DAY TWO
by: Julian Hausman
The intense play of Saturday took its toll at the Turner Valley Soccer Complex. In order to protect the fields and preserve the integrity of the tournament, the consolation bracket was cancelled. UPA Executive Director Sandie Hammerly commented that "Most of the teams and players took the news very well. They were upset, but understanding of the concern for the fields."
QUARTERFINALS
In a game that showcased two of the most well known Ultimate programs, Paideia came out scoring first with a leaping grab by #2 Michael Terry. Pennsbury responded with 5 unanswered goals, relying on big hucks from #19 Isaac Saul to #15 Denny Beaches. Paideia's offense took too many chances, and turned the disc over multiple times each point. The Pennsbury offense consisted of short passes in a quick flow until the disc got to Isaac Saul, who would then put it deep to Denny Beaches. The Saul-Beaches connection took Pennsbury to half 7-2. Beaches' speed could not be matched, and Paideia failed to adjust their defense to stop him from scoring. Paideia couldn't seem to maintain possession of the disc, and fell short of Pennsbury (11-5).
Woodside HS matched offensive strikes from Columbia at the beginning of their quarterfinal match, tying the game at 2-2. Woodside's #6 Aaron Richards’ cutting kept Columbia's defense busy, but the star driven Columbia offense could not be matched. Each team turned it over multiple times each point, with plenty of huck attempts on both sides of the disc. Woodside's deep puts kept them in the game in the first half at 7-4. But Columbia's core was just too experienced for Woodside. Zander Padget, Josh Cincotta, and Tim Morissey led their team to a strong second half, ending the game (11-6).
North Hills started strong against Northfield Mount Hermon, jumping out to an early lead 6-2. Led by handlers #2 Alex Thorne and #19 Ben Funk, North Hills was clearly the more skilled team. Cutters Jeff Olko, Colin Conner, and Chris Lippert worked the deep game to help North Hills take the half 7-2. NMH started the second half with a zone defense that frustrated North Hills. Northfield Mt Hermon’s #4 Tanner Halkyard controlled the offense, and made use of big receivers #28 Ben Weyers and #25 Kellen Mobilia. A flustered North Hills squad could not keep their momentum of the first half, and let the NMH zone bring the game within two points at 8-10, 9-11, and 10-12. Although North Hills had a skill advantage, they were certainly matched athletically. NMH staged a comeback, but it was too little, too late, and North Hills came up with the win 13-10.
The last quarterfinal game was nothing short of impressive for Amherst. Playing against Longmeadow, Amherst had zero turnovers the entire game. Amherst took half 8-0, and won the game 13-2 in what can be called the best game Amherst has ever played. In the wet conditions, the ability to not turn the disc over was unbelievably impressive and removed any chance Longmeadow had to win this game. Amherst coach Tiina Booth reflected on the perfect game, "In the history of the program, we've never had that. And it happened in the Eastern Quarterfinals!"
SEMIFINALS
A rematch of the Paideia Cup Semifinal, Amherst looked to exact some revenge on North Hills. North Hills was quick to break Amherst's streak of no-turns, as the Hurricanes turned the disc over twice in the first point before North Hills scored. On the second point of the game, gusty winds allowed Ben Funk to catch a Callahan and give North Hills the lead 2-0. Alex Thorne guarded future Jr. Worlds teammate Andrew Kiefer of Amherst for most of the game, each of them making impressive throws as center handlers. At 4-2 NH, North Hill's Jack Ross made a fantastic two handed layout grab to extend their lead. On the next point, #0 Jeff Olko for North Hills got a bookend layout D and catch for the score. Amherst brought it back to 6-4 after #12 Jonah Herscu got a big point block on a huck by Funk. Picking up momentum, Amherst scored 4 in a row, taking the lead 8-4. Strong gusts of wind made hucking difficult during this game, and many of the flick hucks by North Hills turned into blades before getting to their receivers. Lightning postponed the game one hour when Amherst was up 8-7. When play resumed, Amherst's conservative offense consisting of in-cuts and break throws led by #8 Andrew Kiefer worked out and put Amherst up 9-7. It seemed North Hills was not in top form to play defense against the relentless in-cuts of the Amherst offense and windy conditions stopped the North Hills hucks from being completed. Andrew Kiefer ended the game with a cross field backhand for the win (10-8) and trip to the Easterns semifinals.
