World U23 Ultimate Championships Report – Day Two
U23 Open Team
The Open team started the day with a match against The Philippines in which they displayed why they are a force to be reckoned with, finishing the game on a scoreline of 17-0. They reached the scorecap in just 70 minutes, a whole half hour before the time cap. It was also the first bagel of the tournament, a fact which the lads are sure to be proud of.
The second game of the day didn’t go as smoothly as they would have hoped. They faced Austria, who were also unbeaten going into this decisive match. Both teams knew they had to win in order to top the group, and it showed in how they played. In an absolutely thrilling game, the teams traded all the way up till 8-8 when the Austrians began to pull away, scoring four in a row, and eventually winning the game 14-10.
A special mention deserves to go to our very own Ben Noonan, who is leading the scoreboard in his group, and is sixth overall with 11 assists and three goals.
Tomorrow, the Open team face Columbia in the morning, and top seeds, USA, in the afternoon.
U23 Mixed Team
The Mixed team unfortunately continued their losing streak today, during which they faced Chinese Tapei and India.
They took the lead early on but could not hold on against the Chinese who, after an impressive day yesterday which included a win against Germany, managed to pull away, eventually finishing out the game 15-8.
Their second match was live streamed on the Skyd Magazine Youtube channel and was watched by over 800 people all around the world. They definitely picked the right game to stream as both teams were very evenly matched, trading throughout the match. Their opposition, India, initially looked poor as Ireland took a 3-1 lead; however, the Indians shifted up a gear and soon it was game on. Both teams went on runs, applying as much pressure as they could, and with five minutes to go it was 12-12. The Irish tried their hardest, but inevitably it was India who won the day on a scoreline of 15-13.
Tomorrow morning, the Mixed team will also face USA.
Shane Doyle