difference.

J. R. Mastermann

Having been eliminated from the Championship bracket, O'Hara sought to dominate the Chumpionship division. O'Hara had a recent string of games against Mastermann, and once again, even savage, proved too much for the fledgling team to handle, winning the game, 13 - 7.

Radnor

The final game of the tournament, ending just the same as it started, with Radnor. The differences in this game from the first however, made for a much more interesting set-up, O'Hara, playing in their third savage game of the day, was looking to continue their winning streak against Radnor, and finish States with a winning record. Since the Championship game was starting at about the same time, the teams agreed to play to 9, in order to watch the event. Once again, O'Hara proved too much for Radnor. O'Hara took a 5 - 3 halftime lead, and on the ensuing pull, bolstered that to 6 - 3. From there, the team was content to trade points to the end, when Wilcox found tournament MVP Curran in the endzone with a trademark layout for the game winning goal, 9 - 6.

When the dust settled, O'Hara finished the tournament with a 4 - 3 record, and the season with a 16 - 15 record and overall, scored 5 more goals than they allowed. A successful season, filled with wins, losses, and incredibly fun season. The graduating seniors will be missed, but they have set the stage for more growth and plenty of success. Good luck to the graduates, most of whom will be playing for Penn State in the fall.

Devon Prep

noreply@blogger.com (Tom Cook) — Thu, 22 May 2008 15:29:00 +0000

Senior Day brought in Devon Prep, a new team to the league. This would be set to be the Seniors last home game, and last regular season game. A windy, cold day, would be the perfect setting to play.

The game started off much closer than O'Hara had anticipated with Devon actually taking a 3 - 1 lead. O'Hara had been running its zone defense, but it was not as dominate as in the past. O'Hara quickly switched to man defense, and the rout was on. Gunther recorded his first slash, Monica her first Open score of the year, and Savage played some solid D. The team now preps for States.

City Championships

noreply@blogger.com (Tom Cook) — Thu, 22 May 2008 14:10:00 +0000

The City Championships were slated to be hosted at Edgely, but some last second revisions were necessary and brought the tournament home to O'Hara. The home field advantage may have helped, but only slightly.

GirlSquad

Off their Easterns' fallout, the Girls came home to their dominance. The first game against Lower Merion started off slow, and ended early. The game had to be time capped in order to start the rest of the tournament. O'Hara was not playing particularly well, with many throws hitting the turf early or simply not being caught. Luckily, the girls were able to turn it on when they needed it, and walked away with a 6 - 2 win.

The Haverford game was much more the style that O'Hara is familiar with. In a 15 - 0 rout, O'Hara regained its form with Reg nearly collected two slashes and Katie tossing most of them. The game even featured a Callahan goal! The GirlSquad had claimed the official title of City Champions and had begun to look forward to States.

Open

The Open team had drawn the 5 seed and had to face Lower Merion in the first round. The game would prove to be hard fought, but a testament to how far the team has come this year. In the only other match-up with LM, O'Hara won a nail-biter 13 - 12, this time, there would be no doubt.
O'Hara stumbled a bit to start the game, falling down 6 - 4 before taking their play up a notch, taking half 8 - 7. The zone began to gel and put pressure on LM players and force bad decisions, upon which, the offense quickly capitalized. Squared was as dominate as ever, but once again took a hard shot to the groin during a collision with Sleeves. The second half was all O'Hara, the team could sense the life draining from the LM players and quickly closed the game, winning 15 - 9. This was a game of wills, with O'Hara proving it wanted the win, just a little more.
After beating Lower Merion, O'Hara had the dubious distinction of playing Pennsbury. Earlier this season, at Born 2 Dive, O'Hara gave Pennsbury a little scare, and had confidence that the team could hang with them. Pennsbury quickly put that idea to rest. Showing just how dominate they really are, the defending State Champions never let O'Hara into the game, dominating from start to finish with a 15 - 6 win. Unlike B2D, Pennsbury took O'Hara seriously, and was not looking past to a match up with anyone else.
The final game for the A Team had them matched up with Wissahickon. Both teams had limited subs, and were debating before the game about seedings at States. It was clear once the game start, that both wanted to win and claim 3rd place in the city. The game wore on as a slug fest, with both teams going on runs of points, and several players, including both Stavingas, needing to leave for a point or two with cramps or other injuries. With the score 10 - 6, Curran let a huge huck fly, but on the follow-through, he caught Ben in the nose, and opened the floodgates. With as much blood as Ben had pouring out of his face, it was obvious he had to go to the hospital. O'Hara decided to forfeit the game, and give Wiss. the win. It was later determined that Ben had a small break in his nose, but would not miss any game time.

