A shout-out to Skyd Magazine’s Gil McIntyre who has published his report on our last practice and final prep for worlds – check out this well done video at Skydmagaize.com
Back in Japan, we have the morning off with our only game of the day being at 4:30pm so we decide a team outing is just the thing for this occasion. Still buzzing from an epic night of Karaoke we set off for the Osaka Aquarium, world renowned for its scale and quality. And deservedly so. The tremendous open sea tank and many significant side tanks outmatch even our Monterrey Aquarium back home; the river otters take the best exhibit prize narrowly away from the sea otters, penguins, and giant manta ray. 3 hours of sightseeing time well spent. Finally on to the fields…
Sweden, 17-7
The tournament has taken it up a notch in shifting to power pools, and we are excited to have another high quality opponent to test ourselves against. Bart and Pat Baylis joined us last night after weekend commitments in the States and we are finally at full strength. It is a late afternoon game so the wind is up again, very much like Sarasota in its intensity and quasi-cross wind direction. Sweden start strong, and we are not ready for them, earning themselves 2 turnovers in the first point (both of which Josh Wiseman gets back with downfield blocks), and then finally convert their break in the second O point after an overthrown dump pass. We are finally in a hole, and the D has to respond. We get the break back, and another to go up one with blocks from TJ and Sherwood, and after an O hold, Zach truly sparks the team with a layout point block and subsequent sky for our third break of the game. At this point the wheels come off for Sweden a bit, and after a dropped pull and dropped first pass we take half 9-3 and are back on track. The second half features a great block from Pat Baylis, a great huck from Beaufort, and a ridiculous catch by Cassidy in the back of the endzone – truly wished for some video coverage to document that one. Sweden doesn’t give us any freebies and go 4-6 on their O points, showing that if they can sharpen up they can be a force (especially considering they are by far the tallest team at the tournament across the board, making downfield matchups difficult). Off to dinner and Jersey trading night, but a team meeting before bed to prepare for tomorrow’s huge matchup against the Aussies. The tournament gets hotter now, so far so good for team USA.