Drag'n Thrust Wins 2013 National Championship
Paul Utesch
Posted: October 20, 2013 06:41 PM
Finals
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Minneapolis
Drag'n Thrust |
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San Francisco
Polar Bears |
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Sunday morning started out with a steady wind and the mixed division’s championship game between the San Francisco Polar Bears and Minneapolis Drag’n Thrust first on the slate. The Polar Bears are no strangers to the championship game; they’ve made the finals each year since their creation in 2010 and won it in their first year. Drag’n Thrust made a semifinals run at the 2012 National Championships, but this was their first year making it to the final round.
The morning wind wasn’t strong enough to cause major disruption for either team, but by the end of the day, it certainly seemed to have given Drag’n Thrust a slight edge. Both teams quickly ditched their zone defenses after the other’s offense easily walked the disc in for scores, opting to play a hard man defense mostly putting pressure on the under cuts.
After trading a few points, Drag’n Thrust showed they were ready to take control of the game by converting the first break. The Polar Bears, however, stayed tight by continuing to utilize their impressive array of inside break throws, forcing DnT to shade inside to slow them down. The upwind points were slow going for DnT as they struggled to find receivers on the break side, but finally they completed another break with an upwind huck from Jay Drescher to Brian Schoenrock. Though PBR was given many chances, they were unable to earn back any of their breaks before conceding the first half 8-5.
Out of half, the Polar Bears returned to the field looking more like the team we saw all weekend, firing off three straight scores to tie up the game. Each team fought unsuccessfully for upwind breaks in points full of incredible plays, including Jeff Trosvig’s huge layout interception and Clay Miller’s fully stretched out foot block. In the end, the Polar Bears couldn’t find an answer for the big throws of Jeff Trosvig or the goal-scoring power of Jordan Hupp. With the score at 12-11 in Drag’n Thrust’s favor and the soft cap on making it a game to 13, DnT needed a score to win and to avoid facing a double-game point situation. The Minnesotans managed to put away the final score in a drawn-out point, ending it 13-11 and giving Drag’n Thrust their first championship.
Third Place & Worlds Qualification
In the third-place game, a match up for the final bid to the 2014 World Ultimate Club Championships in Lecco, Italy, a battle of Boston between The Ghosts and Wild Card seemed to lack some of the urgency of the teams’ semifinals. Wild Card had been seen as a long shot at best entering the weekend, but they fought their way to numerous close wins and earned a spot in the semifinals. After falling to the Polar Bears 15-11, they had to face their regional rival for a trip to Italy. They hadn’t played each other since the Elite-Select Challenge at Philly Invite in late July, and while the point differential was greater this time around, the result was the same. The Ghosts recovered from their semifinal loss to the eventual champions and punched their ticket to Worlds with a 15-7 win.
Congratulations to Drag’n Thrust for winning this year’s mixed division USA Ultimate National Championship!
Photos
Day 4 - Highlights - Images by CBMT creative
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