O'Hara finished the day in 4th place in the city, meeting our team goal of a top 5 finish. The next goal is a top ten finish for the open team, a State Championship for the girls.

Cheltenham

noreply@blogger.com (Tom Cook) — Fri, 16 May 2008 13:57:00 +0000

After a downer of a trip to Easterns, the O'Hara Ultimate A team had a few days to get themselves ready for City Championships. On the day before playing Cheltenham, the team scrimmaged against several seniors from Cook's marketing class. The game, of course, was a debacle, with the Ultimate team winning 15 - 2. The bigger story was that we were supposed to play Cheltenham on that day, and the brilliant coach that I am, I screwed up the schedule. Cheltenham was gracious enough to reschedule for the next day.

O'Hara Ultimate met Cheltenham on their home field and was able to field a savage team. No subs, no problem. O'Hara Ultimate thumped Cheltenham 15 - 6 on the strength of the zone defense. Squared had plenty of D's and took a shot to the groin when he went up to sky a Cheltenham player and collided with Sleeves. He did not get the D. Szkud chipped in a slash, as did Curran and Wilcox on the assist side. Always a good spirited game, the teams decided to shake hands on the way to the ice cream truck which had waited patiently for the game to end.

Girls' High School Easterns

noreply@blogger.com (Tom Cook) — Mon, 12 May 2008 12:13:00 +0000

The GirlSquad had qualified for Easterns based on their finish at States last year. O'Hara Ultimate had finished second, falling to Fox Chapel at universe point. With high expectations and a 8 seed overall, GirlSquad stepped onto the fields in Pittsburgh. The fields were a swamp and the weather foreboding, but the experience of playing at the highest level was all the motivation needed.
Amherst

The first game of the tournament was against perennial powerhouse, Amherst. The Amherst team boasts an incredible record, several Eastern Championships, and several very good players. Even with all of that, O'Hara Ultimate came out strong, scoring the first 2 points, and showing everyone that they were not a team to be taken lightly. As the game approached half, several spectators were heard grumbling about a possible upset as the zone defense was causing problems and Katie was not allowing any long passes. However, the experience and depth of Amherst became evident in the second half and the youth and vulnerabilities of the GirlSquad was exposed. This would be the best game of the tournament for the girls, playing together as a cohesive unit and giving a giant a strong match, but unfortunately, the girls fell 12 - 5.

University School of Nashville

The team from Tennessee was seeded second in our Pool and was every bit as good as Amherst. During a second round bye, O'Hara watched as USN and Amherst battled out a monumental game, with Amherst pulling away in the end to make USN hungry for their battle against O'Hara. USN came out strong, scoring 3 quick goals on the GirlSquad. The second round layover had taken something out of the GirlSquad as they were playing very flat. The team took a time-out to talk about playing intelligently and with passion. After that, O'Hara Ultimate ripped off 5 unanswered goals to take a 5 - 3 lead, and swing the momentum in our favor. USN was able to weather the storm, and scored 5 in a row of their own to take halftime 8 - 5. In the second half, USN was content to trade points with O'Hara, the final, 12 - 8.

LC Bird

At some point in the USN game, Blue had hurt her foot, she was able to play a few points in the LC Bird game, enough to help O'Hara build a 3 - 0 lead, but once she had to come out, the team began to slip. With obvious exhaustion, GirlSquad began making poor decisions, trying to press the disc up-field and forgetting about the tried-and-true dump/swing to beat the cup. A frustrated Katie removed herself from the game for her only rest of the tournament. After playing a hard, promising game against Amherst, O'Hara Ultimate was unable to muster up the same determination and hard fought playing, and lost to LC Bird in their worst defeat of the year, 11 - 6.

Day one ended with an 0 - 3 record, exhausted girls, an injured Blue, an upset, but hopeful team.

Columbia

The second day brought cold temperatures and the constant threat of rain. It also brought Sparkle Motion. The game was very competitive, but O'Hara fell 9 - 5. One of the core reason for this loss were the 27 endzone turnovers. O'Hara was able to repeated get the disc down to the goal line, but could not seal the deal. Turnovers in the endzone had been a repetitive theme throughout the weekend.

