USA Ultimate

At the end of the day, the original top four seeds in the U-19 boys’ division were still the top four teams. In this year’s format, those are the four teams who will advance to the championship bracket and face off in tomorrow morning’s semifinal round.

 

Triangle Area Triforce convincingly claimed the top spot in Pool A after an incredibly quick game against Minnesota Superior in the final round of pool play this afternoon. That last game was the decider for who would advance to the semifinals out of Pool A, and the crowd expected a close and exciting game. And while there were plenty of exciting plays, the game wasn’t close. Triforce came out with more energy and defensive intensity than they had shown in Blaine so far. They mounted a 4-0 lead before Superior got on the board and continued rolling all the way to an 11-2 win that took only about 45 minutes. Triforce is fast. Really fast. Even against Minnesota’s top athletes, Triforce beat them with quickness on the first step and out ran them downfield. They’re also not afraid to take chances when they’re there. Having confident throwers like Liam Searles-Bohs and Matt Gouchoe-Hanas, among others, looking downfield at big targets like 6’5" Henry Fisher makes those chances reasonable. 

 

Triforce will take on the Atlanta ATLiens in the semis, a rematch of last year’s semifinal which Triforce won en route to their first championship in the U-19 division. 

 

The ATLiens were the first to claim their spot in the semis with their 12-7 win over Delaware Valley DeVYL in Pool D first thing this morning. As they had already clinched the spot, they followed up their first game by running really open lines against Cincinnati Flying Pig. Flying Pig won that one 12-4. Against DeVYL, the strengths of the ATLiens were clear. They are clearly well-coached and are extremely patient, particularly in the red zone. Their end-zone offense has structure, but the depth of the roster allows each athlete on the field to fill whichever role needs to be filled. Cutters take on the handler role, handlers clear downfield and become cutters. It’s not flashy, but it’s incredibly effective. The team is calm; they don’t get rattled after a turnover – they just work to get the disc back. The disparate styles of Atlanta and the Triangle should make tomorrow’s match up particularly interesting. The team who can control the game’s pace should have the advantage. 

 

Boston BUDA earned the semifinals spot out of Pool B with an 11-8 win over Chicago U-19 Elite, one of the most exciting games of the weekend so far. Boston was up two breaks at halftime, 7-5, and after holding to start the second half, their lead sat at three. In a program known for successful teams, this may be the most talented BUDA U-19 boys’ team in recent memory. They are really tall and really fast. They out-efforted Chicago for most of the second half, laying out for nearly every D and not giving up on any disc that was still in the air. To go up 9-5, a contested strip foul on a great effort in the air that would have been a goal went back to the thrower, which gave BUDA a chance to score in even more spectacular fashion. Luke Webb managed to throw a greatest from the end zone sideline right into the chest of a stationary teammate for the goal. If you believe the team’s Twitter account, Spiderman threw the greatest to Shadow Master. Chicago was playing aggressively too, which made BUDA’s success all the more impressive. They were doing a great job of putting their bodies between the disc and their defenders, keeping the often laying-out defenders from getting hands on the disc. Chicago scored last in the hard cap, but the final count was 11-8 in BUDA’s favor. Highlight plays were plentiful all the way through that final point, and more should be expected tomorrow in BUDA’s semifinal against Seattle Shogun.

 

Shogun continued to look nearly untouchable on day two. In their first game of the day, Shogun made life difficult for Colorado Cutthroat using a junky zone that clogs the cutting lanes. Cutthroat had trouble finding space to throw through the wall. In conjunction with some pretty impressive pulls, Colorado spent an inordinate amount of time trapped in their own end zone. When they generated turns, Seattle’s offensive defense was very efficient, often times converting their break opportunities with just a throw or two. Standout players amongst two complete and strong rosters were abundant for both teams but included Steven Benaloh, Nick Hirning and Eric Huynh for Seattle and Mo Scott, Reed Forman and Steve Pearlman for Colorado. Shogun’s semifinal against BUDA should be fast-paced but also a great showcase of the teams’ array of throws and intense defense.

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In addition to the games that decided tomorrow’s semifinalists, there was plenty of other exciting action in the U-19 boys’ division today. Houston Helix got an exciting win over Minnesota Superior. Minnesota ran some open lines, but Houston managed to pull out the win on double-game point. Final score: 13-12. It was Helix’s second upset win of the day after they defeated Maine Rising Tide 11-8. 

 

New York Little PoNY played a close game against Superior earlier in the day. The score was tied as late as 8-8 before Minnesota put together a mini run to win 11-8. The final point of the game came after a dropped pull from Little PoNY just outside their end zone. Iowa Goliath got their first win of the weekend on double-game point against Michigan Semi in the last round of pool play, 11-10.

 

In a game of teams well matched in skill and in sportsmanship, Aftershock was able to hold off the charging team from Atlanta. With their chant, "Everybody in the 404" Atlanta’s Jay Burnet started the game with a nice layout score and continued to look great throughout the match, but Atlanta's late comeback attempt was stymied by the hard cap as the Bay Area was able to pull out a close victory in this well-played game.

 

Indiana started the game by jumping to a quick 5-0 lead before the Delaware Valley squad forced a turnover and scored quickly. DeVYL B exhibited great spirit as this group of mostly seventh and eighth graders faced the bigger, stronger and more experienced INtensity. Grant Dowling scored four goals for INtensity.

