Just after that , we held the All Americans , the team that ultimately won the tournament , for five minutes . We came off the field literally spitting paint and Sarah Minch summed up our collective mindset in four words , “ I don ’ t like losing .”
And with that , a shift happened .
Cheryl on Ponderosa , Paintball Sports , NY
Play moved over to The Ponderosa in the afternoon . Ponderosa is a field like no other . Both sides of the field slope down into a gully that runs nearly the entire length of the 50 . On the far tape line , at the edge of the gully the cover from both directions allows for a leap frog approach up to the flag from either side . But it ’ s a matter of who gets there first .
Our last game on Saturday was against NYPD ’ s Finest and this is when we really started to gain some confidence , and it was also when we started to figure out how to use the legs of our team . Ashlyn Woodburn , at only 17 years-old , was described by spectators as “ a gazelle .” Watching her run was a sight to see . In the game against NYPD , Ashlyn took us to the 50 for the first time , and we managed to hold to a draw , losing on body count .
By Sunday , it felt as though we were finally getting comfortable and we had some confidence as we took the field against The Band - a game that would go down in the annals of history . The Valkyries made a late break up the far tape line and were only
two bunkers away from a flag pull when time was called . And while there was some disappointment that we had come that close and allowed it to end in a draw , it was technically a win on body count making that match our first victory .
This was also an historic moment for both teams as two husband / wife duos were facing off against one another : Eileen Ghee and Thomas Ghee , and Antoinette Rudig and Dave Rudig . Dave took the field without a pack on , hoping to hunt down his wife , but Toni ended up sniping his rear-end , literally . Two games later , in our last game against the Annihilators , Lori Wilcox would have the opportunity to play against her husband Richard as well .
By the time we played the UK Predators later that afternoon , we were beginning to find our stride .
We were communicating well across the field , and had built enough confidence to start pushing back . Although we ultimately did give up the flag , we didn ’ t give it up easily . The Preds had to dig us out . According to
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