The second match of the day was the meeting of the checkerboard jerseys as the Irish Pub Ninjas took on the Shamrock Club Griffin’s. Shamrock Club took off with a bang and were playing like a well-oiled machine. Rookie Rachel Linderman showed no fear on the field as she flung herself into scrums in attempts to keep the sliotar in her team’s possession. Her efforts paid off as her teammates, including Matt Mangan, to score a pair of points. Pub’s Bill Boppre sent up a point, putting his team on the board. Andrew Fehrenbach soloed down the field to send an amazing pass to captain Joel “Jo-El” Ingebrigtson who sent the sliotar squarely through the uprights. At the end of the quarter Irish Pub was up 2-1 (7) over the Griffins 0-2 (2).
Both teams buckled down defensively during the second quarter. Despite the best efforts of both offenses, the muddy field conditions made it difficult to acquire the ball and even harder for them to stay on their feet. One Shamrock player still managed to keep his fancy footwork; Brian Dake perfectly boxed out an oncoming Griffin to take possession of the sliotar and clear it to his teammates. At the end of fifteen minutes, each team only managed to score one point each. Irish pub maintained their lead 2-2 (8) over the Griffins 0-3 (3).
After the half, both teams revved up their offensive attacks. Fehrenbach and Ingebrigtson each scored back-to-back points to start the quarter. Linderman continued to make plays for Shamrock defensively including making a perfect block. Joe Garr got in on the action scoring another pair of points for Pub. The points were not just being scored by Ninjas, Mangan and teammates managed to land a few through the uprights before the quarter ended. Irish Pub expanded on their lead with a score of 2-10 (16) oer the Griffins 0-6 (6).
In the final quarter both teams fought hard to add to their scores. After three-quarters of mostly point scoring, both teams’ defenses let their opponents slip past them. Irish Pub put up back-to-back goals early in the quarter. Later on, Shamrock’s Pat Burke managed to land a goal of his own with a great angled shot. The points may have been limited but they were not absent. Irish Pub’s offense landed another two points but a last minute rally by Shamrock Club earned them three points. The game ended with the Irish Pub Ninjas taking a strong win 4-12 (23) over the Griffins 1-9 (12).
By: C. Marie
Ninjas Take Down Griffins
in the Battle of the Checkerboard Jerseys