USA Ultimate

U-19 Mixed – Day Two Recap (full results)
By: Chris Dascalos

Day two of the 2015 Youth Club Championships showed no less overall effort than the first in the U-19 mixed division, but you could tell that the intensity on the field had risen since these games determining final pool seeding and where teams would end up in Sunday’s bracket play.

Unlike yesterday, Oregon Flood came out looking fresh and ready to play in their first game against Maine Rising Tide. Starting off with a few breaks and solid handler movement, Oregon played really smart ultimate in the cool morning weather, while Rising Tide made small fundamental mistakes. The connection between Aaron Rogers and Drew Peterschmidt couldn’t be disturbed, and some beautiful skies were getting Flood off to a great start. Oregon closed out the game 10-7 and moved on. But the story wasn’t the same when they played Seattle Royale. The wind had started to pick up, and slight rain started to enter the equation. Even though Flood tried, they could not stop Justin Ting and Anthony Goss who appeared to have their hands in everything Seattle did. The 5-12 loss put Flood in Pool A’s fourth spot and in Sunday’s fifth-place bracket.

Minnesota Superior clinched a close victory over Boston BUDA this morning, barely grinding it out at 11-10. The huge, active sideline of players and hometown fans really helped them keep the momentum going after starting off with a couple of breaks. When Minnesota moved on to Atlanta flATLine, they came out weak and possibly gassed after their first game. The loss was painted with consistent turnovers, and they took an 8-13 loss. But the game wasn’t critical to Minnesota’s final seeding. They had already clinched a spot in the semifinals with their earlier win over BUDA. Minnesota will face the Bay Area Happy Cows in the championship bracket this morning.

Seattle finished the day 4-1, having only lost to Atlanta, 8-11, in a high-intensity game. The winds had picked up, and the slight rain had become more frequent at this point, and as Seattle got a little rushed, they simply made some poor decisions and forgot the fundamentals. Regardless, they had some impressive hammer scores and layout Ds to keep the game exciting. Seattle still sits at the top of the pool and will starts their battle toward a YCC title against Washington, D.C., Swing Vote on Sunday morning.

In Pool B, it was a day of steamrolling in many of the games, but they all had some outstanding plays.

Philadelphia Forge is really making a name for themselves this year as they have been consistent in skill and patience. They plowed through Colorado Cutthroat in the morning 11-1 but had great spirit throughout. Their next game against the Bay Area Happy Cows was definitely one of the games of the day. Right from the get go, there were huge bids on both sides, and the sidelines were loud enough that you couldn’t hear yourself talking. Even though Forge has a slight but usually significant height difference, the zone they threw fell apart when the Happy Cows ordered a set of scoober-layout combo meals. The Happy Cows took the game 8-11, leaving Forge as potentially the strongest contender in the fifth-place bracket.

Swing Vote has been almost on the back burner all weekend, but they have been clinching victories while keeping their presence almost unknown. After finishing 5-1 in pool play, they sit in the number two spot in Pool B and will play Seattle in their second consecutive trip to the semifinals. The team from D.C. is a force to be reckoned with and may have a chance of making it to the finals and settling the score against the Happy Cows, who they lost to in last year’s mixed division championship.

The Madison MUFA Bots came out strong on Friday but started Saturday with tougher competition and even worse weather than they’d had the day before. They almost one-upped Forge in a close game with a final score of 10-12 while they were recovering from their tough game against the Happy Cows. The MUFA Bots are in Sunday’s ninth-place bracket and will start Sunday against flATLine. That will be a good showdown of quality and wisdom on the field.

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Bracket play is going to heat up quickly on Sunday morning with the semifinals and fifth-place bracket games starting bright and early. This is the first time any teams have experienced a three-day YCC event, and Sunday’s winners and losers may come down to which teams are conditioned best and can make good decisions on and off the field.

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