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Open Division Sunday May 17
By Matt Spillum
In the wake of the wind and cold on Saturday, Sunday brought Westerns the weather we all would have ordered. Sunshine and light winds welcomed the eight teams who arrived at the National Sports Center fields to see who would be taking home the hardware. Remaining from the field of sixteen were South Eugene, Seattle Academy, Cathedral, Lakeside, The Northwest School, Minneapolis South, Roosevelt, and Hopkins. What’s more, Saturday’s results had the top four seeds all on one side of the bracket, with Roosevelt and Minneapolis South pushing their way in from the lower seeds. As the four games began, everyone looked glad to have put Saturday’s gales behind them.
Quarterfinals
Talking to South Eugene’s Dylan Freechild before the game, he mentioned the similarities between this quarterfinal game and last year’s match up between Monroe and South Eugene. Like Monroe, Minneapolis South came up from a low seed (13th and 12th, respectively), to make the quarters. South Eugene had been Monroe’s first Sunday victim on the way to their Finals appearance, and, as Freechild put it, “one thing we are not looking to do is lose again in the quarters.” The game began close, with South Eugene suffering a huge blow when Aaron Honn went down early with an ankle sprain. Eugene took half 8-6, then Minneapolis South switched to a zone look in the second half and clawed back to 10-9. Solid play from Freechild for Eugene and Schmit for Minneapolis were a constant for both sides, but also of note were the throws of Minneapolis’ #88 Tyler Mahoney and South Eugene’s #20 Jordan Trepp. In the end, Eugene’s athleticism proved to be the difference, and they advanced (15-11). (photo Perrry Nacionales)
The Northwest School, having missed out on last year’s quarters, were obviously in no mood to squander their chances against a Cathedral team that had looked solid but uneven on Saturday. Both teams opened the game with huge hucks for scores to tie the game at ones. The Northwest School’s superior disc handling and depth would prove too much for Cathedral early, with Northwest’s #39 Khalif El-Salaam getting a handblock Callahan to take half 8-2. In the second half, despite the all-around contributions of Cathedral’s #21 Nolan Funk (4 goals, 4 assists, 4 D's), Northwest would maintain their lead comfortably, moving on (15-5).
Seattle Academy and Roosevelt would provide another all-Northwest quarter, certainly a fixture at Westerns. Saturday had seen SA lose #9 Simon Montague to a dislocated shoulder on the last point of the day, and the question on a lot of minds was how would the team adjust to his absence. Roosevelt had spent Saturday trying hard to break open their athleticism against the intense weather, and had to be feeling good about their style of play heading into the calm morning. The game began, as they all would, with both teams flexing their deep looks. The squads traded tight points for the first half, which ended with #7 Matthew Nichols throwing to #10 Andrew Featherston, putting Roosevelt up 8-7. But SA was not done. After the break, they seemed to come out stronger and more focused, pulling ahead 12-10 on solid overall play. Roosevelt brought it to 12-11, just in time for the cap to go on. SA kept the potential Universe point at bay, however, with #10 John Raynolds hitting #3 Peter Bender for the final score (13-11).
