National Surf League | The Game

The Los Angeles Arc Angels made NSL history today defeating the talent stacked Ventura Pelicanos for their very first win in Game 4 of the 2005 Quiksilver California Cup Arc Angels Series. The new expansion team for the 2005 season raised their arms in jubilation after leading the Pelicanos throughout the 4 quarters with a final score of LA: 103 to VC: 93.75. Wave conditions had improved today for Game 4 with wave conditions head high to overhead. The Arc Angels were fired up for a win today as they have had 3 straight loses at home and a devastating first loss by 20 points to Santa Cruz during the Stormriders Series at Steamer Lane last week. One glance at the Ventura Pelicanos roster would intimidate any world class surfer which included the legendary Tom Curren, top 44 Timmy Curran, Dan Malloy along with a diverse contingent of wave specialists. Two former Ventura coaches, Brian Aresco and Sean Hayes from the 2004 season are also members of the official team roster. "It feels great to be in the lineup, all last year I was itching and scratching and now I’m surfing," says the former Ventura assistant coach Brian Aresco. After careful consideration, Arc Angels Coach Lamm opted for the Pelicanos to surf first in the top of the first quarter. Ventura’s first quarter group included Tim Curran, Blake Howard, Hank Mills and Brian Aresco. Pelicanos Coach Davey Smith’s initial strategy was to utilize goofy-footed players on Leo Carrillo’s long right-hander wave. Curran’s first wave of 5.75 indicated that today’s sets were sectioning off slightly more than in previous days, making wave selection even more crucial in Game 4. Hank Mills’s 6.5 was the highest score of the quarter as the group struggled to find their rhythm. Coach Smith made the decision to substitute Blake Howard with Adam Virs and Pete Musio for Brian Aresco. Neither sub could better the scores as wave conditions presented long lulls despite the usage of two time outs. Ventura ended their first quarter drive with a meager 19.25, the lowest quarter score in the entire Los Angeles Arc Angel series.

Timmy Curran, Ventura Pelicanos

Subsequently the opportunity was knocking loudly in the LA dugout as Coach Lamm and Wasilewski instructed over water radios to first quarter group Jordan Tappis, Brendan Hearne, Steven Lippman and Pascal Stansfield to go all out. Stansfield kept tight in the pocket of the wave with 5 impressive backside snaps scoring a 6.75 for his first wave while Tappis, Hearne and Lippman struggled to post anything over 3.5. Colin Giles substituted Lippman improving the score to a 3.75. Jim O’Brien, who had sat for most of the Arc Angel series on the bench, took over for Giles as a sub to score a 5.5. Tappis’ later scored a 7.75 after three wave attempts with tweaked floater followed by a big fin free off the top while emerging out of the whitewater. LA’s first quarter of 25.75 took advantage of Ventura’s low first quarter score of 19.25, with a leading margin of 6.5 points. In the second quarter, Ventura’s power-broker group included Tom Curren, Keoni Cuccia, Sean Hayes and Jeremy Ryan. Curren’s first three waves were all under 5.5 but it was on his fourth wave of 8.75 where all those years surfing right points shined through with amazing rhythm and precision on each turn. Not only was the Pelicanos bench cheering and applauding, but the LA bench was equally as stoked to witness the master surf.  Announcer Sal Masekela humored the crowd as Curren acknowledged Masekela’s encouragement to pull an aerial, only to fall after each valiant attempt. Former head coach of Ventura, Sean Hayes was substituted by Kellen Ellison who did not improve on Hayes’ score. The group struggled as a whole to post the numbers, however the Pelicanos were able to get in the 20 point range with a quarter score of 21.25 and a cumulative running score of 40.5.

