Rebels Stop Ninja Uprising
by Rob McCommons
The third adult game of the day brought together the Irish Pub Ninjas against the Trinity Rebels in a match that many knew was bound to be filled with grit and determination from all involved. Players and spectators alike were not disappointed.
For Trinity, a victory would provide them with a chance to split their season with 2 wins and 2 losses. For the Irish Pub, a victory from this game might provide them with a spark to ignite their season and clinch their first team victory.
Early back-and –forth points between Pub’s Tim Dombrowski and Trinity’s Nick Ruetz rallied each squad into action. As the teams settled into the first half, Trinity’s midfield began to work by effortlessly zigzagging the ball through the midsection and delivering to their forward line with efficiency. Valiant stops from Pub’s fullback, Pat Minster, and goalie, Eamonn de Cogain, kept the teams even, but Trinity’s Nick “Tater” Ruetz continued to prove he needs only 2 inches of space to fire-off a point. Irish Pub’s half back line- led by Chris Servis and Brian Dake- began to adjust to Trinity’s skillful midfield trickery and started closing the emerging gaps in the field. This proved to be a critical move and helped Irish Pub to start moving the ball to Ryan Schubert who was clearly not fazed by a week-old injury. By the middle of the first half, Schubert’s legs began to somehow actually run faster and the 1-2 punch of Schubert to Dombrowski, Schubert to Brian Marsolek and Schubert to Phillip Novakovski put Pub back into the game with a halftime score of Trinity 2-10 (16) to Pub’s 1-6 (9).