USA Ultimate

Taipe, Great Britain, and The Prom

Photo Gallery: 7/20/09
Photo Gallery (Scobel Wiggins): 7/20/09
Video Clip: USA vs. Taipei (Part 1)
Video Clip: USA vs. Taipei (Part 2)
Video Clip: USA vs. Great Britain (Part 1)
Video Clip: USA vs. Great Britain (Part 2)
Video Clip: USA vs. Great Britain (Part 3)

We all woke up a bit early in order to make the bus to our 10am game. While it was nice to play in the last morning game, it's also nice to play early and not have to run through lunch!

We made it to the fields by around 8:30am and had about a half an our to lounge and watch the AUS/GB game. GB was down by 4 but came back to close within one at 12 - 11, and had the disc to tie it all up, but then turned it. AUS quickly capitalized and the game was over.

Our game with Taipei started off fast and furious with Taipei scoring first. Taipei stayed with the US for the first portion of the game, but then the US took it away, cruising to a 13 - 4 win. After the game both teams came together inside for a great spirit circle. There were lots of cheers, speeches by players, and exchanged gifts. The US players and coaches received some very nice World Games discs!

The last game of the morning was Canada/Japan and we all stayed around to watch. Japan pulled ahead with an early break and stayed ahead with their blistering speed. Canada managed to pull together some momentum, but couldn't bring it over the top. Japan ended up winning 13 - 9.

Next we headed off to another cool lunch at the catering center. Lots of pasta, fried chicken, tea, juice, fish, and various soy dishes later, we were back at the stadium where we got some good rest time in the massage room.

At 3pm Team USA started their active warm up, at 4:10 the lines were called, and soon after the game started. GB played tough and stuck with Team USA for the entire game. Even though USA pulled off a 4 point win, GB never really broke. They played very hard the entire game.

After the GB spirit circle we packed up and head back to the hotel where everyone got about 45 minutes of downtime before we all headed out to dinner at Outback! The theme for the night was "Prom Night" so everyone got as dressed up as they could. We all had a great time eating and being social. We all left very, very full.

Back at the hotel everyone got to bed early.

- Josh

Here's what Matty Tsang had to say about the day:
Well, Australia did it. They came through with the 13-12 victory over Japan to make things very interesting tomorrow. If they hadn't won, the last pool play games tomorrow morning would have been irrelevant. Then the exact same match ups would have been played for a second time in a row in the afternoon for placement. I like it much better this way.

This game was fantastic! One of the best I've ever seen. Too bad there weren't many ultimate players there to truly appreciate what was happening. Very tight defense on both sides. Very different styles of offense and big exciting plays. Australia took half 7-5. Japan battles back scoring 3 in a row to take the lead. It was point for point the rest of the game.

Masahiro Matsuno and Eri Hirai should be familiar to anyone who has watched the Buzz Bullets or the Japanese National Women's team. Masahiro can do it all. He has huge aggressive lefty throws, he's quick, fast and can jump. I remember Eri Hirai catching something like 40 goals at World's last year. On this team she's throwing large gainers. More impressive that the length of her throws (which is impressive) is how quick her release is.

On the Aussie men side Michael Neild, and the Dowle bro's stood out in very solid crew. Hammers consistently got the Aussies out of trouble. On the women's side Liz Edye was consistent all day as the swing. Speedy Katie Bradstock had tough matchup against Sachiko Sameshima who had been getting free deep all tournament, but she did a great job of making her take unders most of the game.

The US has a relatively easy day. Beau was all over the place today, making multiple plays on O and D. I think he has recovered from eating that pork knuckle.