Stuyvesant

The last game of the tournament found Cook wearing a trashbag to stay dry on the sidelines, and Katie wearing on to play in. This game also held the most dramatic, frightening moment of the entire tournament. On a seemingly innocent play, Becky laid out for a catch with a defender going for a D and Becky did not get up. A fiery player, Becky had been knocked unconscious while trying to make a catch in the middle of the field. She had to be taken away to the hospital, but not before making sure everyone knew she made the catch and to pancake the disc. With the loss of a second player, Blue had been injured beforehand, and a sick Reg, O'Hara Ultimate went on fighting, but could not muster up enough for a win, falling 7 - 4 in our final game at Easterns.

Overall, a 0 - 5 record is not very pleasant to look at, but, with a very young team, and many more years to practice and perfect gameplay, look for O'Hara Ultimate to be a fixture at Easterns for many years to come.

Masterman - Playoffs

noreply@blogger.com (Tom Cook) — Thu, 08 May 2008 00:47:00 +0000

O'Hara Ultimate was seeded 5th in the City Playoff Series, a win qualifies the team for Division 1 City Championships and State Championships. Masterman, who O'Hara had earlier defeated at the O'Hara Invite.

Masterman was able to keep the score close early, but, the experience and skill of O'Hara dominated the opponent. The zone defense was infuriating, causing many turnovers, just when Masterman thought they were through. The offense quickly capitalized on mistakes and made very few of their own. O'Hara took half with the score 8-2, increased the lead to 10-2, and won by a final of 15-7, settling to trade points at the end of the game.

Squared and Szkud chipped in a slash in the endzone, with Katie and Curran racking up a slash each tossing past Masterman defenders with ease. O'Hara Ultimate advances to the City Championships where they will face Lower Merion in a rematch of the second game of the season. O'Hara has lost 6 of the last 7 to Lower Merion, but has improved tremendously this season. We should be a force at the City Championships.

Next up, the GirlSquad at Easterns.

Radnor

noreply@blogger.com (Tom Cook) — Fri, 02 May 2008 16:05:00 +0000

On another very windy day O'Hara once again was in action, this time against Radnor. In the second match-up of the season, O'Hara once again was victorious, dealing Radnor a crushing 15-3 loss.

In windy conditions, O'Hara's version of a cup zone once again proved to be a formidable defense and completely shut down any offense from Radnor. With Szkud, Curran and Gunther consistently around the disc, giving the handlers no breathing room, and Squared playing lights out deep, Radnor simply had nowhere to go. Before Radnor could react it was 10-0. Only then were they able to put together a fast break offense to capitalize a few times.

As great as the defense was, the offense was spectacular. O'Hara was able to move the disc incredibly well on Radnor's cup defense by playing with 4 handlers in an inverted ho-stack. The invert opened up all kinds of room underneath for Szkud and Gunther to cut through and allowed Curran to rack up a double slash for assists. Szkud and Squared each finished with four goals, and just about every member of the team contributed to the rout.

Crushing defense and intelligent, patient offense were the keys to this victory. Those and the fact that O'Hara may very well be the best bad weather team in the Philly.

O'Hara Invite - Sunday

noreply@blogger.com (Tom Cook) — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 16:35:00 +0000

Saturday was for the A and B teams, Sunday brought GirlSquad into action in a prep for Eastern's in two weeks. YHB made the drive up from Virginia, and although O'Hara tried to find another high level girls' team, none could make the commitment. The first ever O'Hara Invite Girls' Division featured YHB (A & B), Lower Merion, and O'Hara.

O'Hara first played a warmup game against a combined LM and Haverford team. Haverford only had three players available, and they rolled into a rather large LM/Haverford team. The combined group scored 2 quick points on GirlSquad, and seemed poised to finally end O'Hara's domination of Philly teams. However, GirlSquad had no intention of allowing that. The girls ran off 7 quick unanswered points, to win the game in a lightning fast 35 minutes. The game ended at half in order to get YHB involved in the action.

In the second game of the day, GirlSquad would get a preview of YHB, a team that will also be competing at Easterns', and who had defeated GirlSquad in the fall at KitKat. YHB jumped out to a 2 - 0 lead, just as LM had, and GirlSquad answered back with 4 of their own. The game continued in this way, streaks of points, for both teams. In the game, Monica recorded a slash, and Katie finished once assist shy, but unfortunately, the team fell 13-10. While the team was not able to beat YHB this time around, the team should feel confident about their chances at Easterns.

The closing round pitted O'Hara against YHB's B team, a collection of young players, with one starter from their A team. Katie and Monica sat out most of the game, and allowed the younger players to gain some experience and some playing time. Without their captain and star player, GirlSquad was still able to roll over their opponent 13-1. YHB's B team did show a lot of heart and played well, but the experience and chemistry of the GirlSquad was just a little too much.

