USA Ultimate

2012 US Open -- Mixed Day 2 Recap

The second day of round robin play showed some of the most exciting games in the mixed division. The Canadians Odyssee came out fired up against Polar Bears, scoring a few breaks early in the game. Yet Polar Bears rallied, and narrowed the gap with perfect throwing execution and aggressive defensive plays. The game was quite physical, and Odyssee's marks were making it hard for the Bears to get their throws off. The teams traded points until the end, and with minutes to go and the scored tied at 9s, Odyssee was set to receive the pull. As the game moved in to hard cap, Odyssee worked the disc methodically into the endzone for a score and the 10-9 win, handing the first seed their second loss. Unfortunately, An-chi Tsou and Kevin Cocks, both significant players for Polar Bears, took hard hits today - we'll see if they can continue to play in games tomorrow as their last round today was cancelled.

 

 

On a nearby field, Golden Spike was putting up a tough fight for Slow White to work through. Golden Spike excelled laying out on offense and defense to convert the turnovers they forced to points. Additionally, Slow White also showed an unexpected amount of unforced turnovers with drops and misthrows from top players. Yet as the score increased, Slow White stepped up to another level. Athletic plays replaced the mistakes and resulted in multiple breaks to catch up. Though golden Spike remained strong, Slow White moved on to win the game 11-10.

 

One final upset rounded out the day: Overhaul went up early on CLX, taking half 8-5. Overhaul has completely transformed from the team we saw before. Yesterday they couldn't connect on their passes and weren't using all their skills, but today they took advantage of their tall players to take over the air and improve their deep game. With four men 6'4" or taller who also have excellent throws, Overhaul shreds marks with ease. However, CLX was able to take advantage of their athletic women and beat Overhaul defenders under repeatedly to tie the score at 9. CLX took a timeout with just over a minute left on the clock to pump up their defense. They came out on fire and shut down Overhaul's short options well; yet one huck later, Overhaul was on the doorstep of another score. A dive and roll grab from Captain Colin McIntyre sealed the upset win, the second loss of this kind for CLX this weekend.

 

 

The last round was cancelled due to lightning meaning we will see some exciting matchups tomorrow morning instead of at the end of today; teams will come out with high energy levels in what could be some of the hardest games of the tournament. The undefeated Slow White will face off against the sporadically fantastic CLX, and Polar Bears will have to perform with a high level of focus if they are to keep a powerful Drag'n Thrust team at bay. Golden Spike has a good chance for an upset win over Overhaul if the fifth seed comes out flat, and the Odyssee vs Euforia matchup will showcase a unique opportunity to view two international teams battle it out.