LVRG vs Cape Fear Bout Wrap Up -9/21/13

LVRG pumping themselves up on the ride to the big game

If there ever was a team ready to travel 10 hours to play roller derby, the Lehigh Valley Rollergirls (LVRG) is exactly that team.  With over 550 miles between them and playing the WFTDA’s Division 2 Cape Fear Roller Girls (Cape Fear), LVRG used road antics such as team planks and other various funny photo moments captured and published on FaceBook for their long ride to pump themselves and their fans up for this exciting match up.  But once they arrived in Wilmington, NC, LVRG was ready for business.

According to flattrackstats.com, there was no clear favorite to this game, as a 2 to 2 scoring ratio was predicted. The Cape Fear Roller Girls sit in a higher division than LVRG and are ranked nationally according to the WFTDA at the 110 position as compared to LVRG’s 134 ranking.  With this knowledge, LVRG was ready for a hard battle, and because of that, they started the game with their strongest line ups of the season, and never turned back.

Immediately from the first jam, LVRG pulled a track cut on Cape Fear, sending their jammer directly to the penalty box. This gave LVRG an immediate lead during the first 2 jams of the game. But this didn’t stop right then and there, Cape Fear got 2 more jammer penalties, leaving them without a jammer for the first 5 jams of the game.  LVRG certainly capitalized on this and brought their score up to an early 2-40 lead within the first 7 minutes of game play.

From that point on, lead jammer status seemed to be a battle. Typically, lead jammer status is determined by turn 1 of the track.  However with both teams battling and forming tight defensive walls, the jammers weren’t coming out of the initial lap’s pack until turn 3, which was tiring them out.  With lead changing back and forth a bit, Cape Fear caught up in points to 24-64 (LVRG) with 15 minutes left in the first half.

The second half of the first period both teams played pound for pound with the same fury. Lead jammer status was shared almost equally by both teams and at the end of the first half, the score still favored LVRG with a score of 60-103.

With only 43 points separating the teams at the half, it was still anyone’s game.  A game can be won or lost by a quick power jam, however LVRG did not give Cape Fear that option. One of the most impressive feats LVRG accomplished during this bout was that throughout LVRG history, this was the first time that none of their jammers were sent to the penalty box. LVRG’s Jammers MJ SlamHer, Ginga Railed U and Toxic Shock were flawless.

After 15 minutes of game play in the second half of the game, LVRG continued increasing their lead with a score of 79-131. But it wasn’t until the last few minutes of the game when the Cape Fear Rollergirls gave LVRG another power jam and allowed LVRG to increase their lead further. This closed the door on Cape Fear, allowing LVRG to win 99-188. This was a big win for LVRG as it increased their flattrackstats.com standings by 18.4 points and it will also reflect in their national WFTDA standings when the next rankings are posted.

 

 

Looking ahead, LVRG ends their season on October 19^th with an interleague Pink vs. Black bout of teammate versus teammate. This will be your last chance to see the Lehigh Valley Rollergirls until the opening of the 2014 season on March 1, 2014.

Find us online at: http://www.lehighvalleyrollergirls.com

All functions will be held at the Independence Family Fun Center, 4345 Independence Dr, Schnecksville, PA.

For more information about becoming a skater or official, contact us at join@lehighvalleyrollergirls.com

A big thank you to all of the volunteers, officials, friends, and family that make our team the best in the Lehigh Valley. This is as much your team as it is ours. Thank you