Next up for GirlSquad...Easterns.

O'Hara Invite - Saturday

noreply@blogger.com (Tom Cook) — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 16:35:00 +0000

The first ever O'Hara invite was not quite a major spectacle. Originally slated to have a 3 team A and 3 team B division, only 5 teams showed up, and one had to leave early. Sadly, both of those were the other A teams. Cheltenham could not get enough players and Wissahickon had only 7, most of which had to be on the road shortly after noon. It didn't matter, as there was still plenty of ultimate to play.

First, O'Hara A. The A team took on Wissahickon in a reversal of fortunes game from an earlier match-up. Last time, it was O'Hara would played savage, accounting for only 4 points. This time, Wissahickon had a savage team, but the Stavinga's still managed to make it close. O'Hara won 15-14 with the twin brothers from Wiss accounting for 90% of the Wiss points. Other than that, O'Hara did win, even if it was in ugly fashion.

While O'Hara A was battling with Wiss, O'Hara B was fighting with J.R. Masterman, a new team from Philly. Mastermann played well, and was able to defeat B7, but not without some great play. Back to having fun, B7, for the first time ever, ran a stack in game. Playing in the new offense, Russ showed off his athleticism and instinct for the game. It didn't take long for the team to be able to put the concept for the offense into action and was able to run the stack with surprising effectiveness. Mastermann did come away with a 13-5 victory, but O'Hara B showed some hope for the future.

In back-to-back action, O'Hara B took a short break, and then took the field for a game against Lenape, a team form New Jersey. The Jersey kids showed great athleticism, but not much in the way of actual Ultimate knowledge and skill. Their ability to outrun and outlast O'Hara B proved to be enough. In the last game of the day for the B team, the squad simply could not match up with a much bigger, faster group. The team fell into some bad habits, not running to the disc, dropping easy passes, not looking up field to advance the disc, and simply making bad throws. Lenape easily won the game, 13-3.

O'Hara A looked to redeem their younger, more inexperienced B team by defeating Lenape. The game was one of the easiest of the year for O'Hara. The team, without having much difficulty, was able to quickly dispatch with the team from Jersey playing savage. Lenape did show heart, but the experience of O'Hara was simply too much for them.

O'Hara A finished out the day by taking on Masterman. Masterman has played many games in their first season, and their experience and coaching was on display. Unfortunately for them, O'Hara once again, had too much experience and skill. Handlers repeatedly found Albaugh in the endzone, in what was probably Albaugh's best game ever. The junior shows some promise for next year.

Overall, the B team had a fun day, and O'Hara A raised their record to 8-5 in league, and 8-10 overall. With 4 regular season games, and City Championships still to be played, O'Hara is currently tied with Wiss for the PHUEL regular season lead.

Abington Friends

noreply@blogger.com (Tom Cook) — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 16:28:00 +0000

Off a hard fought loss to HUDA B, O'Hara B team traveled up to Abington to take on the Friends. The drive up brought some wrong turns, Mr. Cook getting really lost, and some general confusion, set the tone for the game.

O'Hara B showed real promise and passion on Tuesday, but could not carry that over into this game. AbFS, with a roster full of players with height and way too much facial hair simply cruised by O'Hara, 15-4. The team was unable to put together any offense, only showing momentary flashes of the brilliance from Tuesday. The zone proved ineffective, and players who can typically be relied on for consistent play, were not delivering.

After the game, the team discussion centered on passion and desire to play. It seems the day off lead most of the B team to leave their love and passion of the game at home in bed. Hopefully it is a lesson they will not forget soon.

HUDA B

noreply@blogger.com (Tom Cook) — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 16:16:00 +0000

With the A team having the week off, their only time off this season, the B team was in full gear. The first of 4 games this week, B7 traveled to Haverford to take on HUDA B. Haverford's B team is not a true B team, it is about half A team players playing down, and some younger players. HUDA and O'Hara did agree to play the game with a 4:3 ratio, evening the odds a little for O'Hara.

The first half of the game was quite a debacle, O'Hara not being able to string together any offense and being decimated on defense, quickly falling behind, 7-0. On the sidelines at halftime, the team decided to switch to a zone. On the first offensive series of the half, O'Hara quickly turned the disc over, and HUDA scored amongst the confusion of setting up the zone. That was to be the last time the zone fell apart. B7 quickly put together how to play the zone and was absolutely devastating in the second half. The B squad forced turnover after turnover, playing lights out D and unstoppable offense to score 9 points in the second half. The team, led by new captains Eric and Sean, and stellar play by rising GirlSquad star, Becky, showed tremendous grit and determination. HUDA "B" may have won the game 13-9, but the second half showed B7, that with the right attitude, hard-nosed defense and team play, they can find a way to put points on the board.

