Machine took their show on a West Coast Tour for the long weekend, and turned up in style with a 3-3 record and a second place overall finish at the USAU Pro Championships. Machine will be gearing up for Regionals in three weeks with some intense practices and team time in preparation for our biggest test of the year.
Machine's weekend started early on a cloudless Pacific Northwest morning against defending national finalist Revolver from San Francisco. The squad from the Bay came out sloppy to start, making mistakes against Machine's junk and 1v1 looks alike. Machine rode their strong defensive conversion rate to a 8-5 halftime lead. Revolver looked intent on coming back, but a layout block from Von on an under in the first point out of half led to another Machine break for a 9-5 lead. Machine tacked on another two breaks for a 13-7 lead before Revolver flexed its muscles with three straight breaks to make it 13-11. Machine's O got back on the board, and traded the game out for a 15-12 win.
Next up was Denver's Johnny Bravo, against whom Machine couldn't generate much pressure in a 10-15 loss. Execution mistakes early gave Bravo a 4-1 lead to start, and they would carry that advantage to a 5-8 halftime bulge. Machine couldn't close the gap, and managed only three turnovers on Bravo's O line, who relentless broke the mark and challenged deep. Though Machine's offense stabilized in the second half, the damage was done and the team dropped their second game 10-15.
For the last game of the day, Machine faced the ostensibly second team from the Bay Area, Oakland Guerrilla. Machine looked tired in their cutting lanes and on defense, and gave up an early break for a 3-4 deficit. Oakland spread the field well and raced Machine's out cuts well. Machine equalized, the only break conversion out of 7 tries in the first half, but Oakland broke for half, 6-8. Machine's D line came out in the second half with fury, breaking twice to tie the game, and just missed a connection for the third. Machine would eventually take the lead, but low cutting action and high-stall mistakes gave Guerrilla all the chances they needed, and an invert sealed a 13-15 win for the Bay.
After games on Saturday, leadership from Machine participated in Gender Equity discussion amongst Men's team representatives, while the rest of the Rowdy Boys refueled with chocolate milk-based placebos and a dip in the beautiful Skagit River, leading into an early bed time in preparation for top-ranked Seattle Sockeye in the quarterfinals the next day.
Sockeye's speed on offense would be a major weapon in this game, and Machine focused on slowing them down with multiple looks on D. Sockeye obliged by giving break opportunities in under- and overthrown discs. Machine's D line looked composed on the turn, capitalizing on Seattle mistakes and taking half 8-5. As the previous day against Revolver, Seattle pushed back and tied the game at 10-10 after some big plays by their D line. Machine put the D in for a hold, and found Walden Nelson on a little dog sky over a poaching defender. After Sockeye's run, Machine found one of their own, breaking three times in a row for a 14-10 lead. After a Sockeye hold, Pawel Janas found Michael Pardo deep for the 15-11 win.
This strong win set up a pool play rematch with Johnny Bravo, who easily dispatched SoCal Condors in the previous round. This matchup found the Machine D generating much more pressure and blocks, and the D line showing confidence on the turn. Machine's deep game was connecting, and they took an 8-6 lead into the half. Bravo ratcheted up their own defensive efforts, and chipped away at the Machine lead in a back and forth second half, eventually breaking to tie the game at 14 in a game to 15. Machine's experience in games to 1 this weekend gave them an edge here, and after he turned an initial deep throw to Pardo on a Jimmy Mickle block, Cullen Geppert got a ground-shaking layout block on an under, and Janas threw a short away shot to Travis Carpenter for the 15-14 win.
Machine caught some shade while watching the Molly Brown/Brute Squad semifinal, then got a great meal together in a part time sauna, hitting the sack early again for a 3pm final. Waking early, the crew followed Seattle native, Julian Childs-Walker into the mountains for some beautiful scenery, and then headed to the stadium for their rematch against Revolver.
The Rowdy Boys exploring the upper Northwest
Dada soaking it all in
Building on their focus from the previous rounds, Machine locked in to committed defense and multiple looks for the Revolver O line. They would need it after a first point break for Revolver, and finally got it on a layout in the zone from Alanguilan, which tied the game at 4. The teams would engage in a gritty trade battle, with Revolver notching one more break to half 7-8. Machine struggled to create pressure in the second half as Revolver's offense settled in, and some execution errors from the Machine O line led to Revolver pulling away, eventually sealing the game with a break, 10-15.
Big ups to all our fans, as we're going into the thick of our preparation, getting ready for an intense regional competition in three weeks. Until, then enjoy a few Twitter video clips from this past weekend, and look out for a tournament highlight video in the next few weeks.
RED
Labor Day weekend marks 3 years since Machine last travelled to Skagit River Park in Burlington, WA to compete in a Triple Crown Tour event. Machine is hoping to duplicate those results by once again winning the USAU Pro Championships (previously known as the Pro-Flight Finale).
Tournament Details: http://play.usaultimate.org/events/TCT-Pro-Championships-2017/
The final regular season weekend of the USAU club season, eight of the top men's teams in the country will be in attendance at the Pro Championships, with 10 other top men's teams on the opposite side of the country at the New York Invite. Machine's pool features San Francisco Revolver, Denver Johnny Bravo, and Oakland Guerrilla. Only three games will be played on Saturday, leading into a reseeded 8 team bracket on Sunday. The finals for the men's, women's, and mixed divisions will take place on Monday at Archbishop Murphy High School.
