USA Ultimate

@TripleCrownTour Scoreboard

PHOTO CREDIT: CBMT Creative

The story of the women’s semifinals on Saturday was Scandal’s historic takedown of perennial contender Riot. On the other side of the bracket, Fury strode to a decisive win over Showdown for the second spot in the women’s final. The two losers will play for a bid to the 2014 World Championships on Sunday. Here’s how the two games played out:

	Washington, D.C. Scandal	vs.	Seattle Riot

Once Scandal’s D line stepped on the field to pull, they took control of the game. After tight handler D forced Riot into a cross-field dump, speedy Scandal defender Allison Maddux raced to intercept the disc and score a Callahan, and the first break for Scandal. The D line took advantage of Riot’s mistakes, scoring two more breaks before Riot was able to put their flow together. When Riot kept possession of the disc, their offense was calm and smooth. However, they made poor decisions and dropped discs, generally seeming out of sorts. Scandal’s D line offense is perhaps their biggest asset, and once they have the disc in their hands, the Maddux-Payne-Jorgensen combo will almost always convert for a score. After three Scandal breaks, Gwen Ambler and Hana Kawai connected to put Riot on the board, but Riot’s unforced errors continued to give Scandal the edge. Sasha Bugler’s sailing huck to Sandy Jorgensen’s who made the grab over her defender and gave Scandal the half at 8-3.

In the second half, Riot failed to correct their mistakes or come up with the spark of energy necessary to make a comeback. Ambler, Coach Heidi-Marie Wiggins and Shannon McDowell kept their calm offensively but seemed to break down at key moments. Hana Kawai gave a show with her skying defensive blocks and non-stop movement, but the pieces never fit together for Riot. Nearing the end of the game, Jessie O’Connor and Sandy Jorgensen moved the disc down the field with a give and go, and Opi Payne made a backhand break floater look nonchalant. Scandal continued to move the disc easily, and Alika Johnston threw to an open Molly Roy for the game-winning score at 15-7.

	San Francisco Fury	vs.	Austin Showdown

Fury came out strong in their game against the home-state team in Showdown and scored five breaks before Showdown found their groove and got on the scoreboard. Fury’s talented roster used their experience and stellar throws to fluster the usually intense Showdown squad. Showdown showed poor decision making and uncharacteristic drops, even from their top players like Cara Crouch. Fury’s inside flick break throws made it easy for their cutters to find space in the middle of the field, and familiar names like Alden Fletcher, Cree Howard and Carolyn Finney continued to come down with scores for the Bay Area team. Finally, the Forth twins connected on a backhand pass laid out perfectly in the end zone for the first Showdown score at 5-1.

In the second half, Showdown found their offensive flow and stopped making as many unforced errors. However, Fury’s poachy defense continued to fluster Showdown. Break throws from Fury’s Alex Snyder and Nancy Sun’s overpowered Showdown, even though Shereen Rabie and Holly Greunke answered back with a couple picturesque hucks of their own. With the score at 11-4, Showdown’s Diana Charrier ran almost sideline to sideline to score on a well-placed up-line throw, after Sarah Levinn (Showdown) and Claire Desmond’s (Fury) shoulder-to-shoulder layouts vying for a mid-flight disc. Fury used quick movement with their two primary handlers to penetrate Showdown’s zone and continued to get almost any throw they wanted. On the other side, Showdown became more patient and gave their handlers multiple passing options but had too deep of a hole to climb out of. At 13-7, Showdown’s Katey Forth came up with a huge defensive block in the end zone, but the next two points were all Fury’s as Lisa Pitcaithley and Manisha Daryani connected for the winning point and ended the game at 15-7.

Finals Sunday

It’s safe to say that many fans will cheer for an upset in the finals on Sunday. Scandal can beat this year’s Fury squad if they continue to capitalize on their defensive line firepower and don’t lose focus mid-game.

In the third-place game, Riot and Showdown will meet for the third time this year. The two teams are 1-1 currently and will both want to break that tie with a win. Showdown will give a good performance for their hometown fans, but Riot won’t lose two games in this tournament, especially with a ticket to Worlds on the line.

Photos

Day 3 - Highlights - Images by CBMT creative

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