The history between Pennsbury v Columbia matches at Easterns is epic. In the past, two championship bracket games went down to double-game point between the two, with Pennsbury winning both. This year would be different. Pennsbury's offense relied on Isaac Saul putting up big hucks to Denny Beaches, whereas Columbia depended on a similar connection from Josh Cincotta to Zander Padget. After Columbia scored the first point, #2 Zack Kauffman got bookends with a great layout D and a sky over Cincotta. Pennsbury's athleticism and quick moving offense kept them in the lead for the first half, although Columbia stuck with the Falcons the entire game. Saul's hucks were right on target almost every time, and allowed Pennsbury to take half 7-6. Pennsbury's zone D was unsuccessful in stopping the disc skills of Cincotta, Padget, and #1 Declan O'Connell, forcing the Falcons to play man-to-man defense. Making up-the-line cuts and monster skies, #21 Zander Padget took over the game and was unstoppable for Columbia. A sideways layout in the endzone by Padget gave Columbia the lead 8-7. The huck-happy Pennsbury offense responded every time Columbia would work the disc down the field, tying the score at 9s, and again at 10s. Double game point (come on, its Pennsbury v Columbia, what did you expect?). Columbia receives the pull and works the disc down the field. Padget throws the disc upfield on a contested stall that the observer overrules, and when the disc goes up in the back of the endzone, Padget makes a stunning two fingered catch in between two defenders. Game over. Columbia finally gets the win over Pennsbury (11-10), and advances to the finals against Amherst.
FINALS
Two of the most popular and successful coaches in youth Ultimate went head to head in the Eastern Final - Tiina Booth and Anthony Nunez. Amherst still relied on the same core of handlers, #8 Andrew Kiefer, and the Herscu brothers, with big receivers like Julian Summa cutting downfield. The Columbia offense was all about two players, Josh Cincotta and Zander Padget. This connection was used for the first point of the game, with Cincotta throwing a backhand huck to Padgett, giving Columbia a 1-0 lead. As Amherst attempts to work out kinks in its offense, Columbia keeps scoring, and brings their lead to 3-0. #14 Julian Summa made some big grabs that positioned Amherst to stay competitive with Columbia in the Easterns Final. Padget point blocks Summa on the point for half, and Columbia goes into half with a healthy lead of 8-5. Handlers Josh Cincotta and Declan O'Connell for Columbia move the disc very well, and distribute the disc around to the cutters. It seemed as though Amherst shifted their strategy in the championship round, and began to huck a lot more than they had all tournament. Hucks from Jonah Herscu and Andrew Kiefer were not completed, and often times the disc was just not put to where it needed to be for Amherst to have a play on it. A big flick huck from Jonah Herscu put Amherst within one point of Columbia, yet Columbia was ready to end the game. At 11-10 CHS, Columbia received and had Cincotta work the disc down the field patiently. Padget had left the point due to leg cramps, but that didn't stop the Columbia offense from working. Columbia’s #60 Tim Morrissy bobbled the disc and toed the line during a full extension layout, and then threw the game winning goal to Jonah Sprung for the High School Easterns Open Championship. Final score (12-10).
DAY ONE
By: Julian Hausman
Easterns teams began their first rounds of play in 50 degrees weather of misty rain and soggy fields. The wet conditions in Pittsburgh greatly affected strategies in the morning for mostly every team – the deep game was ineffective; hard sprints were slowed way down; and discs were very slippery. Teams soon learned that the best way to score was to make in-cuts and work it down the field. Many teams ran a stack offense that opened up the use of two lanes on the force side to cut underneath.
In the first two rounds of the day, the team that played more conservative was definitely in a better position to win their games. By the time the third round was finished, the sun came out and the old strategies changed. Suddenly, hucks were the new way to score. Teams began relying on the big puts of their handlers to get on the board quickly.
Wind was not much of a factor since the field site sits in the middle of a valley. The rain made the ground very soft, so field logistics were constantly shifting in order to preserve the fields for Sunday. On a positive note, it seemed that every team at Easterns came ready to bid and go for everything, as layouts were seen everywhere.
