Dallas, TX

by Shelly Shankya

Apex jumps. Star passes. Agility and footwork. These are all things Crime City Rollers from Malmo, Sweden (#8) tried against the Rose City Rollers of Portland, Ore. (#1) in Game 4 of the 2015 International WFTDA Division 1 Playoff in Dallas, but to no avail. The Wheels of Justice made a swift run for lead and won the game to advance to the semi-final game against Pacific Northwest neighbors Rat City All Stars (#4).

Photo by Jennifer Ramos

The Wheels of Justice were strategic, as always, in their game play. Their jammer rotation stayed almost unchanged during the first period and the team gave up only one jammer penalty from LickernSplit on a track cut. That cut was caused by Crime City’s blocker Sister Stitch. During the power jam, Prince Sofia scored 5 points, the team’s first points. The Swedes didn’t hesitate to try various strategies though. They attempted several star passes, one unsuccessful, and multiple apex jump attempts to help them get past the walls the ladies in purple put up.

Gaining lead one time during the first period, Crime City scored an additional four points, much to the crowd’s delight. The low score for Sweden was a testament to the blocking expertise from Rose City. Veteran blockers Shaina Serelson, Jes Rivas, and Jamie True gave Crime City a hard time throughout the period, refusing to relent. Even in the waning minutes of the period, Sorelson forced a track cut on Crime City’s jammer, giving Rose City jammer LickerNSplit a chance to score unopposed for 19 points. The teams skated to half time with Rose handedly in the lead, 205-9.

Photo by Danny Ngan

“We’re always trying new things, even when we’re in the lead,” Rose City captain and blocker Shaina Serelson said. “We get to skate more of our players more often in situations like these, and it’s truly a blessing to try new things. We use these opportunities to prepare ourselves for Champs.”

The second period of gameplay was largely similar to the first, though Crime City managed to gain lead twice in the opening jams, one more than they did in the first period. A bloody nose from the Crime City jammer, Dykestalker, gave Rose City an inadvertent power jam, one that Scald Eagle took advantage of by scoring 34 points, the highest scoring jam in the game. Crime City benefited from the bloody pause however, and got an official review called in their favor, sending Napoleon Blownapart to the penalty box on a back block. Rose City also used their official review, but their result was not in their favor, and the team did not retain the review for the rest of the period. Rose City had eight jams when they scored double-digits, while Crime City scored 16 total points. Rose City advances to play Rat City All Stars at 2:00 on Saturday afternoon for a chance to advance to the championship game. Crime City moves to the consolation bracket to play the winner of Game 7 on Saturday afternoon at 4:00.

“Rat City is a smart team, and they come into games with new innovations,” Serelson said. “There are vets from Rat who are our friends and neighbors, and we’re excited to showcase the strength of roller derby in the Pacific Northwest.”

FINAL SCORE

Rose City Rollers (#1) 406
Crime City Rollers (#8) 25