Pool Play Begins

Canada vs Italy
Today games started and I had my alarm set early so I could catch as much action as possible. First on the agenda was Team Canada (open) vs Italy and I made it over to the field they were playing on as they were warming up.

Italy pulled to start the game and from the outset Canada came to ball. The starting O-line had the likes of Mike Grant, Kirk Savage and John Hassell and they worked the disc effortlessly down the field. At about 1o yards out MG hit Hassell on a nice outside-in flick to take first blood 1-0. This would be a trend.

Canada pulled and Lugsdin and Oscar got their feet wet on the D-line. They forced an easy turn from Italy and converted quickly going up 2-0. They would get another break at 3-0 but at this point Italy was getting a bit agitated and tempers began to run high. On more than one occasion some "incidental contact" found its way into the mix and players began yelling back and forth. It was obvious that Canada was playing a much more physical game than Italy was used to but as quickly as folks got pissed, they calmed down.

After going down 3-0 Italy finally answered back on a nice away cut but it seemed like Italy was a bit nervous. They would toss up poor decisions on the goal line and had issues reeling in routine hucks and hammers. After getting their first goal they gave up 3 scores in a row again and after earning their second goal, they would concede 3 more goals to go into half time 9-2.

At this point I was curious to know if this game would get any better. Canada's hucks hit their man in stride every time and Italy had yet to develop a deep game. They were only going for in-cuts and with the level of defense Canada brings, a turnover was just a matter of time.

Despite the one sidedness of the first half, the second was a completely different game. Canada pulled and Italy scored on a nice deep look, their first of the game. Canada answered back but Italy would score again making it 10-4 and then then broke Canada to make it 10-5. Italy continued to test Furious deep and more often than not they came up with the score and before I knew it, the score was 13-9. It seemed like Furious had lost some of their intensity which seems to be their biggest weakness. Ruthless teams like USA and Japan never let up until their opponent is vanquished and I wonder if this could be a problem for Canada late in the tournament.

However, I should say that their team is massive at 32 and mixing in everyone was something the captains were aiming for. Everybody saw significant playing time for most of the game but down the stretch the rotation tightened with guys like Oscar and MG taking few points off and Furious score the last 2 points to seal it 17-10. The first half may have been all Furious at 9-2, but the second half was a dead heat at 8s.

I caught up with Andrew Lugsdin after the game and he was nice enough to answer some questions of mine. One that I had was how the international competition varies from typical UPA events. Not surprisingly, "it is always nice to play teams you never see before and considering that each brings their own style to the game, it forces us to change our strategy". In addition, it also seems like Lugsdin has been caught up in the Colombia Fever and looks forward to an opportunity against them. Lastly, it seems like the out of province players are coming along for Canada. MG and Hassell connected several times for goals and with opportunities like Sockeye Invite, it seems like they are as close to being a unified team as any here in Vancouver.

Team USA (Juniors) vs Great Britain

After this game, I headed over to the USA Juniors (boys) versus Great Britain. I had already written about these kids a fair amount and now I figured would be a good time to see them in action. Each team came out as most teams have for the first game, a bit shakey. It seems like at the Juniors level the athleticism and throws are definitely up there with college and open level teams but the decision making and execution leave something to be desired. The patience and vision of veteran players is a bit lost on these kids and games tend to have more turnovers despite the presence of major talent.

As for the game, the first half was definitely the more exciting of the two. Team USA came out with an athleticism that was unreal but their deep game could have been better. Grant Lindsley and George Stubbs each had spectacular puts, as well as deep cuts, but outside these two, team USA's deep game was fairly quiet.

In contrast, Great Britain really benefited from a consistent height advantage and given the slight wind, hanging discs were well read by the Brits which helped them keep up with a faster team USA. In addition, GB's defense was top notch. They definitely played like they didn't care who the front runners were and their play making on the defensive side of the disc was far superior than the US in the first half. 

Their weakness however seemed to be their intermediate game. They had deep looks and decent decision making/patience, but their in-cuts were managed well by faster US defenders. This put a great deal of pressure on GB handlers to make good decisions and despite good throws, a comfortable fluidity escaped them and it was just a matter of time before they gave up the disc.

Team USA took half 9-5 and despite being up a few breaks, the game seemed fairly even. GB's deep game was a nice challenge against Team USA's viciously fast small ball. However, the second half would be all Stars and Bars. Team USA's ho-stack was fantastic and considering the arsenal of throws each player has, GB struggled to dictate on the defensive front. One player that particularly stuck out was Casey Ikeda, who in addition to his brilliant mohawk (when does he get up to do his hair?) was quicker than anyone on the field. His throws were almost as fast as his legs and considering that these kids are very spirited, there were no travel calls to slow down his unreal field progression. He would get the disc everyother throw leaving his defender as frustrated as he was exhausted.

