1 Vappu Reunanen, Eerika Kauppinen, and Utah import Kendra Miller proved equal to the task and helped PuTi steady the ship on offense, while their D-line ratcheted up the pressure. “Especially when their women were on disc, we were trying to put that hard around, see what they could do, see if they could break the mark, and try and stop their guys from going deep.”Īn admirable and understandable endeavor for Reading to embark upon, but PuTi were able to lean on their unity and work through the shoulder-tight match defense. “We were trying to put a really hard force around defensively,” detailed Reading captain Rebecca Palmer.
Rallying behind their leaders Rebecca Palmer, Mark Bignal, Andrew Lewis, and Sam Wilson, they broke off a series of two point runs to take half 8-6. Reading also have a long history of playing together, and back home in England they are supported by the largest player base for a UK club. However that anticipation soon turned to consternation as tight exchanges in the first half mostly went the way of the Brits. We have played so many years with the offensive line it doesn’t matter who it is. PuTi struck into an early 4-2 lead thanks to solid offense and a heads up block by Mariia Martus. “So we were waiting for it, we were looking forward to it.” “We have always wanted to play them, like in Windmill, but we just never met,” explained Captain Jarno Sihvo.
In a game that was dominated largely by tight match defense, well-established internal trust, and a handful of truly breathtaking plays, the Finns ran out the winners 14-12.ĭespite both clubs being from Europe, and established powers in the Mixed division there, these two teams have never met on a competition field before. Especially after they secured underdog victories over both Winnipeg PBHG (CAN) and Meclao in the previous two rounds. This experience served them well as they battled back from multiple deficits against Reading Ultimate (GBR), who came into WUCC with an internal belief in the potential of their ability on their best days, and have spent the past week slowly converting their opponents and fans alike.
They had several close calls on their way to the quarterfinal stage, including two universe point victories over Bogotá D-CRASH (COL) in the pool and Montreal LAB (CAN) in the prequarter. Helsinki Pussin Tiristäjät (FIN) came to Cincinnati with the weight of expectation around their necks, seeded eighth and expecting big things from themselves. In the quarterfinal between Finland’s PuTi and Great Britain’s Reading Ultimate, teams battled it out to become the first European club to make the semifinals of WUCC, and set a new high water-mark for mixed ultimate from the continent. The opportunity to write your name large in the history of not just your own club, but the county you represent. However, following tumultuous domestic qualifying season in the US and the unexpected heroics of Santo Domingo Meclao (DOM) in the pool stage disrupting the standard seeding, only three American outfits made the elite eight, battling an Australian, Canadian, and European each, along with an inaugural all Europe affair. Once the going gets tough, the established powerhouses of the United States draw upon the depth of their squads, and the standard of their domestic experience to dispatch the dreams ventured forward by any non-American teams who dared to reach for the opportunity this great land offers. In ultimate, it seems we are cursed with the inverse of that old adage, as the dominance of American teams in the quarterfinals of the Mixed division is a lesson all players learn during their education on the past successes of our sport at the highest level. LEBANON, OH – History is a fickle thing, traditionally written by the victors, and frequently misremembered by those who seem destined to repeat it. Jby Lorcan Murray and Laura Osterlund in Recap with 0 comments Thursday's results show that the gap between American mixed clubs and the rest of the world is undeniably shrinking.