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Nashville Oh-So-Close at Nationals; Finishes 7-6 in 2009
The Kangaroos faithful headed north up the Interstate 65/71 corridor on October 10-11 for the Kings Island Resort and Heritage Oak Park for the 13th Annual USFooty National Championships in Mason, Ohio. Nashville entered 29 players, the most ever for the club, and combined with Columbus Jackaroos for a B Team, another first for the Kangaroos.
Also going with the squad was a large contingency of umpires led by Jeff Persson (9th Nationals), Toby Persson (5th), Alex Benjamin (3rd), Grant White (2nd), and Kirby Pate (making his Nationals debut, good on ya, mate!). Also joining in the celebration was our own "Mouth of the South" Shane Clohesy helping head coach Marty Thompson on the sidelines and sneaking in some colorful commentary during round robin matches as well as the Division I Grand Final.
NASHVILLE KANGAROOS HOP PAST NORTH CAROLINA TIGERS
Nashville A faced the North Carolina Tigers in the opening match
for both teams. The Kangaroos own a 2-4 record against the Tigers,
including 1-2 at Nationals. The last meeting was at the 2007 Nationals in
Louisville in the opening game when the Tigers gave a beat down to the
Kangaroos 9.4(58) to 1.4(10).
As the opening siren began, the field conditions were ordinary after more than 2 inches of rain the day before made it for interesting footing. The Kangaroos scored the first two points of the match with two behinds in a defensive battle as neither team would budge on the tough turf. The Tigers finally scored half way through the half with a shot from 45 yards out. They extended the lead over the next number of minutes with another goal and two more behinds to lead by 12 points. Just before the half time siren, a fast-break by the Roos led to Matt Langley kicking the opening goal of the tourney for the Roos, a 25-yarder to bring the deficit down to a single score. The Kangaroos out marked the Tigers 7-6, but suffered from lack of discipline, giving up nine free kicks and were fortunate to only trail 2.2(14) to 1.2(8).
Whatever Coach Marty "Thommo" Thompson said to the team, they responded quickly as they dominated the middle and got chances at in the opening minutes. Only a behind was scored, but Marty was impressed with the intensity. Finally, the goals opened up for the Roos in the middle of the period as the Kangaroos scored a goal from Dave "Walka" Walker. And late in the match, what would turn out to be the goal of the tournament for the Kangaroos, Jesse "the Body" Wells, sporting a Moerman-esque look-alike buzz-cut, crumbed across the half forward line and sent a beautiful snap straight through from 35 yards to put the Kangaroos in the lead. In fact, it took the Roo faithful a minute to realize that it was not Moerman who kicked it � an understandable mistake given how often Moerman has kicked similar goals for the Roos in the past two years.
The Tigers did not quit however as the remaining few minutes were a battle royale; but the Kangaroos managed a rush behind while the tigers got late goal just before the siren as the Kangaroos escaped the opening game with a win 3.4(22) to 3.2(20), their first win in five years at the Nationals. The Kangaroos outmarked the Tigers in the second half by a 10-7 margin to win the mark count by a 17-12 margin and were a bit fortunate to eke out the win as they gave up 18 free kicks. With the win, it ensured the team a winning record for the sixth season in a row. It was somewhat bitter-sweet however as the team second leading goal kicker, Damian Serong, was lost for the remainder of the tournament to a knee injury.
Scores By Quarter
1st- Nashville 1.2(8) North Carolina 2.2(14)
2nd- Nashville 3.4(22) North Carolina 3.2(20)
Goal kickers:
Kangaroos- Matt Langley, Dave Walker, Jesse Wells
KANGAROOS ONE KICK SHORT IN LOSS TO MILWAUKEE BOMBERS
The second game of the weekend was the last game of the day in Division II
as the Milwaukee Bombers were apparently able to field a full team.
The Kangaroos hold a 2-5 record against the Bombers, including a 0-1 record
at Nationals. However, the Kangaroos did win this year's regular season
game by forfeit as the Bombers couldn't field a team. The only time that
the Bombers faced the Kangaroos in the Nationals was in 2003 in their first
ever battle, which was a 6.5(41) to 0.2(2) loss.
