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.
