New England Open Regionals Write-Up
bab...@gmail.com
Regionals went off this weekend without a hitch. Weather = perfect.
Generally calm winds and sunny skies is more than anyone can ask for.
Thanks to Dartmouth for hosting, Brett Carr for being an incredible
point man on the event, and the observer crew for making a tough job
look relatively painless....I hope.
Here's my take on the weekend games that I saw at Regionals. Sorry
that some are brief, but my boss is starting to catch on to the fact
that I've done no work the past few weeks.
First Round Games:
Brown 15 - Bowdoin 6: Didn't see much of this, but Brown was just
warming up on the weekend.
UMass 15 - BU 13: BU tried their best to avenge their three losses
against UMass this year, but UMass was able to break the 13-13 tie and
escape from a really close game, well played by both teams.
Harvard 15 - Dalhousie 8: The boys from Halifax come down to play
Harvard in a good match, but Harvard's experience against competition
takes the game.
Northeastern 15 - Conn College 12: Didn't see much of this, but Conn
put up a fight to try and break their seed.
MIT 15 - Roger Williams 12: Another close game between Metro Boston
and SNE teams.
Williams 17 - Wesleyan 16: Closest game of the tourney, and only in
the first round Saturday. Wesleyan determined to prove their
abilities in New England and Williams unable to find the flow (which
they gained later on).
Tufts 13 - Amherst 11: Tufts determined to get back into the Top 8
after a small setback at Sectionals.
Dartmouth 15 - Yale 5: Dartmouth's smooth offense gets around Yale.
Second Round Games:
Brown 15 - UMass 6: Brown played their games on what happened to be
the windiest field, and their patience in the wind helped their
offense. The teams played together early, but Brown's patience and
ability to connect in the wind and under pressure prevailed.
Harvard 15 - Northeastern 11: In a rematch of the Sectionals 2/3 game,
Harvard came out on top with a little more determination than in the
previous game to prove they belong in the top four seeds.
Williams 15 - MIT 10: Williams regained their composure to flow their
offense successfully around MIT.
Dartmouth 13 - Tufts 11: Dartmouth went up early 8-3, but Tufts came
back to make it interesting.
Backdoor games - BU, Conn College, Roger Williams, and Amherst win.
Didn't catch these games.
Third Round Games:
Brown 15 - Harvard 7: Harvard gets to an early lead (4-0?) until Brown
wakes up and plays their game. The wind, again, was a factor in the
game, and experience and patience once again takes the game.
Williams 17 - Dartmouth 15: Williams comes back from a 7-1(?) deficit
to take the game. Possibly the most passionate game of the day, with
both sides fighting to the very end. Both teams used their long and
short games effectively throughout, but Williams outhustled Dartmouth
to get the win, the bye, and a trip to the finals to meet Brown.
Tufts 14 - BU 10: Didn't see much of this, but Tufts might've had the
advantage with lesser wind conditions.
MIT 15 - Conn College 7: MIT is determined to stay in the backdoor and
advance, and outmatches Conn.
Northeastern 15 - Roger Williams 12: Northeastern w/Neff and Kittredge
(?) have a better and more solid supporting cast than Teddy and Pitt.
UMass 15 - Amherst 13: In the sectional rematch, Amherst leads 12-5
until UMass comes back and blows by Amherst's D to take the game.
Fourth Round Games:
9th, 13th, and 15th place games weren't played.
MIT 15 - Tufts 10: MIT's patience and flow outmatches Tufts.
Northeastern 16 - UMass 14: In a hotly contested game, Northeastern
breaks the 14-14 tie to earn the right to play Sunday. At 14-all,
UMass makes a big throw right before the goal line, only to be
footblocked on a pass to a wide-open Zoodisc player. Northeastern
works it back down to score, and on the ensuing point, Neff baits a
long throw only to take it away with his wingspan and Northeastern
puts it in to take the game.
Sunday First Round:
MIT 15 - Harvard 12: In a rematch of the 1/2 sectional game, MIT comes
out on top again. They seem to match up well against Harvard, and
their handlers and cutters connect well.
Dartmouth 15 - Northeastern 7: Northeastern seems to have lost some
energy from their previous game against UMass, and comes out pretty
flat against a determined Pain Train. Highlight of the game is Neff
baiting Dartmouth to chuck it deep, gives the receiver quite a false
sense of security, and then lays out from a couple yards away to swat
the disc to the ground. Receiver is bewildered, as is the entire
sideline.
Sunday Second Round:
Brown 15 - Williams 7: Brown's experience and height differential
(see: C-Mo) take the game from Williams. To this point, I'd never
seen Williams play as hard as they did in this game. Brown takes the
first of two bids to Nationals.
Dartmouth 15 - MIT 11: Dartmouth comes back from an early deficit
(5-1?) and plays a tight game to beat out MIT for a shot at the second
bid.
Sunday Final Round:
Williams 15 - Dartmouth 11: The most energetic game of the weekend.
Both sidelines are packed with respective B-teams and women's squads.
Williams gets a few breaks early and keeps Dartmouth at arm's length
throughout the game. Both offenses have crisp throws, good looks, and
adrenaline is pumping on every deep attempt. 00 for Dartmouth gets a
dump-throw Callahan early in the game, but it isn't enough to throw
Williams from their game. Tom and Tyler pull down a few throws, and
the Williams handlers are fast and precise. Dartmouth doesn't have as
much height, but their handlers are just as good. In the end, while
either team could have taken this, Williams pulls out the win on
Dartmouth's home turf for the second bid to Natties.
Final Standings (* = bid to Nationals)
*1 - Brown
*2 - Williams
3 - Dartmouth
4 - MIT
5T - Harvard
5T - Northeastern
7T - UMass
7T - Tufts
9T - BU
9T - Conn College
9T - Roger Williams
9T - Amherst
13 - Bowdoin
14 - Yale
15 - Dalhousie
16 - Wesleyan
Congrats to Brown and Williams. Make New England proud.
Brian Abend
New England Open Regional Coordinator
Ma$e
souls, what are they called? Oh yeah, cameras, please post the
resulting pictures from this weekend. We'd all love to see them!