 

The game started with a long point that Minnesota finally converted for a score, giving them momentum that they rode to a 4-0 lead. Neuqua struggled to overcome the Minnesota zone early, but managed to fight back to 3-5. Joseph Carolan scored three of Nightmare's four points, and Superior pulled away in the second half. Max Lang tallied four goals for Minnesota in their 11-4 victory.

 

Colorado came out strong against Seattle, swapping points to 3-3. With many teams starting to use vertical stack again, Seattle used a lot of horizontal stack sets. Conner Ryan converted four scores as Seattle played a very Seattle-style game and ran away with an 11-4 victory.  

Tough defense was the story of this close game as the teams combined for 21 Ds.  Cincinnati came back from a late two-goal deficit to tie the game at 9-9, but John Chirayil tossed his fifth assist of the game for the game winner, leading Chicago to a 10-9 win.

 

Hailing from the original home territory of ultimate, DeVYL threw an innovative no-mark zone at Pittsburgh, keeping everything short and frequently switching off the handler.  On offense, DeVYL ran crisp, controlled short passing sets with only eight turnovers in the game as they ran away to a 13-5 victory.

 

 

The game began with two well-played breaks for Atlanta, with Jay Burnett going long for a score. Atlanta's zone forced turnovers and they pulled ahead 6-3, but Minnesota changed the momentum behind Ben Fjetland's diving D followed quickly by an assist. While Minnesota fought back to tie the score at 9, Atlanta ran a center stack, relying on breaks and moved up the break side to score and win on double-game point.

 

Alex Henderson had five assists and four Ds, and controlled the field as INtensity’s main handler. Indiana ran away with an 11-3 victory.

 

DeVYL B started the game by throwing their "no mark on the handler" defense. It took North Carolina a little while to develop the required patience, but they were able to build a lead, and then they held the disc and forced DeVYL B to rush toward the handler whenever DeVYL implemented that tactic. DeVYL B worked very hard, but North Carolina relied on tough defense and superior size to pull out the 11-6 victory.

 

Wind strategy played a big role in this game as a southeastern breeze led both teams to throw zone defenses. The pace of the game was slowed by these tactics as the teams forced each other into multiple turnovers, but Chicago's 4-2-1 zone when going downwind was particularly effective, and they pulled away for a 10-6 victory.

 

Wind-assisted zone defense was the story of this game, and Delaware Valley's defense was particularly active downfield, recording 10 Ds in the game. Their upwind score to take an 8-4 lead was a big momentum builder, but Colorado fought back with two late scores before the game ended at 13-6.

 

 

Atlanta used an energetic defense to pull out an early lead, but on the second of back-to-back hammers, Julian Schrader got the assist, and Indiana came back to make the score 3-2. Matthew Shu earned two goals and an assist to lead Atlanta. The call "home, home, home, away, away, away" echoed across the fields as their defense repeatedly forced turnovers that were turned into scores. 

 

North Carolina ran a stifling defense and capitalized with quick scores to take a 6-1 halftime lead. Ethan Ylizarde scored two early goals, and Thomas Schiltz used his height to grab two late scores as North Carolina powered past Neuqua Valley 11-1.  While outgunned in this game, Neuqua showed great spirit and improvement facing top competition.

 

DeVYL B's zone was effective early as they jumped out to an early 2-1 lead in a steady breeze. But the Bay Area team is used to playing in the wind by the Bay. Their superior size, skill and depth overcame the feisty DeVYL B squad with extremely balanced scoring.

 

In a light drizzle, DeVYL A matched Seattle as the game began with each team holding back and forth, but Seattle gained momentum as Marc Muñoz threw a hammer for a score, one of his two goals and two assists on the game. Conner Ryan also chipped in with three goals and two assists for Seattle as they pulled away to a 13-5 victory.  

 

After a tight start to the game, Pittsburgh's Christian Butch scored one of his two goals on a sliding catch off a high-tipped floater in the end zone to take the half. Cincinnati was led by Luke Monnin and Jared Regruth who combined for five goals and five assists. Pittsburgh's Alex Levine had two tough Ds on one point, despite being one of the smallest players in the tournament, setting the tone for Pittsburgh's tough defense, and his team pulled away from Cincinnati for a 13-7 victory.

 

Colorado took the long opening point, and the tone for the game was set, with hand blocks, foot blocks and really tough defense being played. The teams battled with lots of layouts and hard, evenly matched play. Colorado scored last on a nice, controlled offensive set, but Chicago won the game 11-8 behind handlers John Chirayil and Mike Sweeney who combined for eight assists. 

 

Early on, this game was extremely hotly contested. The pace was slowed by numerous stoppages for fouls and contests, but play continued in good spirit. The sidelines were boisterous, and the team play was dynamic. Bui Biechele of North Carolina grabbed three goals to lead NC Hammer to a larger-than-expected margin as they topped Atlanta 11-4.

 

Indiana was playing their last game of the day with a small squad, but they summoned up energy and a positive attitude and broke Minnesota upwind to take half 6-4. Throughout the second half, Minnesota displayed great play with good control of the game’s pace, but they were plagued by key turnovers. Grant Dowling had five goals and two assists, and Dustin Baird added two and three each.

 

As the afternoon sun came out over the Twin Cities, Jason Leto Niemetz threw three assists, each to a different teammate, and Aftershock dispatched Neuqua Valley 11-2. 

 

Tomorrow morning, teams in the U-16 boys’ division move into bracket play. Seattle Olympus will face Bay Area Aftershock, and Delaware Valley DeVYL will take on the Triangle Area’s NC Hammer in the semifinal round at 8:30 a.m.