2013 U.S. Open Friday Recap - Women's Division
Erin Wiltgen
Posted: July 6, 2013 03:44 AM
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Women's Division:
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Round One
Fury and Showdown – the only two undefeated teams going into the weekend's fourth round – battled in a thriller. The San Francisco squad got out to an early 5-1 lead over a Texas team struggling with offensive efficiency, but Showdown regrouped, fighting back to 5-4 and entering halftime down only by three. Though Showdown’s offense looked smooth in the second half, Fury capitalized on any mistakes, managing two more breaks to go up 13-9. Fury’s handler movement behind Showdown’s cup – coupled with break throws from lead handlers Alex Snyder and Anna Nazarov – worked to spread the field and break through the zone. And while Showdown’s Hannah Giles managed a run-through D from the cup on Fury’s game point to put the score at 14-12, the California team pulled it together for the final point and took the match 15-12.
In the Riot-MUD match, the Seattle defense really made MUD’s handlers work, but Fuyoko Tazawa of Japan led the offense, breaking the mark and staying patient behind the disc. Riot ran a spread offense, using slashing cuts up the line to move up-field. The teams traded points, with neither defense able to make plays until 4-3, when Riot capitalized on an uncharacteristic MUD throwaway to go up 5-3. Then the Seattle athletes ran away with it, exercising patience of their own behind a MUD zone and converting after errors from the Japanese, going up 9-6 then 12-6. The squads traded points to a 15-9 finish.
On the next field over, Scandal made quick work of Phoenix in the first half, shutting out the Raleigh team 8-0. Both offenses started sloppy, though the Washington, D.C., squad quickly fell into a rhythm of one-two pass and then huck. Phoenix, on the other hand, seemed stagnant on offense; the downfield cutters had a hard time breaking past the Scandal D. In the second half, Phoenix’s Claire Chastain and Kate Morrison took over on offense, finding Shellie Cohen in the end zone for the team’s first goal. After falling behind 11-2, Phoenix managed to find some rhythm, winning the second half and closing out the game 15-8.
Revolution and Nova played a hard-fought game on the back fields, keeping the match close with tough man-to-man defense. Revolution kept the pressure hard, securing several run-through turns. But the young Colombian squad often couldn’t connect on offense, throwing the disc into traffic or behind cutters. Alejandra Torres dictated the offense, using veteran throws to break the mark and keep the disc moving. Nova fought Revolution’s athleticism with smart throws on offense, keeping the game close but unable to pull it out. Revolution won in a capped game 12-10.
Round Two
In round five of the weekend, the still-undefeated Fury took on MUD. The Japanese squad came out with defensive intensity, managing a turn and using Yuko Suzuki, Fuyoko Tazawa and Noriko Nakamura to anchor the line. All of the Japanese players looked cool and confident moving the disc, favoring the inside out break and rotating among cutters and handlers almost interchangeably. MUD came out with a flat wall zone, but Fury’s handlers also demonstrated patience, finding people in the center of the field to march it down to the end zone. Though the teams traded points early on, Fury managed to regain that first break and then some of their own to take half 8-5. The reigning national champions continued to take advantage of MUD turnovers, making plays on offense to put the disc in the end zone. Anna Nazarov used more than her skills behind the disc to run the offense; several layout grabs kept possession and the offensive drives alive, and Fury went up 12-9. The San Francisco squad closed out the match 15-11.
Nova gave the second-seeded Riot some trouble in the fifth round. Though the Seattle team took half 8-4, managing a few breaks here and there, Nova’s steady offense wouldn’t quit. Riot managed to hammer in several points after half, jumping ahead 10-4 before the players from Montreal dug in to manage a few breaks to make it 10-7. After trading to 13-10, Riot’s Kate Kingery used her arsenal of break and high release throws to keep the disc moving and find the end zone. Though Nova’s cutters managed good separation, Riot continued to take advantage of any small mistakes and wrapped up the game 15-11.