In addition to their amazingly fluid offense, Team USA's man D continued to amaze me. Nick Stuart had a fantastic open side layout D which is so difficult but amazing if you can stay on the right side of your man and reach around for the block. Grant also earned his fair share of D's and with a nice pair of layouts picked up a double happiness.

In the end, team USA went 8-1 in the second half and finished the game 17-6. Their tenacity is unreal and I really enjoyed seeing not only their success on the field but their team commitment to eachother. Julian Childs-Walker ran down pulls like no one I have ever seen and Patrick Roberts composed himself like a player years ahead of his time. Their team cheers, their support structure, everything was great to watch and until teams can match their surplus of talent and teamsmanship, they will continue to dominate.

After this game, I wanted to check out Australia/Ireland but the fields they were on were a major hike and Team USA (open) and Japan were playing side by side right where the Juniors finished. Considering that I hadn't seen either play, I couldn't turn the opportunity down.

Team USA (open) vs Finland

The first thing that struck me about team USA was who they were missing. I'm not sure if it will be like this all week but Chase, Sam O'Brien, and Roger Crafts were all missing. I know that Sam and Chase are done after Worlds but I figured they would at least be at Worlds. Perhaps they'll arrive later in the week.

As for the game, like most of the games today, both teams started off shakey and despite several chances by both teams, Finland scored first. Team USA would rally with their stellar O-line Ho Stack weave. Their D-line would get a second chance to earn their first break and they did so twice, taking advantage of some lapses in judgement on Finland's part.

However, Finland's cross field throws and hammers were very good at times. At certain moments they seemed to be two different teams, one that was capable of hanging with the Fish and one that was going to be eaten alive. They scored to make it 3-2 Team USA but that would be their last of the half. Team USA would come at Finland with an unreal aggression and considering their depth and personnel, I was not surprised that they took half 9-2.

One point worth mentioning was at 6-2. Sockeye was pulling upwind and after coming down on the pull, Ryan Winkleman came out with a huge layout catch block. This gave the US an upwind break followed by a furocious cheer, skip: "BLOOD IN THE WATER", team: "CHOMP, CHOMP, CHOMP!!". At this point Finland was completely taken out of their game and the rest of the contest was simply a formality.

The second half would be all Sockeye with players like Ray Illian owning the downfield space and veterans like Nord punishing poor decisions when Finland was on O. Idaho seemed to be at the helm of the intensity campaign and unlike Furious had this morning, Team USA kept a foot on the throat of Finland, taking the second half 8-2 and the game 17-6.

Japan (open) vs The Netherlands

Adjacent to the USA/Finland game, the Buzz Bullets were taking their shot at the Netherlands. I could tell from Japan's warm ups that they were ready to dominate. In their hucking drill, every player was driven to snatch down every disc and hit the ground on anything close. They pulled to start the game and used their quickness to control the tempo of the game.

Considering the fact that there was a slight wind inside the stadium, the Netherlands benefited from an average height advantage, gobbling up floaty discs not unlike Great Britain. However, their poise was largely absent and disc sailed out of bounds on cross field hammers and they had trouble with drops.

As for Japan, as I figured, Mashiro Matsuno had a spectacular game. His break away speed is only eclipsed by his stellar throws and he had the ability to snatch as many goals as he threw. Yohei Kichikawa also had a great game with his great backhand breaks and equally impressive agility. What amazed me the most about Japan (and this came as no surprise) was their speed. 

Like Juggernaut, once they picked up momentum, there was no stopping them. Their disc movement, execution and decision making was unreal and their speed is unparalleled at this tournament. If they generated a turn they were off to the races and without comparable speed, the Netherlands could not stop Japan's velocity. Their hucks always seemed to be tossed with precision as well as snap, but at no point did they ever seem out of reach by Japan's cutters, even when going downwind.

Before I knew it, the boys in blue took the second half 8-1 and earned their second impressive win of the day. It seems like the only chance teams will have against them is to put a monkey wrench into their offensive progression. If they are given the freedom to cut at will, no team will have the quickness to keep up with this team top to bottom. Perhaps defenders like Jimmy Chu or Skip Sewell can match up man for man but at some point there will be an agility miss match and I can't imagine Team USA or anyone else stopping them without some sort of intelligent junk D or poaching. They are red hot and come day after tomorrow, all the hype about a Team USA vs Japan at Worlds will go down and this time, the score does matter.

Calling it a Day

After this game, I was fairly exhausted. I wanted to catch the USA women but considering I hadn't picked up any caffeine on the day, I was wiped out, plus I had to take a trip to the airport. Given the fact that pool play is drawn out a bit, I might hold off for a day or two before I post again. Tomorrow's showcase game should be pretty hot with Team USA (masters) facing off against Canada and with Husak, Dugan and some other vets in the house to help out DoG, things could be pretty exciting. Stay tuned.

just my thoughts

match diesel