The last quarterfinal pitted the two pre-tournament favorites, 2 seed Hopkins and 1 seed Lakeside School, in one of those games that demonstrates how far youth Ultimate has come. Lakeside coach Jeremy Cram noted that his team had to “come out aggressive,” and hopefully use the lessons learned the previous day about the short possession game, while also pointing out, “the long game looks to be better today.” Hopkins coach Louis Abramowski, as though responding directly, noted that the key was Hopkins trained to match “the state of the game in youth Ultimate today, which was the long game and field position game, and not letting teams beat us with that.” Once again, the game began with both teams putting up huge hucks and strong match-up D. A Callahan by Hopkins’ #2 Simon Gottlieb put Hopkins up 4-3, while Lakeside responded by moving to their newly-minted short game to pull ahead 6-5 on a pass from #3 Justin Norden to #85 Chris Pigott. Hopkins would pull leve at 
sevens, and then a Lakeside drop gave them the disc back, with #4 Robbie Shapiro finding Simon Gottlieb for the score to take half 8-7. The run would continue after the break for three points, before Lakeside would find the end zone for 11-8. The frenetic pace would continue back and forth, with stellar play by both sides, including Lakeside’s #96 Julian Childs-Walker and #7 Connor Smith, as well as Hopkins’ Shapiro, Gottlieb, and #15 Michael Tradewell. In the end, the Hopkins run would hold up, and the Minnesota team would make the semis (15-12). (photos Perry Nacionales)
Semifinals
In the first semifinal game, Seattle Academy faced South Eugene in a match up of the teams facing injury-shortened benches. Both squads traded points back and forth, with excellent disc movement alternating with uncharacteristic drops and turnovers. Eugene’s usual suspects (Freechild, #17 Carter Thallon, #81 Kelly Vigil) went toe to toe with Seattle Academy’s (Raynolds, #99 Kyle Terriere, #22 Michael Revelas). Trailing 6-5, however, South Eugene rattled off three straight to take a long half (8-6). With time winding down in the second half, both teams struggled to hold the edge. The soft cap went on at 9-8, Eugene, and another long point ensued, taking the game to the hard cap where Eugene ended the issue on a Vigil to Freechild score (10-8).
Hopkins and The Northwest School would meet in the other semifinal in the match that was expected in this semi. All tournament Hopkins had used their depth to wear out opponents and their impressive disc skills to shred defenses. The Northwest School had had a couple of close games on Saturday, but looked to capitalize on the nicer weather to use their speed and savvy. Both teams came out looking for the end zone, and long scores and astounding defensive plays were the rule in a see saw early game. A long huck (#1 Asa Gotlieb to #32 Colin Camp) put Hopkins up two (6-4) before a Robbie Shapiro D led to yet another score and a 7-4 lead. That little run would hold to half, which Hopkins took 8-5. Much as in the quarters, Hopkins would continue to surge after the half, with Shapiro finding targets downfield twice to make it 10-5. Northwest struck back, with #20 Kyle Kurakawa hitting El-Salaam for one score and #30 Casey MacPhee finding Cooper Schumacher for another to bring it to 10-7. Shapiro’s throws seemed to be losing accuracy as the teams began to trade points. At 12-10, Hopkins would call the first of its second half timeouts, with the game clock ticking away. A few of the many Hopkins calls seemed to rattle the Northwest players, and Hopkins pushed their lead to 14-10. Northwest pulled another one back, and Hopkins called its last time out at 14-11, with little time left in the round. Northwest moved the disc well down the field, but MacPhee’s strike to #41 Alex Roper came after the hard cap horn, sending Hopkins into the final (14-12).
Finals
Hopkins’ Asa Gotlieb mentioned that they hadn’t “really played against World’s caliber players much this season.” After two thrilling games to the wire against some of the best teams in youth Ultimate, they certainly had. On the other side of the match, South Eugene had climbed to the finals without a coach and with one of the shortest rosters at the tournament. Still, they were just as used to success at Westerns, having finished in the top half for three straight years, and they were not about to back down to anyone. The game started with still more of the long game, though both sides set up their hucks well with strong flow on offense. The teams traded points, scoring in what had been the downwind end zone exclusively until 5-5. There, a long throw to Hopkins’ Colin Camp overshot its mark, and South Eugene flowed the disc up field to get the first break 6-5. However, if there is one thing that Sunday had shown, it was that one woke up Hopkins near halftime at one’s peril. Three straight points gave Hopkins the lead at half, and one more after pushed the lead to 9-6. This run seemed like it might be enough against South Eugene’s short bench, but they never stopped battling. All over the field, Freechild, Vigil, #2 Charlie Wilson-Moses, and #23 Tom Duke kept pushing the issue. Hopkins would counter with Shapiro’s throws and D, Gotlieb Gottlieb, #7 Josh Klane, Michael Tradewell and Colin Camp. Big throws, big D's and ridiculous catches were everywhere in evidence. Still, the long weekend had to be wearing on the Axemen from Eugene. And at 14-9 Hopkins' Shapiro found Asa Gotlieb to nail down the first ever Minnesota team victory at Westerns (15-9).
