USA Ultimate

The sun came out just in time to get things started at the Chicago Invite. By no means were things warm, but compared to what the US National Soccer team had to endure the night before, these conditions were welcoming.  

Saturday Recap

The hard ground began thawing during the captains meeting and morning prayer, leaving a softer, slick ground to battle with. Throughout the day, it was apparent that teams were battling with the slick conditions, but it wasn’t enough to stop most teams from accomplishing what they came out to do this weekend – win and win big.  

On the women’s side, Kansas’ Betty was preparing to battle Michigan State’s Moose in what became one of the biggest upsets of the day. As the game opened, Kansas proved they were a force to be reckoned with, especially with the exemplary puts by Betty’s Kat Songer. However, even with their low numbers, Michigan State came out with some serious fight. Moose agreed before play began that, despite missing five of their starters, no matter the weather, score, or how fatigued they became, they would remain positive throughout the whole tournament. And positive they were. Moose had no problem utilizing the width of the field to put up point after point with effortless flow, eventually defeating Betty 13-5 and providing the first upset of the day.

On the open side, Missouri had no trouble jumping out quickly against Eastern Michigan. It may have had something to do with Eastern Michigan arriving slightly late to the tournament or the fact that their squad was down to about 10 players, but Missouri was out for blood in their first game. Despite Eastern Michigan’s second half run, the Mutants of Missouri dominated this game in their 13-4 win.

Not far away, Carnegie-Mellon was about to face Michigan State, who has appeared in the Chicago Invite finals in each of the past two years. Burning Couch struggled to put up points against Carnegie-Mellon’s zone. However, after Carnegie-Mellon adjusted their defense and moved to man, Burning Couch was able to mount a small comeback. Yet it was too little too late as Mr. Yuk of Carnegie-Mellon took their first win of the day 11-8 thanks to the superb work of Ben Clark, who was outstanding on both sides of the disc.

Round 2

Another upset was on the minds of the St. Louis ladies who faced Valparaiso in the second round of play.  However, as Kelly Perfect of Valpo put it, "We’re a small school, but we can compete at a high level." Michaela Ward of St. Louis was out to prove the same point for her team. Fatigue set in late for the ladies of St. Louis as Valpo pulled away with the game, breaking three times and winning 9-6 as the hard-cap horn blew.

The Northern Iowa v. Oklahoma game was arguably the best game of the day in the open division. UNI came into the game knowing very little of Oklahoma besides their impressive performance at this year’s Centex. Matches versus Kansas were the only indication. At Huck Finn, UNI lost a close game to Kansas who lost a close one to Oklahoma – ipso facto, they are closely matched. The game was filled with incredible energy, amazing athletic acrobatics, and as any good game would have it, controversial calls. According to UNI captains Robbie Dennis and Cody Rohlf, the observers were "consistently inconsistent" throughout the game. Kevin Christian, although playing with a broken finger, had no problem controlling Oklahoma’s offense. But in the end, it wasn’t enough as UNI squeaked through with the win 11-10. 
 
Round 3

Illinois’ Menace had a great start over Truman State earlier in the day, and Michigan State was coming off an incredible upset over Kansas, so both sets of ladies knew this game would determine who came out of their pool on top. The question though was whether Moose could hold on long enough before fatigue set in. Like many other power-pool games, this game was a fight until the end. As the wind started picking up and temperatures fell slightly, both squads saw numerous drops plague their game. Although both teams struggled to convert breaks, it became apparent that the lengthy points were starting to wear on the ladies from East Lansing. In the end, Illinois just had more in their tank and converted that final break to take pool B over Michigan State 6-5. 

Iowa’s roster has undergone significant changes from their 2012 College Championship qualifying team, and the crew from Iowa City knew they had work to do to retain their Chicago Invite title. After a close loss to Northern Texas a few hours earlier on a field which appeared to be more of a mud pit than a patch of grass, IHUC found themselves on a much cleaner field but facing a tough squad out of Dayton, Ohio.  After trading points, the game finally broke open and Ben Weintraub of IHUC found himself sparking Iowa to a decisive 11-6 victory over Dayton.

A few fields away, Iowa State, the third Iowa team at this year’s Invite, was gearing up to play Eastern Michigan and refusing to be outshined by their Iowan cousins. But after suffering their earlier tough loss to Missouri, Eastern Michigan wanted to prove to everyone that they belonged in the power pools. As in their first game, Eastern Michigan started off weak but, unlike their first game, came back fierce. As Eastern Michigan fought vigorously to bring the game within one at 8-7, Iowa State could be heard chanting, "remain fearless." However, the time cap had other plans for EMU’s late-game run, and Iowa State converted their last goal to take the game 9-7.

Round 4

Two teams who know each other well can bring out two very different emotions, but both want the same result – a win. Purdue and Valpo are very familiar with each other as they often scrimmage throughout the year. Yet that didn’t change the passion both teams brought on the field. Like many games today, this game would come down to the last minute. Purdue was able to battle through Valpo’s shutdown defense to keep the score close throughout the game, but in the end, Valpo pulled it out, again on universe, to take the game 8-7 and win the pool.

