2016 U.S. Open - Day Two Women's Recap
Jenna Palin
Posted: July 2, 2016 10:58 PM
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The fifth-annual U.S. Open Championships are underway in Kingston, R.I.
Thirty-four teams across the men's, mixed and women's divisions are competing to take home the first leg of the 2016 Triple Crown Tour.
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Another day is in the books for the women's division at the 2016 edition of the U.S. Open, and what a day it was. The women's division found itself on the premier fields at the University of Rhode Island with some serious wind thrown into the mix. All teams were forced to play small ball against the wind and their opponents’ zone defenses, but some teams were ready to rise above the breeze and show us how to dominate against all odds.
Pool A, No Dismay
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Brute Squad
(1)
5-0 |
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Fury
(3)
4-1 |
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Iris
(6)
0-5 |
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Showdown
(7)
1-4 |
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Fusion
(10)
2-3 |
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Pool A remained relatively quiet for most of the day, with top teams Brute Squad and Fury easily taking their final pool play games.
Brute Squad versus Iris was hotly contested at times; Isabelle Toutant of Iris presented a challenge for many of the talented Brute players, as her wingspan and quick defensive reaction time brought quite a few Ds that made for some easy Iris stuff-and-scores. Iris also displayed their athleticism in the form of Shaunagh Howard with a full extension layout score. However, when Iris was faced with playing full-field offense, they found themselves struggling against Brute's tight defensive play and the difficult cross-wind that cut through most of the games today. The first half was contested, but eventually Brute's D line found their offensive flow and went on a five-break-point streak in the second half to seal the deal. Outcome: Brute 15, Iris 7.
San Francisco Fury began their day against Winnipeg Fusion, which started off as a very interesting match up. Fury came to the fields to win after a tough loss to Brute on Friday, and Fusion brought their same gritty defense that earned them two wins on Friday. Fury played clean and was able to pull out the win. Outcome: Fury 15, Fusion 5.
The final games in Pool A were somewhat uneventful as well. Texas Showdown was unable to score against Brute Squad's defense for the first 10 points of the game, and Brute's Cassie Wong ended the game with a D and score to finish it out 15-2. Fury started off shaky against Montreal Iris; unforced errors from Fury allowed a four-point run from Iris that tied the game at 5-5, but Fury closed up their margin of error and never looked back. After taking half 8-6, Fury's D line refused to let Iris score. Fury finished the game 15-6 and sent Iris to the friendly game against Pool B's Siege.
Stay Cool, B Pool
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Riot
(2)
4-1 |
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Molly Brown
(4)
4-1 |
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Scandal
(5)
4-1 |
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BENT
(8)
1-4 |
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Siege
(9)
0-4 |
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Pool B brought success to D.C. Scandal in the form of a double-game point win against Seattle Riot on Saturday morning. Both teams entered Saturday's with two wins on their belts, and neither team was looking to add a loss to their record. The wind was a major factor in this game, as many turns were not generated by defense. Both teams played with zone defenses, but the handlers were patient as they slowly worked the disc downfield. Unfortunately, many of the shorter huck-to-score plays that are so common in women's teams' play books were ill-advised in this game. There were many marathon points due to 30-40 yard flicks falling short of their receivers or pushing out the back of the end zone. Trading points until they were at 13-13, Scandal’s Sandy Jorgensen made a huge defensive play against Riot's Sarah Griffith in the air, but Griffith did come off the field due to injury after the play. Scandal scored on a huck to Jorgensen to make it 14-13 with Scandal in the lead. Riot's offense returned the favor on the next point, scoring easily against Scandal's defensive line. Double-game point brought Jenny Fey back on the line for Scandal, but they still had to earn the disc back against Riot's zone after two turns. Finally, Jenny Fey delivered the last blow, throwing a blady flick to Keila Strick to finish the game 15-14.
Molly Brown and Siege also played a tight game, with the two teams trading points before Siege took half 8-7. After half, Molly Brown started to ramp up their intensity, putting together a 5-1 run, knowing they would be moving into the showcase game against big competition in the next round. Final score between Molly Brown and Siege: 14-10.
The showcase game between Molly Brown and Scandal proved to be another white-hot game with outstanding highlight-reel-worthy defensive plays from Opi Payne and heavenly backhands from Claire Chastain and Lisa Pitcaithley. Scandal proved that time and time again, Jenny Fey just knows when and how to throw to Sandy Jorgensen for the score. After a tight game with insane plays by both teams, Molly Brown got the upset against Scandal with a 15-13 finish that sent Scandal to finish the day with a crossover friendly against Fusion. A quiet game between Bent and Riot left Bent licking their wounds with a score of 15-2.
Quarterfinals
Despite making the quarterfinals, being in the championship bracket did not bring any changes for Bent, as they also lost 15-2 to dominant Brute Squad. Fusion brought the noise to Scandal, but Scandal eventually completed their day with a 15-8 win, and will start their Sunday with a tough match up against 5-0 Brute Squad.
Molly Brown faced San Francisco Fury. Some of Fury's players were spotted on the sidelines at the finish of Molly Brown's earlier game against Scandal, but regardless of how much scouting Fury did before the game, they were still unable to solve Molly Brown's tough match ups. Perhaps the most influential player on Molly Brown was not the aforementioned Opi Payne, Lisa Pitcaithley or Claire Chastain, but instead Lindsey Cross. Cross was constantly in the right place at the right time for Molly Brown, and they sealed the deal against Fury with a score of 15-11.
Final Thoughts
It seems as though Molly Brown heard the news today that fireworks are legal in Rhode Island, as they lit off a few of their own against some very difficult teams under the spotlight. Molly Brown will need to prepare themselves for another tough game against Riot tomorrow morning as Riot gave Molly Brown their only loss in the tournament so far. Here's the catch: Riot lost against Scandal, and Scandal lost to Molly. Will we be stuck in an eternal loop of underdog stories? Or will Molly Brown up the ante and bring the noise to a well-rested Riot?
Brute Squad looks to dominate their semifinal match up as they have easily finished all of their games, save one, with a huge point cushion. But Scandal, ever the wild card, is likely to cause Brute some discomfort and will not allow the Bostonians to make as many mistakes in their first half like those they allowed against Iris this morning. Scandal could easily take Brute to double-game point as they did with Riot.
Will Scandal live up to their namesake, or will Brute punish with their super squad? Make sure to tune in at 1:30 p.m. ET (live on ESPN3) and 3:30 p.m. (tape-delay availability from Ultiworld) to see where these two match ups take us on the first leg of the Triple Crown Tour!
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