Tom Curren, Ventura Pelicanos

The LA Arc Angels set out on the bottom of the 2nd quarter wide eyed as the damage inflicted to Ventura could continue from the 1st quarter with a successful score. Shaun Burrell immediately put the heat on with a 6.5 followed by an improvement of 7.0 score. Alex Grey also pushed hard with a 6.25 while Justin Swartz substituted for Greg Browning posting a 4.25 along with Yves Bright’s 5.25 prior to be substituted by Bron Heussenstamm. The Arc Angels’ second quarter amounted to a 23 quarter score and a 48.75 cumulative running score, an incredible 8.25 lead over Ventura. During halftime, Ventura Coach Smith pumped up the Pelicanos’ 3rd quarter group to stay focused and wait for the right waves. Tim Curran immediately attacked all opportunities that came his way, scoring 6.5 onward to a stellar 8.0 score clearing a 30 yard section on the biggest set of the day. Adam Virs substituted Blake Howard and came through with a strong 6.75 while Hank Mills pulled a 6.25 and Musio came through with a 5.25. Ventura’s 3rd quarter 26.25 sent a message to LA that the Arc Angels were not guaranteed a win on Sunday. LA’s bottom of the 3rd quarter had a flurry of waves with scores no less than 5.5 for each surfer. Jim O’Brien found the golden nugget with an explosive 7.25 score that showcased the South bay local’s 2 big cutbacks followed by a massive floater and aggressive lip smack. Pascal Stansfield’s 8.0 had the entire crowd raise their arms with two huge vertical hits on the outside and four well linked hits on the inside. "I had a 3.0 and then I heard Sal [Masekela] just rousting me and when I got up, I said to myself I can’t fall", explained Stansfield. LA again continued their domination over Ventura with a 3rd quarter score of 26.50 cumulative score of 75.25 and an 8.5 lead over the Pelicanos.

Pascal Stansfield, LA Arc Angels

With all cylinders firing, the Pelicanos went all out in the first 4 minutes of the 4th quarter with Tom Curren scoring an exceptional 8.25, Cuccia’s incredibly drawn-out bottom turns for a 7.0 and rookie Kellen Ellison’s impressive 7.5. With 12:22 remaining and the first of 2 time outs called, the focus was placed on Jeremy Ryan to put a score on the board. Ryan would eventually score a 4.25 and dig deep for a wave that would give him an opportunity to score anything over a 7.0, however Ryan was not able to improve his score. At the end of the 4th quarter, the Pelicanos put in solid effort for a quarter score of 27 and a cumulative score of 93.75. The Los Angeles Arc Angels needed only an 18.75 to win the game as they entered the bottom of the 4th quarter. Throughout the LA Arc Angels Game series, LA had consistently scored over the 20-point mark, however anything can happen in The Game. The local fans at this point had their fingers crossed for their hometown boys. Alex Grey immediately came out of the gates with a 7.0, followed by an 8.0 and later an unheard of 9.25 best wave score, replacing the previous strong scores in the quarter. At 6:31, Bron Heussenstamm sat on a 4.0 with a broken fin, while Burrell was also sitting on a low score of 3. In a miraculous set, arguably of the entire game week, both Burrell and Heussenstamm caught waves scoring 7.5 and 6.5 respectfully pushing the Los Angeles Arc Angels over the 18.75 benchmark to defeat the Ventura Pelicanos with a final score of 103 (Q: 27.75) to VC’s 93.75.

Bron Heussenstamm, LA Arc Angels

In the Los Angeles dug out, Coach Mike Lamm was raised on the shoulders of the team and let out a roar of elation. Arc Angels assistant coach Strider Wasilewski said, "I’m just psyched, we wanted it all week, we knew we could get one if we decided to put it together, we thought we were going to get a win against OC and we didn’t get it and it’s so great to get it on the last day of the LA series with the support of the LA fans". Thoughts from Greg Browning after being substituted, "The guys were leaning on me to perform and I was probably the biggest let down, yet probably the most proud guy on this team right now. We have a chance and this win helps out with the morale, Coach Lamm and Strider did an amazing job leading us". Heavy scorer, Shaun Burrell said, "All week I really felt we had it in us to win, just a lot of emotion and coming through under pressure and something that I strive to be excellent at and those are the situations that I enjoy." Final Score: LA 103 def. VC’s 93.75