2014 Pro Flight Finale: Men's Recap
Jonathan Neeley
Posted: September 4, 2014 12:30 PM
_2014-07-21.JPG)
Over Labor Day weekend, the Emerald City Classic served as 2014’s Triple Crown Tour Pro Flight Finale. Held an hour north of Seattle in Burlington, Wash., the tournament played host to USA Ultimate’s top eight men’s teams, giving each their final shot at regular-season competition.
Machine Finishes on Top
Chicago Machine won the tournament, beating Toronto GOAT on Saturday and Denver Johnny Bravo, Atlanta Chain Lightning and Boston Ironside in bracket play. Machine’s 13-10 finals win over Ironside, which avenged a Saturday loss, is the latest addition to a 2014 résumé that includes a tournament win at the Chesapeake Invite and second place at Chicago Heavyweights; Chicago’s strong summer has put traditional National Championships contenders on notice.
"They’re a very dangerous team," said Ironside captain George Stubbs. "They earned that win through making big plays and fitness. I thought they gave us some of the best pressure we saw all weekend."
But like the rest of the field, where no team went undefeated on Saturday, Machine looked far from flawless on the weekend.
"Offensively, it was a tale of two days," said Machine captain Kevin Kelly, referencing his team’s Saturday losses to both Ironside and San Francisco Revolver, the 2013 National Champions who also won the World Championships in August. "Our offense was out of sync on Saturday, with handlers and cutters clogging each other downfield and not timing well. We talked about it, and made a few minor tweaks, and things hit their stride on Sunday."
And while Machine’s offense was better on the tournament’s second day, the defensive offense remained sloppy until the final, turning the disc over recklessly and benefiting more from other teams’ poor play than their own execution.
"Defensively, we were fortunate to get several free chances because teams were a little rusty," said Kelly. "Even with those chances, a lot were wasted on poor decisions, particularly on huck looks. Those free chances are going to disappear, so it will be important for the D line to improve its conversion percentage."
Still, good teams win when they’re not at their best, and Machine’s latest tournament win should both affirm the team’s hard work to date as well as fuel a push toward Regionals.
"It was nice to beat two semis teams from last year and win the tournament," said Kelly. "But in the long run, we need to play our best ultimate in the Series. Every team is going to improve a significant amount, and we will have to make sure to keep grinding and improving every day throughout the rest of the season."
Ironside Shows Up
With fewer big-name roster additions and as the only U.S. team not to make the semifinals of Worlds, Ironside has been a bit of a media afterthought this season. But Boston’s strong showing at ECC, where they beat regional foe GOAT twice and lost only to Revolver on Saturday and Machine in the final, has team leadership happy with where they stand.
Ironside captain George Stubbs said his team’s defense was dangerous all weekend, noting the Machine game as the only time Boston did not generate more than four breaks. He added that the offense will clean up with the re-addition of Danny Clark and Josh Markette, two Ironside mainstays who were not at ECC.
The main thing to take away from ECC, Stubbs said, is that any of the nation’s top teams can win a single game, meaning that consistency is the name of the game.
"Consistent pressure is what it’s going to be all about, just chipping away," Stubbs said. "We know what we need to work on. If we can keep bringing that same defensive pressure, we’re going to be in a great spot come Nationals."
Worlds Teams Falter
Revolver, Johnny Bravo and Seattle Sockeye, the U.S.’ other three Worlds teams, were all among ECC’s bottom four finishers. Though it’s worth noting that both Revolver and Bravo were without their coaches (Mike Payne and Bob Krier, respectively) and that Sockeye had only practiced once since Worlds, Sockeye captain Tyler Kinley said he wasn’t surprised—that the "Worlds hangover" is real.
"In order to not burn out, teams need a mental and physical break after Worlds," said Kinley. "This means not playing or training for a couple weeks. Less in shape, worse throws, less chemistry."
GOAT Earns a Strength Bid
Though GOAT won only two games, those wins – over Revolver and Sockeye – were enough to jump Toronto to 15th in the Triple Crown Tour’s regular-season rankings, giving the Northeast Region its third bid to the National Championships. Going into the weekend, GOAT was sitting at 17th, and the cut-off for a bid to Championships is 16th.
Have any questions or comments? We welcome community feedback and discussion made in a respectful manner. Please refrain from profanity or personal attacks, as such public comments negatively reflect on our sport and community.