Photo Credit: Bob Dunnell
(MADISON, WI) The Arch Rival All-Stars find themselves in a must-win situation if it wishes to return to the International Championships of the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA) following a 174-155 loss to Minnesota Saturday night at the WFTDA Division 1 playoff round in Madison, WI.
ARCH, 10-1 and seeded second at the ten-team weekend tournament, faces fourth-seeded Tampa (6-7) in Sunday’s third place game that launches at 4 p.m. If it collects the bronze, Arch Rival makes its second-straight WFTDA Championships appearance. Conversely, if it loses to the Tantrums, its season concludes.
Minnesota got out to a fast start. Leading 8-0 after two jams, former Arch Rival jammer Brickyard collected a 23-point power jam at the 26:40 mark that extended the lead to 31-0.
ARCH’s Harmony Killerbruise opened scoring for the second seed, notched four and sliced the score to 4-0. Annie Swanson followed with a three-point tally to narrow the score to 31-7 with 25:05 left in the period. Minnesota countered with three in jam 6 to push the score to 34-7.
Photo Credit: Bob Dunnell
MNRG jammer Jacked Pipes collected nine at the 22:55 mark that widened the scoreboard to 43-7.
Swanson, alongside Arch Rival blockers Smarty McFly, Jamheiser Bush, Shimmy Hoffa and Kayla Woodward, slashed into the deficit with a 25-point haymaker that whittled the score to 43-32 with 20:30.
Minnesota rebounded as Brickyard scored five in jam 9 and Pipes collected a 19-15 rotation with 17:10 left in the period that helped the Gopher State maintain a 67-47 edge.
St. Louis then collected four straight lead jams that changed the complexion of the game. ARCH narrowed the score to 71-61 as Swanson, alongside blockers Chewblocka, Salty, Shera-Ra Powers and Bush, posted with 13-4 jam at the 14:40 mark. Bricktator added four on the next rotation to narrow Minnesota’s lead to single-digits, 71-64 with 13:30 left in the period.
Photo Credit: Bob Dunnell
Arch Rival flipped the scoreboard in jam 13 by capitalizing on a Minnesota jammer penalty, resulting in a power jam for Killerbruise that netted a 14-point-strike and a 78-71 St. Louis lead change. Swanson added a solo point that pushed the score to 79-71 with 11:30 left in the period.
Minnesota’s Pipes grabbed four in jam 15 that sliced ARCH’s lead to 79-75 and then gained a power jam that resulted in Shiver-Me-Kimbers’ 10-3 strike and a 85-82 scoreboard flip in favor of MNRG with eight minutes left. Brickyard’s 7-4 rotation in jam 17 extended their lead to 92-86.
Then after a 3-3 stalemate in jam 18, ARCH’s Bricktator, assisted by blockers Krista Grant and Bush, notched three with five minutes left to narrow Minnesota’s lead to 95-92. MNRG’s Brickyard countered with a 9-3 jam with 2:15 remaining to widen the score to 109-95.
In the period’s final jam, Minnesota’s Pipes gained lead jammer status but was signaled for a back block, resulting in an ARCH power jam led by Swanson and 7-4 collection ensued, resulting in a 109-102 deficit for St.Louis at intermission.
Photo Credit: Bob Dunnell
Minnesota opened the second period with a 23-0 run. After a scoreless jam that launched the second period, MNRG’s Pipes gained lead, posted five and widened the score to 114-102 two minutes in. Brickyard followed with a 14-point strike that pushed the score to 128-102. Pipes added four in jam 4 to extend Minnesota’s to thirty points, 132-102 with 24:10 remaining.
Then ARCH proceeded to notch four straight lead jams and went on a 16-1 rally. Swanson stopped the drought and scored five with 22:10 left, Killerbruise followed with four in jam 6, and Bricktator tacked three in jam 7 and Swanson added a 3-1 jam with 19:15 left that sliced the deficit to 133-118.
After a 2-2 score in jam 10, MNRG’s Piper gained lead, scored four and widened the score to 139-120 with 16:40 left. An 8-8 push in jam 11 helped Minnesota maintain their 147-128 edge.
With 6:45 remaining, Minnesota’s lead blossomed to 160-138.
Trailing 174-155 with six seconds left on the clock, Arch Rival tried a last jam comeback by Pipes gained lead jammer status and quickly called off the jam to seal the semi-final win for Minnesota.
ARCH’s bronze-medal opponent, Tampa, fell to top-seeded Gotham 320-49 in Saturday’s other semi-final.
Tomorrow’s game can be heard on wftda.tv.
INDIVIDUAL SCORING
ARCH RIVAL ROLLER DERBY (155): Annie Swanson 90, Harmony Killerbruise 36, Kayla Woodward 15, Bricktator 14.
By trade, he is a six-time, regional Emmy Award-winning news videographer/editor for KTVI/KPLR-TV. By hobby, he is a writer for Arch City Media, dating back to February 2014. Emphasis is on featuring and promoting local women's sports, but will cover anything that is not reported by traditional media outlets. Also a contributor to local concert reviews.
