Another update from Coach Joe Costello!
A great end to a great dat!
Sunday has been the most action-packed and competitive day of the trip so far. In the morning the VU Girls faced off against Utah Swarm and it was clear from the beginning that we were a different and better team than we were the day before. We started making connections on offense and fed off of our defensive pressure. We took the 8-15 loss, but we are playing better and continue to have a lot of fun.
Our second game was against DEVYL, in the 9th place bracket. Just as we finished our pregame warm ups and got on the line to start the game, a lightning delay was called and we had to leave the fields for about 30 minutes. When we came back, and ramped up again, we came out with energy and scored three quick goals. DEVYL responded to tie the game at 3s and it remained back and forth for the rest of the half until we broke to take half 8-7. In the second half, both teams matched each other play for play and it would inevitably be decided by a double game point. DEVYL was the team that scored it to win 11-12, but it was also clear that we had just played our best game and have been steadily improving. We are excited bring continue to improve tomorrow!
At the end of the day, after watching the US Open women’s finals, we got to meet two of our favorite ultimate superstars! Octavia “Opi” Payne and Claire Chastain!
Opi!
Claire!
On the other side of the National Sports Center, the VU Boys lined up in their first game against Iowa U20 YCC. After trading early in the first half, we got our footing and started to pile up some breaks. We never looked back and closed the door to take the 15-8 victory!
Our second game was part of the 17th place bracket and we matched up with St. Louis Storm in the pre-quarterfinals. We started the game with a lower, different kind of energy which might have been because our teammate Isaac Appel was take to the hospital to get x-rays on his ankle (it was just a sprain). Down 0-3, we collected our selves to score our next couple of O points, but still weren’t firing on all cylinders yet. St. Louis played aggressively with their large cutters and huck plays. Down 4-8 at half, we shook it off and went out with a new energy. We forced some turnovers and got a couple of breaks back. Eventually it felt like it was our game, but it was too late. Some mistakes and unlucky bounces finished the game for us and we lost 9-13 in the cap.
Watching the Mixed final!
We had a third game this afternoon after a long break. We filled our time by visiting tournament central and watching some games. When we returned to our field, we were scheduled to play Michigan’s SEMI. We were not looking like ourselves in this game either. Down 3-5 on defense, a lightning warning forced us from the fields for a while. We decided to use the time in the vans as something to force us to recommit and be better. Surely enough, we came back to take half 8-5, and then eventually notched the 13-9 victory!
After our game, we all made our way to the tournament dinner and showcase game (Mixed Final on ESPN2) in the stadium. There were players trading jerseys and discs in the stands!
Tomorrow both of our teams have games at 8:30 and 10:45. Early morning again coming up! Tzoot!
Collecting signatures!