Born 2 Dive

noreply@blogger.com (Tom Cook) — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 15:40:00 +0000

Junior Prom on Friday, major tournament all weekend...sure, why not?

O'Hara Ultimate received a bid to the 3rd Annual Born to Dive tournament a little over a month ago, and still had trouble fielding a team. 8 dedicated players showed up and played well, though O'Hara Ultimate could not muster enough to win a game, going 0-5 over the weekend.

The tournament started with Woodside, a team from Virginia, that showed up in force, with an offensive and defensive line. The team had a goal of scoring at least 5 points against an opponent that had them outnumbered, but as the game progressed, it became apparent that O'Hara Ultimate could win. Unfortunately, that was never realized as O'Hara lost a highly spirited game 13-5. Our goal was met, but the loss was again marked by unforced errors.

Columbia was the next team on the schedule. The school that started Ultimate, and perennial powerhouse showed how good they really were. Columbia proceed to thump O'Hara 13-3, but showed very little spirit in their victory, at one point spiking the disc violently while they were up by more than 8 points in the second half.

The first day ended against Magruder, a team from Maryland. Magruder was a highly spirited bunch, and O'Hara Ultimate played a great game. O'Hara proved to be able to move the disc well, played great defense, but just couldn't put together enough to come out with a win, falling 13-10.

The second day brought O'Hara face to face with defending Eastern Champions Pennsbury. O'Hara facing elimination, came out rather weak, allowing Pennsbury to score twice before even completing a pass. The rout appeared to be on. It was at this point, that O'Hara began to play out of the heads. They quickly tied the game up at 2 and traded points to 4. Pennsbury was frantic as the O'Hara zone mystified the host team. Pennsbury could not break through and O'Hara kept them mostly pinned in their own endzone. Even with Pennsbury taking half 7-5, the champs looked very beatable.

After half, Wilcox had a chance to bring O'Hara within one point, but instead of catching a sure Callahan, he smacked the disc to the ground. On the ensuing offensive point, O'Hara misfired, and Pennsbury awoke, scoring immediately. Before O'Hara could regain composure, Pennsbury was up 10-6. O'Hara fought valiantly and performed incredibly well against a very talented team before eventually falling 13-6. It was by far the best performance in any game, and a game that the team can look back on and know they can compete with any team in the country.

O'Hara decided to play a consolation game against Stuyvesant as their last game of the day. In incredibly windy conditions, consistent wind of 20, with gusts of 35+, neither team could move the disc very well. O'Hara proved to be able to easily score against Stuy, typically doing so with one pass on offense, while the O'Hara Zone forced multiple turnovers. O'Hara did have one successful drive against the wind, moving all the way down to within 10 yards of a score, when a handler got greedy and made an ill-advised flick into a strong wind that was easily d-ed. The game fell into the time cap, and since Stuy had the disc first, O'Hara fell 7-6.

O'Hara did find out a few things from the tournament, for example, even playing against some of the best teams around, Columbia and Pennsbury, not a single team could match Squared's speed. Katie was able to break the mark repeatedly and Gunther played incredibly well and intelligently. The team showed heart when up against a wall, and overall, even though several players bailed on the tournament, the team had a good time, and came home no worse for the wear.

Lower Merion Girls

noreply@blogger.com (Tom Cook) — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 15:19:00 +0000

O'Hara GirlSquad, playing as many games as possible as they prepare for Easterns', took on Lower Merion Girls. Earlier in the season, GirlSquad defeated LM at the HipHop Tournament, and once again, great offense led to another victory. Katie and Reg connected several times on offense as Reg finished just shy of a slash. Two game featured the debut of two new players, Molly and Olivia, who both played well, especially defensively. Monica continued her stellar defense, establishing herself as a shut down defender as well as crucially involved in the offense.

The girls cruised to a 12-4 victory and now begin to prepared for the first O'Hara Invite. The tournament will feature YHB, Stuy, Pennsbury, and LM/Haverford. With three of the teams heading to Easterns', this is a preview of the excitement and competition the girls will face in Pittsburgh.

