Columbia, SC

By Lexistential Crisis

The Crime City Rollers (#5 seed) of Malmo, Sweden, met Steel City Roller Derby (#10 seed) of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for the first time in Game 8 of the 2016 International WFTDA Division 1 Playoffs Columbia -- but the teams became well acquainted by the end of their battle to see who will move on for a chance to play for third place on Sunday, and a spot at Champs. Crime City started the game strong and continued to dominate the first half. Steel City’s blockers attempted to speed up the pack, but Crime City’s defense maintained slow, dynamic walls to ultimately control the game.

Photo by Louis Keiner

In the first jam, Steel City’s Leanne Groll quickly earned lead jammer status and scored the first four points. For the rest of the half, Crime City’s defense, led by Below Me and Juicy Butther, effectively stalled Steel City’s jammers. At the 16-minute mark Steel City was held at 25 points for four jams while Crime City’s Curly Håår, Prince Sofia, and Hanna P brought their team’s score to 77. The seamless teamwork from Crime City’s blockers held Steel City scoreless for the final 10 minutes of the half. Despite a few jammer penalties, Crime City was still able to grow their score by 42 points during that time. At the half, Crime City held a solid lead of 140-34.

Steel City made some adjustments at halftime to focus on offense and maximizing their score. Although they did greatly increase their score, Crime City was also able to consistently add to their score and increase the differential. Their strong defense continued to control the game while their agile jammers found paths through the tiniest spaces in the pack. With 15 minutes left in the game, Crime City led with 210 points over Steel City’s 55, and eight minutes later, Crime City held a 191-point lead over Steel City. That lead decreased by 20 points as Steel City successfully earned lead jammer status in three of the final four jams, and River Kyx and Leanne Groll added 41 points to end with 100 points. Crime City was limited to 21 points in those jams and ended up with a final score of 271.

Photo by Louis Keiner

Crime City’s Hanna P led scoring with 128 points, and her teammate Curly Håår added 88 points and earned lead jammer status each time she wore the jammer star. Leanne Groll scored the majority of Steel City’s points with 57 total points. Penalties were relatively even between the two teams. No one fouled out with seven penalties, but Steel City’s Bonecrusher was expelled in the final jam of the first half.

Crime City will play the hosts, the Columbia QuadSquad (#8 seed), at 6 p.m. EDT today. Steel City will play for 9th place tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. EST against the Ann Arbor Derby Dimes (#9).

Final Score

Crime City Rollers (#5) 271
Steel City Roller Derby (#10) 100