Vancouver, BC

By Vile Love It

In the seventh place game at the 2016 International WFTDA Division 1 Playoffs Vancouver, the Stockholm Roller Derby All-Stars of Stockholm, Sweden (seed #8) dominated the track with tough defense and quick and whirling jammers against the Sacred City Derby Girls Sacrificers of Sacramento, CA, USA (seed #7).

Photo by Jennifer Evans

Sacred City started out strong by putting 29 points on the board to STRD’s 13 within the first three jams of the game. But Stockholm’s blockers quickly recovered and more than doubled their total points with a 14-0 jam, narrowing Sacred City’s lead to just two points. After that, they shut the door for the next 20 minutes and kept Sacred City’s jammers nearly scoreless while Lil Slinky, A.M. Chaos, Maurine, and Panica De Hex skated laps, tossing point after point onto the scoreboard.

4closer and Pink Freud were Sacred City’s most successful jammers—4closer earned a total of 56 points and Pink Freud came in behind her with 36—but Stockholm’s defense continually held them long enough for their own jammers to put up multiple passes.

With about five minutes remaining in the first period, Sacred City was able to shift the momentum in their favor with back-to-back power jams. After having only picked up four points in the previous 15 jams, they went on a 27-4 point scoring run and headed into the half with 60 to Stockholm’s 155.

Photo by Keith Bielat

Both teams seemed to come out of the locker room intent on locking down their defense. Sacred City showed greater success in shutting down scoring passes after the halftime, and they were able to cut Stockholm’s points from 155 in the first period down to 97 in the second.

But Sacred City still struggled to get their jammers through Stockholm’s tightly linked defense, which allowed Stockholm’s jammers to maintain their lead as they powered through and hopped around the pack. Although they were able to take advantage of scoring opportunities when they presented themselves, Sacred City wasn’t able to gain control of the game and Stockholm came away with a solid win. They head back to Sweden having improved their position by one spot while Sacred City drops to eighth.

Final Score

Stockholm Roller Derby (#8) 252
Sacred City Derby Girls (#7) 109