The BORP Shockers traveled to Ft. Wayne, Indiana for the MK Battery Conference Cup – a national tournament held at the end of the season where teams from all over the United States come to compete and celebrate the power soccer community. In addition to the usual, albeit daunting, challenges of traveling with multiple power chairs, attendant care and adaptive equipment, the Shockers athletes had the additional challenge of playing under extraordinary emotional distress.
Before their first match, the team learned that beloved Head Coach John Madigan was not going to make it to the tournament as he passed away the night before. The Shockers then had to suspend their disbelief and bury their grief in order to go out on the pitch and compete. The rally cry was not the usual “Go Shockers!” or “BORP”… instead, “Madigan!” was shouted as an homage to their coach and an inspiration to play their best.
The team came out strong with a 1-0 victory over local division rivals the Chico Gophers with a beautiful goal by Ruby Shemaria, assisted by Rian Dindzans. The Shockers did not fare as well in their next game against the Colorado Rolling Rapids, suffering a 0-3 defeat. The Rapids would go on to win the Division. The final day of pool play had the Shockers facing the Chippewa Valley Hooligans. The team found its mojo with Lateef McLeod scoring his first goal at a national tournament, Dindzans scoring 2 goals and having 3 assists, wings Margaret Mele scoring 3 goals and Shemaria scoring twice. Ian Kinmont in the defender back position held the Hooligans scoreless through 40 minutes – an outstanding performance by all.
The BORP athletes had a battle in their quarterfinal game, falling 1-2 to the Mary Free Bed Overdrive. Margaret Mele kept the team close, scoring on a beautiful PK in the second half, but the team could not find the equalizer before the clock wound down. The Shockers then drew the short straw in the schedule, playing for seeding at 5:20pm on tournament Day 3 and 8:00am on the fourth and final day of competition. Feeling the weight of their sadness and fatigue from the intensity of the tourney, the Shockers had another close one, falling 0-2 to the Arizona Heat and finishing 1-3 against the Chico Gophers, placing 8th in the President’s Division – an improvement over last year’s finish where the team narrowly avoided relegation.
