TULSA, Okla. (Sept. 18, 2021) – Oklahoma Christian opened its 2021-22 Ultimate season by winning all four of its matches on Saturday on the first day of the Rookie Ride tournament at West Bank Sports Complex.
The four wins – over Drury (Mo.), Nebraska, John Brown (Ark.) and Missouri State – earned the Eagles a first-round bye in bracket play on Sunday. OC will play either Arkansas State or Drury in a quarterfinal match at 9:45 a.m. The semifinals are scheduled to start at 11:30 a.m. and the title match is set for a 1:15 p.m. start.
The Rookie Ride, a tournament hosted by the Tulsa Ultimate Federation, has a unique format. On Saturday, only rookies and second-year players will be allowed to participate and compete in pool-play matches, with the goal to allow them to receive as much action as possible. On Sunday, veterans are allowed to join their younger teammates.
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David Peterson had some very athletic grabs and blocks, while also anchoring the handle position with smart throwing decisions," OC coach
Garrett Taylor said. "
Samuel Roberts showed great throwing prowess and threw plenty of long hucks for goals.
Emmanuel Kameri was always open deep and provided an easy target for Sammy to throw to.
Jordan Melancon is still crazy fast and had a handful of goals.
Evan Card returned from injury and played well in the handler position."
In an 11-1 win over Drury, the Eagles stuck to hard person-to-person defense, enabling them to generate turnovers. OC led 6-0 at halftime and cruised to the win.
The Eagles then blew by Nebraska 11-3. Nebraska started out pretty intensely and there were a couple of very long points, but OC fought through those long points by putting in crucial goals. OC led 6-1 at halftime, then allowed a couple of goals in the second half.
"The game was likely closer than the score indicates," Taylor said. "Nebraska was a solid team."
OC's third game was its closest, an 11-7 win over John Brown. John Brown, which had a limited number of available rookies, played a handful of veterans who made a solid impact. Even so, OC took a 6-3 lead by halftime and eventually won, in part to what Taylor called "a couple of crazy layout goals) by Peterson.
After a bye round, OC and Missouri State agreed to play a shortened game, which the Eagles won 9-4 after rallying from an early 4-3 deficit.