Open Division Saturday May 16
by Matt Spillum
Once again, 2009 Westerns was the tale of man vs. nature. Saturday morning rose with temperatures in the 40s and a vicious 25-35 mile-per-hour wind. Would the heavy winds favor the six Minnesota teams and their fellow flatlanders from Wichita East? Or would the far-flung sojourners from Washington, Oregon, California and Arkansas be able to impose their will on the weather? One thing was certain; the winners would have to have as much endurance and tenacity as skill and speed.
Round One
Overall two seed Hopkins began their Saturday play against eleventh seeded Roosevelt. Hopkins would match their seemingly endless supply of solid throwers against Roosevelt’s athletic squad led by #31 Matt Rehder. Led by the strong efforts of #4 Robbie Shapiro and #1 Asa Gotlieb, the local boys made good on their rating, pulling out the win in the chilly gray morning (10-3).
Five seed Seattle Academy, always a threat with #9 Simon Montague on the field, would face the sixteen seed Wichita East to start the day. Would the wind be enough to level the field? Seattle Academy’s deeper bench (Wichita had two players who would not make it until the latter portion of the game) and relentless athleticism overpowered the weather familiarity and grit of the Kansas squad, and Seattle rolled on (14-3). (photo Perry Nacionales)Eden Prairie HS, the 14th seed, would face South Eugene, ranked seventh. Despite the disparity in rankings, this game was very close at half, with both teams trading points behind South Eugene’s Dylan Freechild, #10, and Eden Prairie’s Jordan Carlson, #21. The game featured two close play layout Callahans, but in the end, Eugene pulled away (11-7).
The round’s closest game started off with two straight upwind breaks, as both six seed Alameda and 15th seed Fayetteville defied the wind to score. Unfortunately, the wind would not prove so easy to best as the game went on, and the remainder of the scoring was all downwind as Alameda outlasted Fayetteville (10-9).
Alameda continued to work hard against the cold and wind. The Californians traded scads of turnovers with their next opponent, ten seed Cretin Derham Hall. The score traded back and forth, with Alameda using the combo of #12 Eli Kerns to #81 Ilya Pinsky and Cretin countering with #8 Matt Kortz on O and #11 Nick Gleason on D. Once again, fortune favored Alameda, and, up one break, they improved to 2-0 (10-8).
Meanwhile, eight seed Churchill HS met one of the other local teams, thirteen seed White Bear Lake. White Bear Lake made a hard push to break seed, getting four assists from #30 Curtis Cammack, but Churchill proved too potent, with many players including #73 Andrew Henry and #17 Ian Campbell pushing them to victory (13-8).
Fayetteville went into round two looking to improve on their tough opening loss. To do so, they would have to upset three seed The Northwest School. While on paper, the match up seemed lopsided, Fayetteville’s scrappy squad continued to not back down in the face of highly regarded opposition. With #3 Abe Coffin and #16 Wesley Axtell leading the way, they hung point for point with the perennial powerhouses of the Northwest School, only to fall short (10-8).
The game of the round would have to be eleven seed Minneapolis South versus the one seed Lakeside School. The defending champs came in looking to assert themselves behind the solid play of #3 Justin Norden and #96 Julian Childs-Walker. South would have other ideas. Taking half, Minneapolis hung tough as Lakeside ramped up the pressure, even scoring a Ben Schmit (#22) Callahan to take the lead 10-7. With time running out, Lakeside gave it everything they had, but the hard cap doomed them as they scored a bittersweet upwind break in the last point of the loss (10-9).
