2017 D1 Playoffs Seattle Game 8: Rose City vs. 2×4
Rose City Rollers (#1) vs. 2×4 Roller Derby (#8)
Team Osom of 2×4 Roller Derby, Buenos Aires, Argentina, took on the Rose City Rollers’ Wheels of Justice of Portland Oregon, U.S. in an action-packed game on the second day of the 2017 International WFTDA Division 1 Playoffs Seattle. The crowd cheered on 2×4 — the first Latin American team to compete in a Division 1 Playoff — who did not disappoint: Argentinian derby looks fierce and fearless!
Rose City closed out the game comfortably with a strong second half performance to end the game with 360 points to 80 points from 2×4. However, 2×4 have audacious skaters and admirable team cohesiveness. They fought gallantly throughout, winning many admirers and making this game much more entertaining that the score line would suggest.
Loren Mutch started on fire in the first jam to get a quick lead and put up a lightning fast 7 points for Rose City. Rose City’s swarming offence, combined with some wonderful footwork from their jammers meant they held 2×4 scoreless for the first nine jams, leading 79 points to 0.
Team Osom’s Lula Zan opened scoring for her team in jam 10, taking advantage of a small Rose City pack and putting 18 points on the scoreboard, much to the crowd’s delight. For the rest of the first half 2×4 proceeded to play intriguing derby, offering a masterclass on how a team can improve their point differential when they are up against the reigning world champions. The rotating walls of 2×4, anchored by Papap, adjusted to the Rose City offence early in the game. The Argentinian blockers reformed quickly around Rose’s offense and were quick to draw back the Rose City jammers whenever an opportunity was presented. Team Osom played offense and defense simultaneously at times and their awareness and controlled skating was remarkable.
2×4 relied heavily on star passes, making use of them in 14 out of 17 jams in the first half. The team was comfortable playing long jams when they got lead and on two occasions they successfully increased the pack speed to disorientate the Rose jammers. These strategies paid off as they finished the first half scoring 47 points to Rose City’s 168. Notably, a very clean first half from both teams.
The second half saw a determined Rose City looking to improve their point differential. Bonnie Thunders led the scoring with 130 points and looked strong and in sync with the Rose City pack. Loren Mutch scored 124 points, displaying some of her signature tucks around the outside line. Although mightily outscored in the second half, 2×4 continued to amaze and delight the crowd, playing more aggressive offence and picking up lead jammer status five times. Cruella, Maki Lombera and Papap worked tirelessly to slow the Rose City jammers. The skillful footwork from the 2×4 jammers and pivots allowed them to make the most of their few lead jammer statuses, putting up a total of 33 points on the board in the second period . Lula Zan was their highest scorer, with hard-fought 41 points. It was a fitting end to the work of 2×4 to see Rayo score four points in the last jam of the game. The game ended 360–80 in favor of the Wheels of Justice.
Rose City have secured their place at Champs in November and will play Montréal Roller Derby (#5) at 8 p.m. tonight, Pacific Daylight Time. There is still another chance to see 2×4 in action as they will play Ann Arbor Roller Derby (#19) Sunday at 2 p.m., PDT in the consolation bracket.
FINAL SCORE
Rose City Rollers (Seed #1, WFTDA #2) 360
2×4 Roller Derby (Seed #8, WFTDA #24) 80
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