2016 U.S. Open - Day Three Mixed Recap
Jared DiMascio
Posted: July 4, 2016 12:56 AM
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The fifth-annual U.S. Open Championships are underway in Kingston, R.I.
We are down to two teams each in the men's, mixed and women's divisions competing to take home the first leg of the 2016 Triple Crown Tour.
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With two days of grueling games of the U.S. Open come and gone, teams woke up Sunday with something to prove. Some were playing for a chance at a finals appearance, and a possible win, while others were just trying to rebound from off performances during pool play or get some good practice in against top teams.
The wind was present as ever, still affecting teams in every division and players of both genders. In the mixed division, Seattle Mixtape, Minneapolis Drag’n Thrust, Boston Slow White and Connecticut Metro North all came to the University of Rhode Island’s fields to play for a chance at the finals. As the first two semifinals of the weekend, these games did not disappoint, and set the stage for what spectators and players could expect for the rest of the weekend.
Semifinals
Seattle Mixtape 15-14 Drag’n Thrust
The first semifinal in Meade Stadium was Seattle Mixtape against Minneapolis Drag’n Thrust, and with a few early breaks and cashing in on Mixtape’s drops, Drag’n Thrust jumped out to a three-point lead and looked to coast to half ahead 6-3. Despite solid handling from Minneapolis’ Sarah Anciaux and Sarah Meckstroth, Mixtape managed to tie the game at 7-7 with Khalif El-Salaam playing a majority of the late points in the first half and scoring three goals in a row. After taking half with a beautiful huck, Drag’n Thrust opened the second half with a few more breaks, taking a 13-10 lead and looking solid like they had in their comeback against AMP. However, it was Seattle who would get the comeback in this game, managing to tie it up with big plays from El-Salaam and Henry Phan. With the first of many double-game-points in Meade Stadium, Seattle struck again, breaking for the 15-14 win, making their way to the finals to play against either Slow White or Metro North.
Slow White 15-10 Metro North
Across the fields, the two local teams from Boston and Connecticut faced off in their second match up of the season. Slow White got the win at the Boston Invite, taking down Metro North in the finals.
Hoping to get revenge from their last meeting, Metro North opened the game with two breaks, after a huge layout from YoungJo LaFontaine and fast handler movement, despite the blustery winds. But Slow White fought back and tied it at 3-3 with a perfect high-release flick from Jeff Smith and two amazing catches from Julie Sussman. After a big sky from Shaun Doherty on an upwind huck, Slow White worked the disc up the field to take their first lead of the game and took half 8-5 after several points of multiple turnovers per team. In the second half, Metro North showed that they weren’t going to go down without a fight and kept play alive with acrobatic layouts from Seth Cannetti and smooth handling from Lucas Murphy. At 12-7, YoungJo LaFontaine came down with a huge layout in the back of the end zone past Tannor Johnson, hoping to breathe some fire into his team, but in the end, the Boston team showed more composure and more pressure, as Ben Katz and Miles Montgomery-Butler each had a few blocks late in the game. With a handblock on the goal line from Katz, Slow White patiently worked the disc around until they found an easy goal to end the marathon last point of the game. Slow White took down Metro North 15-10 and will face Seattle Mixtape in Monday’s championship game, a rematch of one of Friday’s pool play match ups.
Placement Games
Fifth-Place Bracket
NOISE continued their dominance from Friday and Saturday to breeze past the Polar Bears 15-7, before falling to AMP 13-8 on their way to claiming sixth place, after coming into the U.S. Open as the 10 Seed.
Wild Card lost another close one to the Polar Bears, who came out reenergized after a big loss to NOISE in the seventh-place game, with a 12-14 score.
Ninth-Place Bracket
Ambiguous Grey turned their act around from pool play and took home ninth place with a close win over Union and a larger win over Team Panama.
Voltaje and Team Panama faced off in the 11th-place game, where Colombia’s Voltaje took their first win of the tournament over Panama 15-8.
Looking Ahead
Tomorrow, the mixed division only has the championship to look forward to, so all eyes will be on Slow White and Seattle Mixtape for a 10:00 a.m. game in Meade Stadium. Both teams will have to be at their best if they hope to win the U.S. Open. You can bet on the wind showing up in full force on the showcase field, so the teams from each coast will have to adapt or be fine with a second-place finish.
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