The San Francisco Fire and Miami Surge met up in a winner-take-all match up. The winner makes the playoffs to face the Phoenix Rise while the loser heads back home.
Race 1 started what would be a back and forth battle throughout most of the match. The Surge made the first splash by taking Race 1 by a fraction of a second after Brooke Haas finished the dumbbell ground-to-overhead just ahead of the Fire’s Sarah Estrella. The Fire would come back in Race 2 under the power of Cam Pernich and Estrella.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | TOTAL | |
| Surge | 2 (2) |
1 (3) |
1 (4) |
2 (6) |
1 (7) |
2 (9) |
2 (11) |
1 (12) |
0 (12) |
0 (12) |
0 (12) |
12 |
| Fire | 1 (1) |
2 (3) |
2 (5) |
1 (6) |
2 (8) |
1 (9) |
1 (10) |
2 (12) |
2 (14) |
3 (17) |
3 (20) |
20 |
For the Women’s and Men’s Echo Races, the score ping-ponged back and forth with both teams tied 9-9 heading into Race 7. During the Ladder, the Fire easily locked up the Women’s point, but Pernich ran out of time to overtake the Surge on a final snatch. Pernich may have been able to accumulate more weight, but he skipped two bars which he might have been able to lift faster than the heavier attempts. Either way, the Surge took a one-point advantage heading into Race 8.
The ring-heavy workload in Race 8 gave the Fire’s Eric Cardona a chance to shine. Cardona’ speed on all three elements of the race helped give the Fire the lead and ultimately two points. Once again, the teams were tied, this time at 12-12.
As the women got ready for the Women’s Triad, both teams could feel the pressure. The Fire’s Courtney Walker and Surge’s Hannah Richards helped teammates through the freestanding handstand push-ups within seconds of each other. The Fire would then take a slight advantage on the rope climbs, but it came down to the 15 Cleans at 150 pounds. While the Fire pushed through at a quick pace, the Surge didn’t have enough fire power to keep pace. The Fire won the race, but the Surge were unable to complete within the time cap after some confusion on which bar still had reps remaining. The Fire took a two-point lead into the Men’s Triad.
With a two-point advantage, San Francisco threw the bonus flag for the Men’s Triad. Both teams stayed even through the rope climbs, but just like the women, the Surge’s men were too tired to cycle the barbell as quickly as the Fire. And again in Race 10, the Surge failed to finish within the time cap. The bonus flag gave the Fire three points and the Non-Complete for the Surge gave them zero. The five-point swing during the Triad Races gave the Fire an insurmountable advantage and put the match out of reach.
With the match already decided, it was clear the Surge were devastated and knew their season was over. The Surge failed to push the pace on Race 11 and were once again time capped, failing to earn a point. The Fire earned eight points in the final three races to the Surge’s zero.
The win for the Fire mean it will be another rematch against the Phoenix Rise. The Rise won the regular season match, 18-16, in the closest match in NPGL history.
Up Next:
San Francisco Fire vs Phoenix Rise (Sept. 3 at 9:00pm ET)