Everyone knew that this game would most likely decide odds on favorite to advance to the Grand Final for Pool A as the Bombers had upset top-seeded San Diego in their first round match. The opening salvo came from the Kangaroos as Chris "Bagman" Moerman kicked his first of the tournament from 25 yards out early in the first half. The Bombers fired back with three scores but only one goal before Moerman kicked his second of the half. The Roos then seemed to take control as Langley and Moerman played keep away with the Bombers defenders, with Langley doing the honors in getting his first goal of the game, second of the tournament. The final few minutes however, saw the Bombers take advantage of several Kangaroos free kicks, book-ending two goals around a behind from Moerman to even out the scoring at the half at 3.2(20) a piece. The marks were also even at five, and while the Roos did cut down on their lack of discipline, the four frees they gave up were costly.
The second half turned out to be the most talked about of the last several seasons and not for the right reasons. It began with a goal from the Bombers to retake the lead who then dominated the play for a long time, but only kicked one more goal in four scoring shots. The Roos were quite fortunate as the Bombers inaccuracy kept the Roos close. Trailing by 15 points at 5.5(35) to 3.2(20) and just when all hope started to fade, the Kangaroos made their run. When in need, go to the money - Moerman got it started with his third of the match, a 25-yarder, after an excellent over the back mark. Then Tim Kleman, proved a worthy mid-season acquisition from Florida as he sent a bomb from 50-yards out with a few precious minutes left. A rushed behind closed the gap further to two points when the budding star Langley kicked true on a great outlet pass from the pack to propel the Kangaroos to the lead as the clock ticked down. The Kangaroos celebrated too early, as what happened next was subjected to a major controversy. With less than a minute remaining and the Bombers playing desperation footy near the Nashville goal, a close call at the behind post was ruled out of bounds and not a behind. The resulting throw in saw a loose Bomber the fortunate recipient of the tap and he sent an uncontested shot through from just outside the goal square. With the siren sounding before play could resume, the Bombers escaped with a narrow victory 6.5(41) to 6.3(39).
The Kangaroos won the mark competition by a 6-4 in the second half and 11-9 overall and were much more disciplined, giving up a solitary free kick. However, the final scores were the only things that mattered. With the loss, the Kangaroos would need help from North Carolina to take down Milwaukee and of course still needed to win against San Diego.
Scores
1st- Nashville 3.2(20) Milwaukee 3.2(20)
2nd- Nashville 6.3(39) Milwaukee 6.5(41)
Goal kickers:
Chris Moerman 3, Matt Langley 2, Tim Kleman
KANGAROOS COME UP SHORT AGAINST SAN DIEGO LIONS
As Sunday dawned, thoughts had shifted from the one that got away by
controversy to get set for the match against the San Diego Lions,
the first in nine years and only the second match ever between them. The
Kangaroos were hoping for a North Carolina upset of Milwaukee, however, the
Bombers shut out the Tigers by 52 points, relegating the Roos-Lions match
to determine who would finish second in the pool. The only time the Lions
and the Kangaroos played against each other was in the 2000 Nationals in
Los Angeles, a 6.4(40) to 4.4(28) loss.
As the game got underway, the first strike came from the Kangaroos as Moerman got a behind just with the match just under way. That was to be the only lead of the game for the Roos as the Lions, a former Division I squad with a few national titles to their name, woke up from their jet lag, and outscored the Roos 25-0 as their overall skill level enabled them to control play most of the quarter. The Kangaroos came back in the final minutes with a goal from Langley to keep the game within reach at 4.1(25) to 1.2(8). The marks were even at five and Nashville remained disciplined giving up only two free kicks.
The second half started promisingly with the Moerman scoring his first of the game (4th overall). Unfortunately, the the Lions answered with three straight goals to put the game out of reach. The last goal for the Kangaroos came from Moerman, his second of the match, but it was too little, too late. Final score: 8.2(50) to 3.2(20). With the loss, the Kangaroos finished with a 1-2 Nationals record and an overall record in 2009 of 7-6, the sixth season in a row with a winning record.
Scores
1st- Nashville 1.2(8) San Diego 4.1(25)
2nd- Nashville 3.2(20) San Diego 8.2(50)
Goal kickers:
Chris Moerman 2, Matt Langley
RESERVES TEAM
As for the reserves team, the Kangaroos teamed up with the Columbus
Jackaroos, fielding for the first time ever a combined team that competed
in the Division IV bracket. The reserves team fared the same way that the
A team did, going 1-2, losing to Baltimore/Washington by a 11.12(78)
to 1.0(6) margin in Round 1 and to Minnesota B/Kansas City by a
11.4(70) to 2.2(14) margin in Round 2 and winning on Sunday against
Golden Gate/Las Vegas by a 2.7(19) to 2.5(17).