Round Three
The sun finally triumphed over the morning’s cloud cover, but the winds continued mostly unabated. Coming back off a bye, South Eugene and Roosevelt met to see who would benefit the most from their time out of the gusts. The time seemed to favor South Eugene’s crisper possession offence over the raw power of Roosevelt, and Eugene continued their solid day (10-7).
Looking to capitalize on their momentum, Minneapolis South faced off against Churchill next. Once again, #22 Ben Schmit’s play led the way, and, in a tight and spirited game, the Squall pulled off yet another upset (13-11).
Nine seed Nathan Hale met Wichita East in a battle for third place in the D pool. All day long, Wichita, led by #13 Daniel Overholt and #25 Michael Gurley, fought through the wind, always coming up just short. Against Nathan Hale, they seemed headed for another heartbreaker, when they suddenly found some life, tying the game at fives. Both teams traded to the cap, and tied at seven, a hard fought point ended with Wichita's #1 Jessie Parker to Michael Gurley for a downwind score (8-7).
On a nearby field, still more drama would flow from D pool. The match up between Seattle Academy and four seed St. Cloud Cathedral looked far from close early, as Seattle took half 8-3. Coming out from the break, however, Cathedral looked like a different team in taking the next two points. With a Seattle turnover, Cathedral looked to have a chance at a long look as time neared for the soft cap. #9 Simon Montague had other ideas, and launched himself in a desperate D attempt. However, the game needed to be stopped while an ambulance was called for Montague’s separated shoulder. Time ran out on the come back attempt, and the final score stood (8-5).
Round Four
With only one game left against a lower-seeded White Bear Lake, Minneapolis South was poised on the brink of going from eleven seed to winning its pool. It appeared, however, that fatigue might have set in with the score tied at fours. South readjusted at half, and overcame the solid effort by #15 Ben Cammack to finish undefeated (12-8).
Lakeside School faced Churchill in the battle for second in A pool.While #15 Jordan Banks in particular played an excellent game, Lakeside’s smooth handling and sick D were too much for Churchill, who suffered from numerous unforced errors. In the end, Lakeside went as far as they could to shake off their first round loss (12-8).
Hopkins had been rolling teams with their deep roster, and did not seem afflicted by the same level of fatigue as other teams. South Eugene squared off with the HUrt, looking to knock them down through #10 Dylan Freechild’s stellar play. However, the Hopkins legion was not to be tested here, and they moved ruthlessly to capitalize on any mistake, eventually cruising to victory (13-6).
The Northwest School looked to join Hopkins as the only top pool seeds to hold their place as they faced the opportunistic Alameda. Once again, the wind was the biggest determining factor, and #2 Austin Killien and #16 Cooper Schumacher were able to lead Northwest to victory after getting a couple of upwind breaks (11-8).
In what would shortly become a recurring theme, South Eugene and Cretin Derham Hall opened by trading points and searching for the elusive upwind score. Cretin nearly struck first, moving the disc almost to the goal line before a South Eugene D led to a 2-1 lead. Another Cretin turnover would not be squandered by Eugene, and their upwind break proved decisive. The two teams traded down wind for a few, but Cretin seemed to ebb as the half wore on, and a few more upwind breaks put the game out of reach (15-5). (photo Perry Nacionales)Cathedral and Churchill opened in much the same way, with Cathedral taking the all-important upwind goal on a sweet inside-out backhand from #1 Andy May to #22 Coady Mahowald. This same combo would score the next point as well, as Cathedral opened up its lead. Churchill seemed unable to capitalize on what looked to be very solid disc movement all game. Perhaps it was fatigue, but multiple drops proved too much to overcome as Cathedral continued to march (14-4).
The last pre-quarter game was a novel meeting of the one and sixteen seeds. Lakeside School doubtless felt that they were not supposed to be playing in the pre-quarters. Many others might have felt the same about scrappy Wichita East. But Lakeside was quick to squash any nascent thoughts of an upset, coming out strong to a 5-1 lead, and cruising comfortably to their Sunday meeting with Hopkins (15-6).