Haverford

noreply@blogger.com (Tom Cook) — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 15:49:00 +0000

On Tuesday O'Hara GirlSquad took on HUDA women for the second time in just a few days. The result was the same, however the game was very different. GirlSquad won the game 7-4, but did not look nearly as invincible as they did in the tournament win on Saturday. GirlSquad looked sluggish and HUDA Women came to play. The game featured many misfires by the GirlSquad, and at one point, HUDA even tied the game up, 2-2. Many of the girls played with a timidity not seen since they first picked up a disc. It was a sobering experience for several of the players, and hopefully, it will cause them to rededicate themselves and play like the champions they are. It was only with fierce defense from Monica and 4 scores by Blue that O'Hara's team was able to seal the deal. Hopefully, with a month to go before Eastern's, GirlSquad will be able to get enough practice to regain their edge.

Wednesday brought HUDA's A team to O'Hara. Once again, it was a challenging game for O'Hara Ultimate. With Curran and Szkud nursing injuries, and HUDA playing at or near the top of their game, the team was simply overmatched. Even with both of those players healthy, O'Hara's odds of winning would have been slim. O'Hara Ultimate could not capitalize on HUDA mistakes and made too many of their own and fell 15-6. This was the second loss in a few days to Haverford and the third lopsided loss of the season. Overall the team still needs to figure out how to minimize mental errors and eliminate miscues on the field. Patience, team play and field sense are three major areas that are lacking in the losses, but have been present in all of the teams wins. Hopefully, with many games still to be played, the team will find some consistency.

HipHoponPop

noreply@blogger.com (Tom Cook) — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 13:46:00 +0000

The weather decided to cooperate, and the tournament was on! A total of over 20 teams competed, 16 in Division 1, 3 Girls teams, and several B level teams, for one of the best tournaments in PHUEL history. O'Hara played well enough to finish 6th, falling to the eventual champion, Haverford in the quarterfinal round, and playing their best game of the day in the consolation bracket against Cheltenham. GirlSquad cruised past both of their opponents, in route to another HipHop Championship, their 2nd in three years.

Open Team Recap

The open team started their day against a very inexperienced CB East team. The game started out very sloppy with O'Hara and East trading mistakes, East could not quite throw accurately, and O'Hara could not catch anything. The game progressed slowly through the first five points, with O'Hara having the edge, 3-2. It was at this point that the experience of O'Hara began to pay off. The team proceed to outscore CB East 10-1 over the next 25 minutes to cruise to a victory. The game had a scary moment when two players collided and a a CB East player was slow to get up, interesting since he was the bigger of the people involved in the collision.

After the victory over East, O'Hara advanced to the quarterfinals to play a very talented Haverford High. HUDA boasts incredible team speed and runs a very efficient stack and zone offense. As the game began, O'Hara came out in their zone offense and was able to create a few turns earlier, but the difficulty catching and throwing from the previous game carried over and O'Hara was unable to capitalize. HUDA jumped out to a 3-0 lead and never looked back winning 11-6. During the game, both Szkud and Curran had to sit with nagging injuries, hopefully, this will not haunt the team as the season progresses. A bright spot in the game, once again, was the defensive play of Squared. Rob simply was on fire. He has several defensive stops and was able to shut his player out on offensive strikes of greater than 20 yards. He is proving to be a valuable asset in eliminating a huck threat.

The final game of the day for O'Hara matched them up with Cheltenham. By this time, both Wilcox and Szkud had left, leaving O'Hara with just one sub. The tenacious efforts of those players proved to be enough. O'Hara simply mauled Cheltenham, by putting in the best team effort of the day. While tired, depleted, and in the case of Curran, hurting, O'Hara Ultimate showed why they are a threat to beat any team on any given day. Huge play from Sleeves, with a slash plus 2 (his first slash), an offense that involved the top handler, Katie, much more, great layouts from Whitey, stellar defense from Squared, and great timing (plus a sweet sky) from Curran, lead O'Hara to a 13-10 victory that was not nearly as close as the score suggests. This game highlighted the spirit of both teams, as their was plenty of good-natured trash talk between the two teams.

O'Hara was forced to forfeit the last game, against Yorktown, as most of the remaining players ran off for closing night of the school show. Hopefully this tournament was a learning experience and will lead to a higher-than-seeded finish at Born 2 Dive next weekend.

