July 5, 2013 by Josh Hartzog in Recap with 0 comments
Recaps of all the women’s action in Thursday’s round two at the 2013 US Open.
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Early Riot Run Helps Them Roll Over Phoenix
Starting a second round trend, Seattle Riot would dominate their first half against Raleigh Phoenix, and have no trouble finishing the deal.
Phoenix, breaking in 14 new faces, was exposed by Riot’s open field cutting. The team speed of Riot – lead by Calise Cardenas and Rachel Bradshaw – consistently left the Raleigh women in the dust. The flow of the Phoenix offense struggled, lacking crisp movement and chemistry. Their returner groups had much more success, but Riot would still jump out to an 8-1 lead at the half.
Much like in their first round matchup, Riot was mostly able to capitalize on unforced or pressured turnovers from Phoenix. They showed the ability to make some tough break throws, only for them to be dropped by receivers without lots of separation.
Rachel Johnson and Shellie Cohen would make some plays for Phoenix, but ultimately, the hole was far too deep and Riot too talented. Riot cleans up, 15-4.
Efficiency a Deadly Weapon for MUD versus Revolution
Two of the women’s divisions three international teams faced off in the second round.
The Colombian women would find some early success, able to work aggressive upline cutting against the Japanese and keep the game close. However, MUD would snag a couple of breaks against a Revolution offense that sometimes looked rushed. The Tokyo women were able to use the width of the field to their advantage, opening up some deep spaces in this game to hit streaking cutters in continuation, taking a 7-3 lead.
A Japanese zone would also serve to stifle cutting techniques of the Colombians, forcing them into a few more mistakes. Spacing in the backfield and during engaged dump cuts proved an issue for Revolution, making resets more difficult. From there, MUD was able to seize control. They would not relinquish it on the way to a 15-5 victory.
Deep Game and Strong Zone Lead Fury to 2-0 and Send Scandal to 0-2
After dispatching Nova with a strong second half performance, Fury looked to maintain their momentum versus Scandal who had just lost to MUD on the showcase field.
Scandal looked strong early, breaking on the first point, but Fury came roaring back with stifling downfield defense, forcing Scandal to work it from side to side and leading to several breaks. Fury’s offense was extremely sharp, consistently hitting deep throws from Kaela Jorgensen and others to wide open receivers, with Fury taking half 8-5 on a break.
Out of half both teams looked very sloppy with lots of turnovers on both sides. Scandal was unable to capitalize on a pair of great layout Ds by Octavia Payne and Fury built a lead to 14-9. Scandal, unwilling to go down without a fight, was able to put but two points behind a strong deep cutting performance from Shino Yoshen. However, DC was unable to put consistent pressure on Fury’s offense and eventually fell 15-11.
Speaking with Scandal’s coach after the game, he stressed the fact that they were experimenting at this tournament and were excited about the opportunity to play some good games against great teams. He also credited Fury’s zone defense with putting a lot of pressure on Scandal’s offense.
Fury continues to cruise while Scandal will need to find a way to tighten up their offense if they are to make it to the semis of the tournament.
Showdown Athleticism Able to Cut Off Nova Comeback
Showdown versus Nova was a game that proved Showdown is a top tier women’s team and that they should not be underestimated. Showdown jumped out to an early 2-1 lead before reeling off 6 break points in a row to take half 8-1.
The second half was a slightly different story with Nova finding a way to convert most of their offensive points and increasing the defensive intensity to earn some breaks. The Quebec squad made some huge plays, including a giant lay out from Audrey St-Arnaud, during their strong second half.
In the end though, Showdown built too much of a lead for the Canadians to overcome, winning with a score of 15-10. Nova showed a lot of heart battling out the second half, but Showdown, with a total team effort, was too deep.
Early Riot Run Helps Them Roll Over Phoenix
Starting a second round trend, Seattle Riot would dominate their first half against Raleigh Phoenix, and
have no trouble finishing the deal.
Phoenix, breaking in 14 new faces, was exposed by Riot’s open field cutting. The team speed of Riot –
lead by Calise Cardenas and Rachel Bradshaw – consistently left the Raleigh women in the dust. The
flow of the Phoenix offense struggled, lacking crisp movement and chemistry. Their returner groups had
much more success, but Riot would still jump out to an 8-1 lead at the half.
Much like in their first round matchup, Riot was mostly able to capitalize on unforced or pressured
turnovers from Phoenix. They showed the ability to make some tough break throws, only for them to be
dropped by receivers without lots of separation.
Rachel Johnson and Shellie Cohen would make some plays for Phoenix, but ultimately, the hole was far
too deep and Riot too talented. Riot cleans up, 15-4.
Efficiency a Deadly Weapon for MUD versus Revolution
Two of the women’s divisions three international teams faced off on the far field 6 in the second round.
The Colombian women would find some early success, able to work aggressive upline cutting against the
Japanese and keep the game close. However, MUD would snag a couple of breaks against a Revolution
offense that sometimes looked rushed. The Tokyo women were able to use the width of the field to
their advantage, opening up some deep spaces in this game to hit streaking cutters in continuation,
taking a 7-3 lead.
A Japanese zone would also serve to stifle cutting techniques of the Colombians, forcing them into a few
more mistakes. Spacing in the backfield and during engaged dump cuts proved an issue for Revolution,
making resets more difficult. From there, MUD was able to seize control. They would not relinquish it on
the way to a 15-5 victory.
Deep Game and Strong Zone Lead Fury to 2-0 and Send Scandal to 0-2
After dispatching Nova with a strong second half performance, Fury looked to maintain their
momentum versus Scandal who had just lost to MUD on the showcase field.
Scandal looked strong early, breaking on the first point, but Fury came roaring back with stifling
downfield defense, forcing Scandal to work it from side to side and leading to several breaks. Fury’s
offense was extremely sharp, consistently hitting deep throws from Kaela Jorgensen and others to wide
open receivers, with Fury taking half 8-5 on a break.
Out of half both teams looked very sloppy with lots of turnovers on both sides. Scandal was unable to
capitalize on a pair of great layout Ds by Octavia Payne and Fury built a lead to 14-9. Scandal, unwilling
to go down without a fight, was able to put but two points behind a strong deep cutting performance
from Shino Yoshen. However, DC was unable to put consistent pressure on Fury’s offense and eventually
fell 15-11.
Speaking with Scandal’s coach after the game, he stressed the fact that they were experimenting at this
tournament and were excited about the opportunity to play some good games against great teams. He
also credited Fury’s zone defense with putting a lot of pressure on Scandal’s offense.
Fury continues to cruise while Scandal will need to find a way to tighten up their offense if they are to
make it to the semis of the tournament.
Showdown Athleticism Able to Cut Off Nova Comeback
Showdown versus Nova was a game that proved Showdown is a top tier women’s team and that they
should not be underestimated. Showdown jumped out to an early 2-1 lead before reeling off 6 break
points in a row to take half 8-1.
The second half is a slightly different story with Nova able to convert most of their offensive points
and increasing the defensive intensity to earn some breaks. The Quebec squad made some huge plays,
including a giant lay out from Audrey St-Arnaud, during their strong second half.
In the end though, Showdown built too much of a lead for the Canadians to overcome, winning with a
score of 15-10. Nova showed a lot of heart battling out the second half, but Showdown, with a total
team effort, was too deep.