Universe finishes was the theme of the day and particularly this round. On the open side, Carnegie-Mellon and Oregon State were putting on simultaneous clinics on how to run a zone and how to shred a zone. Oregon State appeared to have the game won until Mr. Yuck of Carnegie-Mellon came back to break twice and bring the game to universe point. In the end, Oregon State was able to pull out the tight victory, but Carnegie-Mellon made it a fight worth watching.

Crossovers

It’s March, it’s upset season, and the Chicago Invite wasn’t about to be outdone by college basketball. In the men’s division, it was the lower pools making a case for themselves in the crossover matches as Northwestern, Minnesota State-Mankato, and St. John’s all pulled out upsets over Indiana, Eastern Michigan and Michigan State to advance into the championship bracket. Although Dayton was the only program to win their power-pool crossover, the team elected to avoid the predicted snowstorm and withdraw from the tournament early.

In the women’s division, the story was the complete opposite as all teams, except Dayton, held on to move into the championship bracket.  Like their open counterparts, the Dayton ladies elected to leave the tournament after Saturday's play.

Sunday Recap

Good news: the snow that was predicted to hit Chicago found its path slightly south of where the tournament was held. Bad news: the cold weather, overcast conditions and gusty winds did find their way into the Dan Ryan woods for championship play. 

Open Division

As yesterday closed, numerous teams including Chicago’s own Northwestern were hoping their Saturday momentum would follow them into championship play on Sunday. Northwestern started off their day against a strong squad from North Texas and appeared to have control of the game from the first pull. After a quick goal, Northwestern forced multiple goal-line turnovers, finally leading to an upwind break and taking all the momentum out of the game. Andrew Amerson and his North Texas squad weren’t ready to give up just yet. In what became a back-and-forth battle, North Texas finally found a rhythm and was able to utilize their zone to not only preserve energy but force multiple turnovers and take the game 9-6. They advanced to face Oregon State who squeaked by Western Michigan 8-7. Not to be outdone, Iowa found themselves in a difficult predicament a few fields down. At half, IHUC was down 7-0 against Case Western Reserve. Showing incredible strength, Iowa battled back, but there just wasn’t enough time as Case took the game 11-8.

Case, building off their big win against Iowa, took little time going after Missouri in their quarterfinals matchup. Their zone was too much for Missouri to handle and Case, specifically Eli Stoever, converted on almost every deep shot following a turn. Missouri came into this game appearing flawless but found themselves in a deep hole, like Iowa before them. Case Western almost mechanically broke down Missouri and rolled into the semifinals fairly easily 12-6.

The story of the day had to be the boys from pool D, in what was quickly being referred to as the pool of death. Three of the four teams in the semis came out of this pool; North Texas was the exception. Regardless of how hard North Texas was ready to fight, their squad (which appeared to be down to 9-10 players) just couldn’t match up with Case Western who was quickly emerging as the team to beat. The game went to Case 10-2. The Carnegie-Mellon v. Oregon State rematch was shaping up to be a different story. Oregon State left no doubt that they were looking for blood as they ripped the game open with a Callahan from Andrew Henry. Although Carnegie-Mellon fought valiantly, they just couldn’t keep up with Oregon State’s momentum and fell 8-11 to the Beavers in the semis.

By the time the finals began, the weather seemed to be calming down a bit, but the teams weren’t losing any intensity. OSU didn’t seem fazed by the Case Western zone that had plagued teams up until this point. OSU’s quick disc movement got them on the board early. Throughout the match, Case struggle with unforced errors, miscues and managing OSU’s deep threats. Like many games this weekend, it came down to the final moments. Fighting to beat the time cap, Case had one last chance to bring the game to universe point until OSU capitalized on a turn and took the tournament trophy with a 12-10 victory.

Women’s Division

Everything seemed to be tight on the women’s side as bracket play began Sunday morning. Illinois Menace slipped by with a 10-9 victory over St. Louis. St. Louis adjusted their defensive strategy mid-game and began chipping away at the Illinois lead, but Menace was able to hold out, earning the victory that sent them to meet Purdue in the semis. When asked about the game, Illinois’ Sydney Olund simply stated, "It was way too close." Purdue had already been victorious over Illinois twice this year, but Illinois was quick to point out that they had sent split squads to both those showings. In the end, Tiffany Bucher, Kristen Dudley and Jackie Lai were too much to handle as Purdue defeated Illinois 7-4.

On the other side of the bracket, Valparaiso’s Erika Wagner was incredibly strong throughout in leading her team to the finals to face Purdue once again. Her effortless handling ability was almost impossible for any team to contain. Michigan State, who had an impressive roster of girls, seemed to be exhausted in their semifinal matchup which saw Valpo take the win 9-5.

The championship match up, like the finals in the open division, was a rematch from Saturday’s pool play rounds. Saturday’s game between Valpo and Purdue ended in a one-point Valpo victory; the finals rematch gave Purdue an opportunity to avenge their loss. Valpo came out of the gate quick scoring multiple goals on easy break-side looks. Not to be outshined, Purdue was able to use the incredible athleticism of Anastasia Foster to take back control, scoring three quick breaks to bring the game to 5-4 Purdue. After seeing the momentum change, Valpo made some necessary adjustments to regain control of the game and take half 7-6. The second half was all Valpo, specifically the connection between Erika Wagner and Ellen Guisfredi, which was the difference maker giving Valpo the championship 11-8.  

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