After three rounds of bracket play, only Cal Poly SLO and Brown are left standing
May 26, 2024 by Alex Rubin in Recap with 0 comments
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VERONA, WI — Twelve teams started the day with the possibility of winning a national championship. After three rounds of bracket play, just two remain. #6 Cal Poly SLO SLOCORE scored the final five goals of their semifinal to come from behind and knock off three-time defending champion #3 UNC Darkside. Their opponent in the final will be #7 Brown Brownian Motion, who took down #8 Colorado Mamabird in a hard-fought semifinal 15-12.
SLO’s Semifinal Surprise
Cal Poly SLO started their game against UNC by giving up three goals. They finished it with five straight to advance to the first final in program history. The game started in a downpour as heavy rain and swirling wind contributed to a number of mistakes atypical of two teams with this much talent. The teams combined for 56 turnovers; the play was exciting, back-and-forth action and it truly felt like either team could win each point. SLO were able to execute at a higher level once the rain stopped and the conditions calmed down.
https://t.co/69JLJ098uh pic.twitter.com/dxTK6oXNas
— Ultiworld (@Ultiworld) May 27, 2024
Brown made their run at the end of the first half, turning a 4-4 game into an 8-5 lead that held through their three point win over Colorado. In conditions built for small ball, Brown thrived. Jacques Nissen and Leo Gordon combined for 13 assists; they lead the division with 32 and 31 respectively for the tournament.
Full recaps for both semifinals are forthcoming.
Oregon’s Run Stalled Out
UNC nearly did not even make it past their quarterfinal matchup with Oregon. Mica Glass, Aaron Kaplan, and Raekwon Adkins matched wits with Darkside’s stars and put themselves in position to advance. Adkins’s universe point huck to Glass looked like a game winner, but it was called back on a contested stall after the observer declined to make a ruling. Ego later turned the disc over and Darkside ended the game on top courtesy of a Rutledge Smith walk-off hammer.
Brown took down Georgia 15-13 in their quarterfinal matchup. The windy, rainy conditions favored Brown’s small-ball approach more than Georgia’s tendency to stretch the field with deep cuts. Cal Nightingale was involved in the majority of Brown’s scores with seven goals and two assists.
Cal Poly SLO handily took down surprise quarterfinalist #16 NC State Alpha by a 15-9 score. Fresh off of an upset win over #4 UMass Zoodisc, Alpha’s top players did not have the energy left to pull off another upset. Calvin Brown led the way with seven assists.
Colorado pulled away at the finish to beat a rested #9 Minnesota Grey Duck in a solid 15-12 game. Tobias Brooks had five assists to lead the game.
Recaps of the quarterfinal games are published in the Ultiworld liveblog.
Alpha Dogs Own the Zoo
NC State notched the upset of the day in round one, coming back from 8-5 and 13-11 deficits to knock off UMass. Alpha scored three straight to win the game 14-13. Wyatt Kellman had an off game, contributing five turnovers, including one on double game point. Suhas Madiraju, Henri Lessard, and Henry Kennedy were stand-out players during Alpha’s comeback.
With a clutch universe point victory, battling back from a 13-11 deficit, @NCSUalpha takes down Massachusetts and is through to quarters! 🐺 pic.twitter.com/1ec6neVRUf
— Ultiworld (@Ultiworld) May 26, 2024
The other prequarter games were straightforward. Oregon played the closest game, taking down Pittsburgh in a narrow 14-12 win. Colorado and Brown advanced as expected with wins over Texas and Michigan, respectively.
Recaps of the prequarterfinal games are published in the Ultiworld liveblog.
