magnUM Reserve Sectionals Recap

Asked to retell the happenings of April 18th and 19th, I thought to myself how I might be able to tell the mystical and fantastical journey of awe and wonder. I didn’t know if I could do it justice and I figured that for the magnUM faithful, straightforward and to the point might be best. Reserve, coming off of excellent finishes at Chicago Invite and Double Down looked to cruise into the “Zoo” and make a statement in Michigan by breaking their 6th seed and grabbing a bid to Regionals. A challenge was set forth by the Reserve leadership that this team was going to Regionals and would settle for nothing less.

Calvin College

Battling bugs on the field, Reserve started off their Saturday at 9am facing Calvin. The day didn’t start off on the best foot. Captain Steve Kilpatrick, lacking a “Volde warm-up” (McDonald’s breakfast) was apparently groggy, and threw a Callahan. But not to worry, Reserve shook off the cobwebs and took half 7-2. Calvin, however, would not die and eventually returned the score to 11-10. Reserve quickly closed the door though, capitalizing on Calvin turns, Truesdell scored the last two goals to seal the victory.

Waterloo

Reserve’s second game of day was against our neighbors from the North, Waterloo. The game was close, and MANNSCHAFT put up a good fight, but in the end they were no match for captain Eric Haywood and his seven assists! That’s right, I counted, seven! Because of cap restrictions, Reserve won this game 12-10. Shout out to Copp, check out Copp’s face on this sick D! Nice work!

Michigan State-B

After the break and some definitely needed sloppy joe nourishment, Reserve returned to the field against Michigan State B. Wanting to show the state who was the better B team, Reserve brought everything to the table. With its offense clicking, MagnUM Reserve won handedly, 13-3. Enough said.

Michigan-A

After the B battle, Reserve looked across the field and saw another sea of yellow. Once brother now foe, Reserve turned to face Natty Mich. The game started with a back and forth momentum. Both teams capitalized on the other’s mistake and taking a few breaks, the score remained 4-4. After holding their own, Reserve crumpled after a few drops and throw aways. MagnUM took the game, and afterwards the program was once again all smiles.

Kalamazoo

Saturday was over, and a Regional bid was still in the cross hairs for Reserve. “Sunday is Fun-day” was their cry and standing in their way was Kalamazoo. Last year Kalamazoo had ended Reserve’s hope for a Regional bid. That being said I don’t know what the deal was but Reserve did not come to play this game. Whether it was the rain, the early start time, or that they just slept on the wrong side of the bed, but Reserve came out flat. Having enough drops in the end zone to win the game thrice times over, Reserve struggled. Succumbing to their own undoing, Reserve lost 4-15. However, they would not forget this loss.

Eastern Michigan

Reserve, still in the same funk, did not come to play for the first half against cross town rival Eastern Michigan Hellfish. Reserve went down 7-2 as the Hellfish took half. The seniors, realizing that this may be the last game that they play with the MagnUM logo on, stepped up in a big way. In fact the entire team took up a cut throat mentality. Finally, Reserve started to play the ultimate that they knew they could. Reserve dominated the second half and eventually went on an 11-2 run to win the game. It felt good to see us playing up to our full potential.

Hope College

Having tasted blood from the previous game, Reserve did not get out of their kill mode. While playing Reserve ultimate, we dominated the sky, the land, and the sea? Don’t know, but either way outstanding lay out D’s were a dime a dozen (Kilpatrick had 4 D’s on one player in one point!). Reserve rolled to a 13-6 victory over Hope. Also, I would just like to have an aside here and say wow to Chris “Book-ends” Li. If he could get a D and throw a goal to himself he would! But Li must be content with having someone else throw him goals. The win placed Reserve in 3rd place game and still gave them a fighting chance.

Kalamazoo

And then there was Kalamazoo… again! Reserve now in the 3rd place game had one team in the way. magnUM Reserve had not forgotten the lashing they had received from Kalamazoo earlier that morning. Reserve now had the opportunity to beat this same team, on the same field, and go to Regionals. It was too poetic! Having not forgotten the loss handed to us this morning and the bitter taste it left in our mouth, we were convinced that K-Zoo would not end another Regional’s run for Reserve. Reserve came out with a spark but the game would not be taken easily. Battling back and forth, K-Zoo took half 7-6. After half Reserve looked to the sidelines and again saw the yellow sea that had plagued them on Saturday. This time, Natty Mich was here to pick up the team. As they arrived the decibels increased tenfold and so did the intensity of the Reserve team. Reserve, after half went up and never looked back. After the score reached 13-12, Reserve braced for the O line point that would get them the win. Kalamazoo pulled and the disc was centered Volde. Without hesitation, Volde cranked a huge lefty backhand huck to Jolly awaiting near the endzone. Jolly jumped/used a jetpack to reach the upper atmosphere and sky the multiple K-zoo defenders. He then flicked the disc to DeRubeis sitting in the endzone wide open. The sidelines erupted, the heavens opened and a shout of joy was released. Reserve is going to Regionals! This is the second time in the programs history that Reserve will be making a Regionals appearance (the previous time was in 2005). This year Reserve will also be one of only three B-teams in the nation to win a bid to Regionals, a testament to the strength of the magnUM program. Eddie Helderop, captain of Hope College, said after the tournament, “You guys definitely brought it. I think it’s a little funny that UM secures two of our section’s three bids. Solid ultimate program there.”

Next stop for the Train: Oberlin, OH. See you March 2nd!