Pool A
In Pool A, North Hills clearly proved they deserved the #1 seed of the tournament winning their games quickly and decisively, with scores of (15-4), (15-3), and (15-3). Woodside finished second, with wins over University School of Nashville (15-8) and Urbana (15-7). USN bested Urbana (15-10), affirming that Pool A would go according to seed. Despite the wet conditions, North Hills really proved they were on a higher level than the competition, with definitively stronger disc skills and unparalleled athleticism than any of their opponents.
Pool B
Colombia took care of business in Pool B, pulling away from North Field Mount Hermon (15-6) and Holy Family Catholic (15-5). Memorial did their best not to let Columbia run away with their game, and fought back when Columbia would gain a substantial lead. However, in the end, Columbia, led by Zander Padget and Josh Cincotta, went on a run to close it out (15-10).
The big surprise of Saturday was Holy Family Catholic, a team comprised of home schooled students from Cincinnati. After a prayer circle before their first game, Holy Family Catholic traded points with Memorial up until a grueling 10 minute point for half with the game tied at 7s. Each team had multiple dropped discs in the endzone due to the wetness, and Memorial eventually would take half. This could have helped Memorial swing the momentum in their favor after winning such a long point. But the second half would instead go to Holy Family Catholic, who pulled out an upset (15-13) on the unsuspecting Madison team.
North Field Mount Hermon was also able to overtake the #2 seed Memorial in a (12-8) upset. NMH and Holy Family Catholic seemed very evenly matched in their contest for the 2nd place in Pool B, and played a very tight game until the very end. NMH's big athletes dictated the universe point win (13-12) against a very hardworking Holy Family Catholic squad.
Pool C
The returning champions, Pennsbury, played very well in Pool C, earning the top seed after quickly dispatching both Ridgefield and Yorktown/HB Woodlawn (15-4). Throws from juniors Isaac Saul and Denny Beaches let Pennsbury's athletic team take over each game. Longmeadow HS was compromised of a group of quick, short, and self-coached players that had solid wins over Ridgefield (15-7) and YHB (15-5). In the match between Pennsbury and Longmeadow, Pennsbury came out dominating with an obvious athletic advantage, starting the match out with a 6-1 lead. Longmeadow turned on their game, and brought the score back within one point at 8-7, 8-9, and 9-10 with the help of captains Tommy Li and AJ Hutchins. However, Pennsbury accelerated through the end, winning (15-11).
Pool D
With two of the most historically successful programs (Paideia and Amherst) in High School Ultimate facing off, Pool D became the focus of many spectators. The more fundamentally skilled Paideia won each of their games against Beacon HS and Martinsville (15-3), with Amherst going 2-0 against the same teams. Paideia’s Michael Baccarini and ARHS’ Tiina Booth have coached against each other countless times, and the fans knew this would be a fun match to watch. From the start of this game, Amherst simply played better Ultimate. With the wet conditions, their conservative style of play worked very well, and took an early lead 6-2. Amherst's Andrew Kiefer was an important cog in the ARHS machine, helping to create a smooth team offense consisting of constant in cuts and break side throws. Amherst would pull out a (13-6) victory over Paideia, who tried too many unsuccessful hucks to beat the Hurricanes.
Pre-Quarters
Pre-Quarters all held to seed, with Woodside advancing over Beacon (15-9), Longmeadow beating Holy Family Catholic (15-5), and Northfield Mt. Hermon (NMH) over YHB (15-10). YHB's Jake Ward kept Yorktown in the first half of the game with insane layout Ds and flick hucks, but it just was not enough to overcome the athleticism of NMH’s Kellen Mobilia and the Halkyard brothers.
Tomorrow’s matchups will consist of Columbia v Woodside, Pennsbury v Paideia, Amherst v Longmeadow, and North Hills v NMH. With 14 seniors, North Hills will be playing tired after their senior prom Saturday night; however, they are still the team to beat. All of the top seeds on Saturday really proved that they are significantly stronger than the other teams at Easterns, so look to see North Hills v Amherst and Pennsbury v Columbia in Semis.
