2018 International WFTDA Playoffs: A Coruña Game 12 Angel City vs Crime City
Photo: Marko Niemelä Photography

2018 Playoffs A Coruña Game 12: Angel City vs. Crime City

Oxford Trauma
Angel City Derby (Seed #2, WFTDA #8) vs. Crime City Rollers (Seed #3, WFTDA #10)

Angel City Derby174

Crime City Rollers 188

The Crime City Rollers of Malmö, Sweden (Seed #3, WFTDA #10) punched their ticket to the 2018 International WFTDA Championships in an intense semifinal upset against Angel City Derby of Los Angeles, California, U.S. (Seed #2, WFTDA #8) at the 2018 International WFTDA Playoffs A Coruña.

Angel City took control in the first half, shutting down the Malmöeites right out of the gate. Crime City was held scoreless for over eight minutes of locked-down defense by Angel City while jammers Rachel Rotten and Mr. 305, Dalé! — the jammer formerly known as Winters or Lauryn Kill and a recent game-changing transfer from Tampa Roller Derby — lapped on scoring passes, putting up a 53 unanswered points.

2018 International WFTDA Playoffs: A Coruña Game 12 Angel City vs Crime City
Marko Niemelä Photography

Curly Håår grabbed the first lead along with the first points of the game for Crime City with a quick 4-0 in Jam 7, shifting some momentum in favor of Crime City. The remainder of the period was more evenly matched, with fans watching excitedly as Crime City stacked up points and changed the tone of the game from a possible blowout to a closely-matched semifinal competition with a ticket to champs that could have anyone’s name on it. But it wasn’t enough to catch up to Angel City who retained lead for the entire first half, ending the period 122-77.

2018 International WFTDA Playoffs: A Coruña Game 12 Angel City vs Crime City
Gif by DavefaceFMS

Crime City came back with a vengeance in the second half, fighting hard to earn 44 points in the first four jams. The crowd at Palacio de los Deportes de Riazor was cheering raucously for the underdog as they threatened to close the gap, pressing the differential tighter and tighter.

2018 International WFTDA Playoffs: A Coruña Game 12 Angel City vs Crime City
Gif by DavefaceFMS

Bolstered by the crowd’s excitement, Curly Håår forced a lead change with less than 10 minutes remaining in the game, putting up nine unanswered points and bringing the score to 156-149, Crime City.

2018 International WFTDA Playoffs: A Coruña Game 12 Angel City vs Crime City
Marko Niemelä Photography

Angel City took the lead back in the following jam when Hanna P, donning the star for Crime City, was sent to the box on her initial pass. Mr. 305, Dalé! used a combination of strong, aggressive hits, patience, and fast footwork on the lines to take advantage of the power jam and gain 12 points for Angel City, bringing the score to 161-156 with about six minutes left in the game.

Curly Håår took the lead in the next jam as Crime City’s defense locked down Rachel Rotten between the jam line and pivot line, but cut the track on her scoring pass when Rachel Rotten, assisted by Fischer, got a touch on her as she tried to tiptoe around the outside line. Rachel Rotten, still wearing the star for Angel City, was slowed by Crime City’s crushing defense, but managed to squeak one more point out of the jam than Curly Håår, who had hopped and twisted past Angel’s defense on her return to the track, grabbing five points to Rachel’s six. With less than four minutes on the clock, Angel City held a narrow lead of 167-161.

Pearl Jam looked set to next grab lead jammer status as she sprinted past the jam line and through the straightaway, but a hard hit to the outside drew her back as Hanna P skated past the chaos, picking up lead. After one fast scoring pass up the inside line and one slow grind through Angel City’s defense, she had added an unanswered 10 points to the board for Crime City, putting them just barely in the lead at 171-167. Angel City called a timeout.

With one minute and fifty-six seconds left on the clock, and four points separating the two teams, Curly Håår lined up against Mr. 305, Dalé! for the final jam of the game. As Dalé pushed against a Crime City defense that would not budge, Curly Håår danced the outside line on her toe stops to grab an electrifying lead. Crime City let the clock run out as both jammers continued to give it their all, knowing the game wasn’t over until the last whistle. The jam came to its natural conclusion with Crime City retaining their recently snatched lead and ending the game in a thrilling 188-174 victory.

Crime City Rollers will be joining Arch Rival Roller Derby of St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. (Seed #1, WFTDA #5) at Champs in November — but first, they play the final game of this tournament on Sunday at 5:20 p.m. Central European Time. Angel City will play Rainy City Roller Derby of Manchester, United Kingdom (Seed #4, WFTDA #12) on Sunday at 3:00 p.m. Central European Time for another chance to go to Championships.

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