GirlSquad

A heavily favored Girls' team entered HipHop with all expectations to win easily, and they did not disappoint. The first game, against HUDA Women was played 6 on 6, due to a lack of numbers for Haverford. O'Hara simply dominated. Blue recorded her first slash, with Reggie and Monica finishing just one shy, as those three scored all of the points. Katie, Loran, Becky, and many others contributed by tossing the scores and playing excellent defense. While HUDA lost 13-0, they did show that they have some athletes and will present a challenge for GirlSquad as they gain experience and playing time. A highlight of the game was during halftime, a highly spirited GirlSquad involved both of the other teams in a spontaneous dance party to keep smiles on everyone's face and remind all teams of the fun nature of Ultimate and the vital component fo Spirit.

The last game for GirlSquad brought the challenge of Lower Merion, who, unfortunately, had suffered a few injuries. The previous game featured everyone getting assists, this game, featured everyone getting in the endzone. After this game, every girl had made it in the scorebook, a feat that the open team has never accomplished. While the GirlSquad did allow LM to score, winning 13-4, the game was again, highly spirited and much fun to watch and play. The team showed that they can play and win without Katie playing a huge role, as she sat back and allowed the other players a chance to shine. Becky especially put on a great show, and Boylan showed off her potential. Overall, it was a great chance for the GirlSquad to finally play together and they showed their passion and ability. For all who care to take notice, this team should do some damage at Easterns.

Wissahickon

noreply@blogger.com (Tom Cook) — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 19:04:00 +0000

In a final tune up before a hectic tournament schedule begins, O'Hara Ultimate traveled up to Wissahickon to take on one of the best teams in the city. Unfortunately, several key players, Wilcox, Squared, and Sleeves, along with Albaugh and C-Lo were unable to make the trip. This left O'Hara Ultimate with a lineup prepared to play savage. Russell received a call-up from B7 in order to give the A team a sub if necessary. The team proved not to need the help.

Wissahickon dominated the game from start to finish, easily cruising to a 15-5 victory. Turnovers highlighted by a lack of speed, consistency, accuracy on throws, drops and a team that could not string together more than 5 passes led to a quick defeat. Wiss took half with a score of 8-1 and only when the younger players started to get more playing time, could O'Hara Ultimate put some ink on the stat sheet.

While the game was a blowout, the teams did enjoy themselves. Spirit of the Game is always very evident when these two teams meet, a few of the players on both teams have competed together in various venues (YCC and Paganello.) While on the field, the game may have been a debacle, O'Hara Ultimate played together and never allowed the score to effect their attitudes toward each other, hopefully a sign of a maturing team.

Next up, HipHoponPop, hopefully the weather will cooperate.

St. Joe's Prep

noreply@blogger.com (Tom Cook) — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 12:26:00 +0000

Tuesday brings us to our fourth game of the season, against perennial school rival, St. Joe's Prep. The Prep has a long tradition of outstanding Spirit and great Ultimate, and this game would prove no different.

After losing the flip and having to pull to start the game for the first time this season, O'Hara Ultimate got off to another slow start allowing the Prep to score first. Unlike the last game, we had an answer, marching right back down the field on Prep's cup defense and tying the game. The game proceeded back and forth up to 3, and that is when the game was blown wide open, scoring 5 in a row to take the half. After half it was more of the same, with some of the B team getting involved. This game saw Russell and Ellis getting their first A team points, and Eric debuting as a handler. With that being said, the day truly belonged, once again, to Szkud and Squared, each with 6 points, 5 assists for Szkud and 5 scores for Squared. This was the first slash of the year for Squared who played nearly every minute of the game with very high intensity. (*a slash refers to a player scoring 5 points and has been coined by Gunther)

O'Hara was playing our own unique zone defense, while mixing it up and confusing the Prep by switching in and out of man coverage. It was this stellar strategy that helped to confuse Prep and cause several costly turnovers, of which O'Hara Ultimate was able to capitalize on throughout the game.

On the other side of the disc, the offense moved with great efficiency. For the first time in O'Hara Ultimate history, every member of the team is capable of making the necessary throws to continue the progression of the disc. Prep's cup defense was easily broken and caused very few scares. Utilizing a modified version of our offensive game plan, O'Hara Ultimate was able to continually complete passes at every level.

There were a few problems that will need to be addressed for O'Hara to continue with the recent success. The defense did look a bit tired at points during the game, especially while playing man defense, often allowing their players to beat them to the force side by giving less than their best efforts. This may be due to two games in two days, a problem the team will have to address with several major tournaments coming up. Offensively, handlers too often were looking downfield for a huck, often at the cost of a more intelligent swing pass. The offense will need to raise the tempo and push the disc downfield with more short, high percentage passes to dominate against better opponents.

In all, a 15-4 victory against St. Joe's Prep is always a great thing. The team continues to play at a very high level and will face its second true test of the season against Wissahickon on Thursday. After that, it is on to HipHop.

