DC Rollergirls All-Stars 247 – 137 Suburbia Suburban Brawl (of Westchester County, NY)
By Special Correspondent: Maria Malicia
In a hard-hitting and physical bout Saturday at the Dulles Sports Plex, the DC All-Stars (#11 E via WFTDA) took down Suburbia Suburban Brawl (#12 E via WFTDA) 247-137. Coming in with a three-game winning streak, the DC All-Stars were nonetheless cautious, with 2011’s 8-point loss to Suburbia still on their minds. Suburbia, meanwhile, was looking to make up for their 252-161 loss to Bleeding Heartland last weekend.
Both teams started on the jammer line with a tight, slow scrum start. DC held Suburbia jammer Dina Sore Jr. in the front of the pack, but when DC jammer Dual Hitizen went to the box, and Dina managed to break through to put the first 9 points on the board for Suburbia. In the following jam, however, Lauren Forcer, was barely able to capitalize on her power position with 1 point before Hitizen returned to nab 3. Both teams continued to put up tough defensive walls in the next jam, leaving Suburbia’s Reading Rambo and DC’s Barbra Booey to push through the pack, with Suburbia advancing their lead 19-7.
The slow start to the period showcased the tenacity of both teams, but DC proved able to pound back harder with a tough defensive effort and nimble jammers. Quick-footed DC rookie Slam Grier got the first big powerjam break, putting 3 points on the board, followed by 15 for Dual Hitizen, putting DC in the lead at 25-19. Suburbia struck back on another powerjam that sent DC’s Jersey Jill to the box, but ended with DC blockers Stabigail Adams and Helena Handbag forcing Lauren Forcer into a track-cut major. Though Forcer put Suburbia up 34-30 before heading to the box, her team would soon see their lead stall and die as DC held them scoreless for the next six jams, bringing the score to 82-34.
But Suburbia wasn’t about to give up. AWOL took the track in her first jam of the evening and pushed her way through the pack for lead jammer while a wall of black held Slam Grier, ending the jam at 9-4. In the following jam, Suburbia took advantage of a powerjam and several DC blockers rotating in and out of the box. Twice, blocker Little Loca deftly took down DC’s two-wall, helping Lauren Forcer rack up 30 points and bring the score to 90-73. Though lead jammer status flip-flopped during the final jams of the period, DC continued to push the score further, gaining 53 points to Suburbia’s 26. The period ended with DC’s Barbra Booey beautifully juking her way to a 30-point jam, for a halftime score of 143-99.
The second half of the bout saw DC continue to increase their lead with both quick offense and tough defense. Suburbia was only able to strike back with tough defensive walls that resulted in few points for their jammers. Action-craving fans shouted for more skating on several occasions as both teams stood their ground at the jammer line, waiting for both blockers and jammers to return from the box.
DC took lead jammer in the first six jams, with Dual Hitizen and Jersey Jill claiming the most points (14 and 10, respectively). DC blockers Soledad and Frankendoll led the pack on defense, with Chinese Cheker impressively ping-ponging through the pack on both offense and defense. Following a 50-point DC surge, Suburbia jammer Lauren Forcer took lead and 13 points while an impressive wall of blockers (Dina Sore Jr., Purr Anna, Domestic Violet, and AWOL) recycled repeatedly on Barbara Booey, forcing her to attempt an unsuccessful star pass to pivot Soledad. This action brought the score to 194-117.
Every point in the final 15 minutes of the game was hard-won, with jammers on both teams fighting nearly impenetrable defensive walls, but again DC held the advantage. Jersey Jill and Barbara Booey led DC in most points earned, while Suburbia’s Domestic Violet gained an impressive 12 points with only two of her blockers on the track.
Suburbia finished strong, with Lauren Forcer quickly following Dual Hitizen out of the pack in the next-to-last jam, forcing Hitizen to call it and allowing for one more jam with only 23 seconds on the game clock. Jersey Jill faced Dina Sore Jr. and a rough Suburbia pack in the final jam. Both jammers netted 4 each, finishing the game at 247-137.
The hard-fought action on the track did not reflect the major score differential throughout the game. Both DC and Suburbia fans were on edge as the two teams teams showed that the contest for the coveted number 10 spot in the East is far from over. DC will travel to Ohio on May 19-20 to face Cincinnati (#8 North Central) and Bleeding Heartland (#13 NC) in what are sure to be two very competitive bouts. Suburbia, meanwhile, will head north on May 26 and redouble their efforts against Montreal.
In the first bout of the evening’s proceedings, the Capital Offenders (the DC All-Stars’ “B” team) cruised past NOVA Roller Derby by a score of 381 to 51.
Two days after this bout recap was written, WFTDA released its first quarter rankings. DC moved up to number 10 while Suburbia slipped to 14. DC will be hoping to hold on to that spot through July 1 when the invitation to Eastern Regionals goes out to the top 10 teams.