Though Showdown came out strong in their match up with Scandal, scoring the first point and keeping it even until 3-2, the D.C. team hit the gas, going on a six-point run to take half 8-3. Scandal used quick movement and aggressive offense to march the disc down the field, putting pressure on Showdown’s offense and taking advantage when the Texas squad made mistakes. Scandal started the second half with a four-point run before Showdown found their legs and the end zone. Working out of a side stack, their offense seemed stagnant and slow to get started, giving the amped-up Scandal defense time to get in position. The D.C. squad won the game convincingly 15-6.
Revolution’s athleticism finally won out in their game against Phoenix. The Colombian team jumped ahead to a 2-0 lead, fighting against the hometown team’s poachy handler defense and forcing their opponents to play honest down field. 2013 Callahan Award winner Claire Chastain took over Phoenix’s offense, finding rookie Adrianne Soo in the end zone to bring Phoenix within one at 4-3. After switching to a more rigid zone defense, the Raleigh squad managed to generate turns, taking half 8-7. The teams traded points until Revolution managed a break to go up 13-11. Though Phoenix had chances to tie the game at 13s, Alejandra Torres managed a great grab in the end zone to give Revolution game point, and the visiting team pulled out a break for the win 15-13.
Round Three
In the final round of the day, Fury took on Revolution. The young squad hung with the tournament’s top team for the first few points, staying even until fives, when Fury pulled away to go into the break ahead 8-5. In the second half, Fury put on a hard, three-person trap cup, which gave Revolution trouble and allowed the Californians to go up 10-5. Again using the fast-break offense on turns, Fury took advantage of turns and pulled away to a 15-7 victory.
With the semifinals in the balance, Scandal faced second-seeded Riot in the sixth round. Seattle’s squad broke first, but Scandal kept it close until 6-5, when Riot’s Sara Griffith managed a D off of a deep cut and led her team to a break and a 7-5 lead. Though both teams looked smooth on offense and sharp on defense, generating turns with skies and run-through Ds, Riot managed to convert, taking half 8-5 and running away in the second half to a 10-5 lead. Subsequently, they took control on both offense and defense, capitalizing on Scandal’s every turn to close out the game 15-8.
In the other game to decide seeding going into the semis, MUD took on Showdown, both teams sitting with a chance to advance. The teams stayed close for most of the first half, with MUD sticking to its tried-and-true offense of a weave from the handlers waiting for a breakaway cut downfield. Showdown threw its signature flat zone, but the Japanese players found easy holes up the middle. On offense, Showdown continued to look deep, relying heavily on Sarah Levinn for looks in the end zone. They managed a break to take half 8-7, and continued the streak in the second half, stretching the lead to 13-10. MUD’s small, 13-woman roster began to show as the Japanese athletes started committing unforced errors. Showdown took advantage of MUD’s drops and throwaways, jumping ahead 14-11 and converting a break for the 15-11 win.
Phoenix battled Nova for the final game of the day, pulling away after stretching a close 8-6 buffer at halftime to a 10-7 lead in the second half. Constance Rancourt, Isabelle Lemay and Jessica Circe anchored the handler line for Nova, looking up the force sideline for the easy score. The Montreal cutters continued to create separation, but Phoenix’s Kate Morrison and Claire Chastain took care of things on their offensive sets. Running a smooth and patient horizontal stack, the Raleigh team methodically worked to a 12-9 lead, closing out the game 15-10.
Looking Ahead
As it stands, Fury, Riot, Showdown and Scandal will advance to the semifinals, knocking out third-seeded MUD. Fury alone remains undefeated at 6-0. Riot has lost only to Fury and has a record of 5-1. Showdown’s record is 4-2, and Scandal is 3-3. MUD, currently sitting in fifth, is tied with Phoenix and Revolution at 2-4. Saturday morning pits Fury against Phoenix, Riot against Showdown and MUD against Nova. Scandal will battle Revolution.
Fun Fact of the Day: Colombia’s Revolution made ribbon flowers attached to hair ties for every player on each team in that team’s colors. The girls also designed and signed a disc for each team with U.S. Open logo, the Revolution logo and the other team’s logo. Many athletes sported the hair ties throughout the day Friday.
Video clips by ESPN
Day 2 video recap:
Photos by UltiPhotos.com (extended highlights gallery)
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