WPL Match Report by Alicia Gillberg: Amazons Shut Out the Surfers

View the complete 2011 WPL Schedule and Results here.

By Alicia Gillberg:

The Surfers may have brought a wave of hot weather with them to Minnesota this Sunday, but the Zons definitely were the ones packing heat on the pitch. After last week’s match in San Diego the Zons were left with a bad taste in their mouths after getting beat 22-17. This proved to be good motivation to send a message to the Surfers and the rest of the WPL; the Amazons are not satisfied with being the underdogs. For anyone attending the match it was plain to see that underdog is definitely not the word to describe either team. The Surfers are coming into this season as the fresh new faces of the WPL, and they have proven themselves to be formidable opponents who definitely deserve to be in the league. The Amazons are coming from a long tradition of success, and have a long list of up and coming players to accompany a set of very knowledgeable veterans. While they currently have a very strong back line, traditionally the Zons have been very pack heavy in their style of play, and on Sunday the pack took over once again as the driving force of the team.

The first try was scored by flanker Amanda (Worm) Kingzett making it 5-0 Zons up. After another good drive into Surfer territory the Zons attempted a penalty kick from, no good, still 5-0. Keeping up the momentum with lots of driving line-outs and solid defense by the pack and the rest of the Zons, the ball got kicked out to wing Kaelene (Lunde) Lundstrum for another try, this time the conversion is good by wing Desiree (Dez) Markovich too bringing the score up to 12-0. More driving and solid defense by the Zons leads to another penalty kick, this time it is good by Dez, 15-0 Zons. Keeping the ball rolling fullback Ashley (Mulf) Mulford ran in another try to bring the score to 20-0. This is where the score would stay until halftime, the Surfer defense finding some rhythm and holding up a try to keep the Amazons from pulling farther away.

The second half was another hard fought battle, the Surfers were not going down without a good fight and they showed their strengths of off-loading and solid defense right out of the gate. They kept the ball in phase, but out of the try zone for the first 20 minutes of the half and delivering some hard hits to the Zons. Lots of penalties were also committed by the Zons in this period of play followed by some un-lucky knocks forced by solid Surfer defense.

However, the Zons pack was getting tired of all this hard work with no pay-out and close to halfway through the half came the moment that the Zons had not had in many years; a scrum drive for a try. For anyone in attendance, that moment was definitely the highlight of the match and the final turning point for the momentum of the game. The score now 25-0 the Zons were definitely in the driver’s seat. That try was followed by a grubber kick chased down by Dez for another try, and another forward try by Morgan Johnson making the final score 35-0.

After the match the Amazons hosted a pasta dinner for the Surfers at Tiffany’s Lounge in St. Paul, both teams in need of a good meal after a hard played match. This coming weekend is a bye weekend for both teams. The Zons will prepare to travel to New York and the Surfers to return and play the Valkyries in Minnesota.

Match Video

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View the complete 2011 WPL Schedule and Results here.