USA Ultimate

2012 US Open -- Women's Day 3 Recap

 

Today’s altered and re-altered schedule brought some exciting results to the table this sunny Saturday afternoon. First of all, two teams that were expected to make the semi-finals, Phoenix and Showdown, were supposed to have two extra games this morning due to the schedule pushback. This put them at a slight disadvantage because Riot and Scandal, the two other teams heading into semis, only had two. What’s more, Phoenix was faced with three incredibly tough games in a row: the first against Showdown, the second against Scandal, at the third—unless they beat the undefeated Scandal by upwards of four points—against Riot. With tough games on the horizon for every team, the third day of play at the U.S. Open was bound to be good.

 

 

Showdown gave Phoenix a run for their money in their second-to-last pool play game, the Texas team losing by a solitary point. Phoenix handlers Leila Tunnell (#18) and Claire Chastain (#52) worked especially well together this game, calmly swinging the disc across the endzone until they were able to score and working the disc down the field almost by themselves when Showdown threw a cup. In turn, Showdown dialed up their defense as Mia Iseman (#3) got a handblock on Tunnell to facilitate a break and a 10-9 lead. In the end, Phoenix was able to get two more breaks and secured a narrow 12-11 win. Showdown then went on to beat AeroSoul 13-5 and secured a fourth place spot in the semifinals.

 

The game to watch today was hands-down the Phoenix-Scandal match-up, as it proved to be the most athletic and fast-paced game thus far. Both teams were looking to beat each other for slightly different reasons: Phoenix hoped to avoid a semifinal matchup with Riot, while Scandal wanted to continue their winning streak. Scandal hoped to beat Phoenix by increasing the pressure on their notably effective handlers. As captain Allison Maddux (#5) said, "We’re going to play disciplined defense against their handlers to prevent their throw and go motion. On offense," she continued with a smile, "we plan to stay chilly." Then the game began with a bang. Scandal’s offense was on fire from the get-go, while Phoenix players were laying out left and right on defense. Scandal’s Sam McClellan (#14) laid out in the endzone to score the first point of the game, and the big plays got even more dramatic from there. Scandal’s Octavia Payne (#9) had a huge layout D in Phoenix’s endzone, while Phoenix’s Claire Remington (#9) easily intercepted a Scandal pass, only to catch the disc in the endzone for a score only a few minutes later. One of the most exciting plays to occur was in Scandal’s endzone: it seemed as if Leila Tunnell, running to a floaty disc in the endzone’s back right corner, was poised to intercept it. Yet seemingly out of nowhere, Sandy Jorgensen (#37) sprinted up to Tunnell and miraculously ripped the disc out of the air, only to assist the winning score 11-9 Scandal during hard cap.

 

 

Although Phoenix had suffered a hard loss to Scandal in their last pool play game, they also experienced a stroke of luck: lightning and hail forced the women’s semi-final games to be postponed until tomorrow, meaning that they would have fresher legs for their game against Riot. Scandal plays Showdown in the semis, the latter team which Scandal has already beaten 15-7; will the Texas team be able to avenge their previous loss, or will Scandal easily advance to the finals? Only time will tell—check Score Reporter and watch the free live steaming for instant coverage tomorrow!