USA Ultimate

Day 4 thoughts

Quarters today!!!!  Here's a quick summary of our Thursday games:

10 AM: USA 13, Great Britain 8

Going into this game, we knew it would be our toughest match so far.  Great Britain was the only team in our pool that had been beating teams by the same margins that we had.  We came out steadily as always, with Dugan and Prof leading the offense to a break-free game.  We found our opportunities on some missed deep shots by GB that we defended well and immediately put in for a 6-4 lead.  Later in the game, GB felt the pressure mount and gave up several more turns which let us put the game away.

4 PM: USA 13, France 6

This was our least spirited game of the tournament, unfortunately.  We had a bit of trouble getting up for these last two games, knowing that our toughest pool play games were already over.  The game had a choppy feel overall, with France complaining early on that our play was too physical and retaliating with some physical play of their own.  I was involved in two very different displays of spirit.  In an early possession, a French player fouled me on a backhand huck, which he angrily contested.  I was flustered enough by our argument that I did not call the next two violations; him coming in on 'stall 7' and his foul on my breakmark flick.  I don't often get mentally taken out of a game by an opponent, so I was mad at myself for that.  Later, the same player found me on the sideline and seemed to insinuate (with a smile) that I knew that I had made the wrong call.  On the other hand, later in the game I got a lay-out d and the offensive player called a strip.  I calmly explained my point of view, fully expecting him to send the disc back to the thrower.  Instead, he simply said "Okay" and dropped the disc in the sand, at which point my brain exploded.

Despite the choppiness, we pushed through and finished strong.  Our consistency in closing out teams is one of my favorite qualities that this team has demonstrated.

7 PM: USA 13, Denmark 3

I loved the Danish team.  They played hard, showed spirit, and had a great sense of humor.  The women's and open teams came to watch us in this one, which was great; there's been excellent support across all six divisions through the whole tournament. 

This game started with a hell point, with our team throwing three unforced turns before finally getting the break, and ended with Professor McGuirk making a sick triple cut to get open for a deep huck.

Shout-outs: We had to win these games without the help of Greg "the silent assassin" Marliave, who re-injured a touchy foot injury and wisely decided to rest it for the elimination games.  He's been the steadiest player on the team, combining smart offensive play with big D's to pump us up.  Adam "the trash man" Raty also deserves special mention here for constantly cleaning up off-target hucks to other players.  He caught three such throws in the GB game alone, adding to an already impressive total.  It's a little like Dennis Rodman averaging 16 rebounds a game for a full season; I don't really understand it, but I'm glad he's on my team. 

Heading down to the beach to watch the U.S. men play their quarterfinal match before our game.  Red White Blue-oom!

Team USA Beach Diaries

Some members of Team USA will be submitting diary entries during the event to keep everyone posted on their experience in Italy.