National Surf League | The Game

The 2005 Quiksilver California Cup continued today with a crucial Game 2 of stop number 3 with the San Diego Sea Lions defeating the Santa Cruz Stormriders 87.25 - 72.25. The Sea Lions now take over the 2005 Quiksilver California Cup lead from the Stormriders with 4 wins and zero losses. In challenging surf conditions today at Oceanside Pier, both teams fought hard to score points as the SD Sea Lions series has seen lower final scores than in previous games in Santa Cruz and Los Angeles.

In Game 2, San Diego opted to surf first, a strategy used yesterday in Game 1 of the Sea Lions series between SD and the Los Angeles Arc Angels. San Diego’s first quarter started off slow as the group led by Taylor Knox struggled to post a quarter score above 20 until the last few minutes. Taylor Knox’s 7.0 displayed the power surfer’s skill as he worked his magic on a chest-high wave with onshore winds. Austin Ware pushed the group along with a 6.25 with SD scoring a 20.75.

Santa Cruz, known for their skill in large point break surf, sent out a strong squad including veteran surfers, Jason "Ratboy" Collins, Peter Mel, Josh Mulcoy and Tyler Fox. Fox, an experienced beachbreak surfer attacked the lefts and rights with a best wave of 5.25. While Ratboy’s vertical hits earned him the highest score for the SC crew of 6.0. Peter Mel was not as well suited for the beach break as he scored only a 2.5, "I’m a bigger guy so I’m not expected to do well in the small stuff. My best waves were not best waves" laughs Mel who is known for his big wave endeavors. SC finished their first quarter with a low score of 18 and all 3 timeouts used however the Stormriders only trailed San Diego 2.75 points.

San Diego’s second quarter group included superstar Rob Machado along with a contingent of small wave specialists. The wave conditions continued to challenge both teams, as Machado could not score above a 4.0. Che Stang and Matt Yates helped push the group forward with substitute Sean Marceron delivering an astounding 7.0 score. The Sea Lions ended their second quarter with a 22.75 and a cumulative game score of 43.5.

Santa Cruz’s Kieren Horn opened up the bottom of the 2nd quarter with 2 solid snaps and a cutback while remaining impressively fluid despite the wave conditions to score an 8.0. "It was a wave with good shape, and in certain beach breaks you aren’t necessarily looking for the biggest wave, but a wave with shape," said Horn. However, Santa Cruz was unable to deliver collective high scores, scoring a low quarter score of 18.25 and a cumulative score of 36.25 allowing San Diego to pull ahead with a 7.25 lead.

Coach David Barr of the Sea Lions knew right away that the 3rd quarter allowed many opportunities to turn up the heat on Santa Cruz. With a 7.25 lead, SD’s 3rd quarter had the San Diego crowd cheering loudly as Taylor Knox delivered an explosive 7.5 along with strong scores from Daryl Goodrum and substitutes Dane Johnson and Kyle Knox. The Sea Lions 3rd quarter score was the best of the game with 24.75 and a cumulative game score of 68.5.

Santa Cruz’s Josh Mulcoy and Ratboy scored above 6.0s with Mulcoy on one of the biggest waves of the day. Ratboy scored a 6.5 on a monster backside air with back to back aerial maneuvers. Santa Cruz would finally end up in the 20 point range for the quarter however the differential had become quite large with San Diego’s 68.5 to SC’s 56.25.

In the 4th quarter, The Sea Lions’ Rob Machado scored a 7.0 with lightning-quick precision as wave conditions continued to drop. San Diego’s 4th quarter score was the lowest of their game with a score of 19 points and a cumulative score of 8
7.25.

Santa Cruz now needed a miraculous yet not impossible 31 points to tie the game. At the end of the Stormriders’ 4th quarter, SC could only score a 16 point quarter score losing to the Sea Lions, by 15 points, SD: 87.25 to SC: 72.25.

Game 2 of The San Diego Sea Lions series continues tomorrow through to Sunday, April 24th with the San Diego Sea Lions (4-0) taking on a stacked Ventura Pelicanos (0-2) and the defending 2004 California Cup champions, the Orange County Octopus. "The big games are this weekend, but we didn’t take LA or Santa Cruz lightly and we aren’t taking anyone likely but I’m really pleased with how things are right now" said Sea Lions coach Barr.

The 2005 Quiksilver California Cup continues with team introductions at 8:30 a.m. with a 9 a.m. game start, Saturday, April 23rd at Oceanside Pier, Southside.