Radnor

noreply@blogger.com (Tom Cook) — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 22:35:00 +0000

Monday brings us to a new week, and our first away game of the season.

Both the A and B teams were in action against a continually improving Radnor team. First, the B team, or as they are now known, B7.

B Team
B7 took on Radnor B in a hard fought, back and forth game. Radnor B struck first and built up a 3-0 lead before B7 was able to get on the board. B7 scored two quick points and the teams traded points to half, with Radnor scoring to take the half 7-5. After half, B7 was able to take an 8-7 lead, before Radnor took the score to 12-10. With their backs against the wall in a game to 13, B7 tied the game just as the cap fell. The team fought hard, but a pass that was tipped twice, fell into the hands of a waiting Radnor player to win the game 13-12. The team as a whole played great, with Russell, Frenchie, Ellis, Savage, Colleen, and Blue playing especially well. In a unanimous vote, Eric was named MMP (Most Muddy Player.)

A Team
O'Hara Ultimate came into the game having never lost to Radnor and O'Hara knew they would need great play all around to keep that streak in tact.
The game started with Radnor jumping out to a 3-0 lead, as in the B Team game. However, it took a little while longer for the A team to bring it together. O'Hara Ultimate kept trying to institute a zone, while Radnor kept capitalizing on turnovers, taking half with a score of 8-5.
After half, O'Hara Ultimate came out flat and fell behind 11-6. The streak looked near end, but with a renewed defensive passion, and a refuse to lay-down attitude O'Hara Ultimate fought back. O'Hara Ultimate after falling down by 6, went on an 8-2 run to win the game. Highlights of the second half include Gunther running down a Curran miscue for a score, and two absolutely sick layouts by Szkud. The first, a great layout in the endzone for a goal that was contested (we scored on the next throw anyway) and a disgusting, one-handed, around-the-defender grab to set up the go-ahead point. The winning point featured everyone on the field playing a significant role on offense and defense to put together several turns, and a drive from our own goal line to win the game.

Big plays from Curran, Squared, Gunther, and Szkuds helped bring the team back. Henkel, Wilcox, Ginger, Katie, Sleeves, and Whitey all played solid games to contribute to the game. Tomorrow brings St. Joe's Prep into our home field and hopefully, another win.

First Week

noreply@blogger.com (Tom Cook) — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 04:54:00 +0000

O'Hara Ultimate spring 2008 has begun!

The season began in an inauspicious way. The B team dropped 3 games at Green Eggs and Spam, Radnor's new, annual event. While the team lost the games by a combined score of 39 - 9, we had a great time, and look forward to improved play as the season goes on. Highlights include Sleeves and Russell busting their butts all day, and our lone A team hold-out, Rob Squared playing every minute of every game in a valiant attempt to pull out a win!

The A Team dropped its first game to a very athletic Haverford School. With lots of wind, few subs, and un-inspired play, the A Team just couldn't muster enough offense as the lost 10 -9.

In the wake of a humbling loss, the cross-town rivals, Lower Merion, stepped out O'Hara's fields, looking to continue their dominance. O'Hara had dropped 6 consecutive games to the Babaganouj. O'Hara Ultimate came out with inspired, hardcore Waste play, effectively running its vaunted zone defense, the Waste jumped out to a 6 - 3 lead. Not to be out-played so easily, a well coached LM team, stormed back to take the half 8 - 6.
O'Hara went into halftime with a sense of urgency and emerged to score two quick goals and tie up the game at 8. An epic battle of "huck and play D" and two very different zone philosophies lead to trading points up to 12. With the score tied again and Universe point on the line, O'Hara pulled to LM.
LM had been playing a huck offense strategy to pin O'Hara deep on their red zone, but with the game on the line, Wilcox, Szkud, Curran and Squared and company would not allow them to get the disc back. Deep on his own goal line, Wilcox fired a huck downfield to Szkud who made and amazing layout, but could not hold on. However, he called a foul on the play, saying that he was stripped of the disc on the way down. The call was contested and went back to the line. A second attempt from Wilcox to Szkud found its mark A few short moments later, the disc found its way into Squared's hands on the goal line who tossed a simple pass to Curran in the endzone for the win.

O'Hara Ultimate is now 1 - 1 on the season, and the B Team is 0 - 4. Girl Squad has yet to play, but has been invited to compete in UPA High School Easterns' in Pittsburgh.

Check back often for updates on O'Hara Ultimate.

1..2..3..4..5..6..7..WASTE!