Full Schedule: http://play.usaultimate.org/events/TCT-Pro-Championships-2017/schedule/Men/Club-Men/
Machine will be sending a roster of 22 active players and coach Andy Neilsen. Missing from the weekend will be AJ Nelson, Vinny Ciaramitaro, and Xtian Guerrero (who will not be joining Machine this season due to an elbow injury requiring surgery).
To follow along for live updates and our new feature, 10 Yards with Travis: http://twitter.com/machineultimate
Check back after the tournament for a recap, highlight video, and much more throughout the season. Until then, please stay humble.
ICYMI: Highlights from our previous tournament, the 2017 Elite-Select Challenge
If you squinted from high above on Friday night, you might have been able to pick out a loose caravan of Machine cars driving up to Appleton, WI for their first road trip tournament in recent memory. Without the classic game of how-late-can-you-get-to-the-airport-without-missing-your-flight, how could Evange and Stephan get pumped for game time? Our fans would have to wait and see.
Machine started off hot enough with a 13-8 win over Inception. Smothering reset defense from Walden and the handler crew and a passel of downfield beastings from Schwenk and Jesse brought a 7-4 halftime margin to the boys in their fresh new kits courtesy of 5 Ultimate. More of the same in the second half as the offense turned in a 1 break performance and the D continued to roll.
After a second round bye, the squad faced off against some familiar foes in Madison Club. The deep game was dialed in with Pawel striking deep as a cutter and as a thrower, and Chicago took half 7-5 up a break. Madison couldn't stretch the field as the wind picked up, and the Machine defense got opportunities to break in bunches, converting on four of their first five chances. A 5 turnover apiece point ended in a Madison hold for 12-10, and the Machine O line closed it out quickly for the game, 13-10.
Tournament photo album by Vince Fergus: https://www.flickr.com/photos/123594130@N08/albums/72157685517200324
The next game brought Machine's first 2017 look at regional rival High Five. With all the anticipation of a blushing bride, the game started with holds for both O lines before High Five broke on a missed huck for a 1-3 lead. Machine's mistakes mounted, and playmaking from the High Five D line led to a 3-7 halftime deficit. Machine tightened the screws for the second half, but couldn't capitalize on break opportunities, losing the game 8-13.
With a trip to the quarterfinals on the line, Machine drew a rematch of the last round of PEC pool play against New York's PoNY. This contest would be more lopsided, as a 7-6 halftime lead melted away with 5 consecutive breaks after half. Machine finally punched in the hold, but the next D point couldn't get a block, and the squad lost 8-13.
Down but not out, Machine regrouped later that evening with some team bonding and recovery at Cryotherapy of Wisconsin. You can see their Facebook video of the experience below:
Matched up against Rhino and Machine 2014 alum Chris Vandervoort in the 9th place bracket, Machine was up early with vengeance in their eyes. The Rhino squad was missing some key players due to injury, and repeated mistakes by their O line resulted in a cascade of breaks for Machine's D. The pressure continued in the second half, and the D line was ruthless in its efficiency, converting 8 of 9 possessions for the 13-5 win.
Last up was a crew from Canada, with Furious George representing the Northwest. Despite some great deep shots to speedy receivers, Furious's attack was not enough for a hungry Machine D line, who again rode a strong conversion rate to a 13-7 win.
The season heats up now for the Rich Girls, with the Pro Flight Finale looming in less than two weeks, and Great Lakes Regionals just two weeks after that. Machine will be tuning up and ready to ramp up for the big tests ahead.
Before leaving Appleton though, the boys were able to support the Chicago Women's team, Nemesis, as they went on to win the Women's division finals over Seattle's Underground. (Things got a little rowdy and Machine was asked to tone things down....)
One final note: The weekend saw the introduction of a new online video series titled "10 Yards with Travis". A spin on USA Ultimate's "40 Yards with Evan Lepler" in which Lepler interviews members of the US Worlds' Game team, Travis instead interviews Machine players for a recap after each game. The Tweets can be seen here:
www.youcaring.com/dada
Chicago Machine will head north this weekend to compete in their second tournament of the 2017 USAU club season, the Elite-Select Challenge in Appleton, WI.
The Windy City will be well represented at the tournament, as Chicago Nemesis will be competing in the Women's division, and Chicago's UPA will be competing in the Mixed division.
Tournament Details: http://play.usaultimate.org/events/TCT-Elite-Select-Challenge-2017/)
Machine's pool features a few familiar faces, including Michigan High Five and Madison Club. Rounding out the pool is Denver Inception. The winner of the pool advances straight to Sunday's quaters, the second and third place finishers advance to a Saturday afternoon's pre-quarters, and the fourth place finisher is relegated to lower bracket round robin.
Full Schedule: http://play.usaultimate.org/events/TCT-Elite-Select-Challenge-2017/schedule/Men/Club-Men/
Ultiworld will be on site to film games as part of their online video subscription package. Machine's pool play game against Madison Club, and Nemesis's pool play game against Austin Showdown will both be filmed (not streamed). Details: https://ultiworld.com/livewire/elite-select-challenge-2017-filming-schedule/
Machine will be sending a roster of 24 active players and coach Andy Neilsen. The only player who will not be in attendance is Xtian Guerrero, who is still in the process of receiving his travel Visa from the Philippines. He is proceeded by Dada Libo-on, who recently arrived in Chicago from Manilla, and will be playing his first tournament with the team.
To follow along for live updates: http://twitter.com/machineultimate
Check back after the tournament for a recap, highlight video, and much more throughout the season.
ICYMI: Highlights from our first tournament (the 2017 Pro-Elite Challenge)
Schiller Park - Machine squared off against Italy's CUSB La Fotta last night in an international friendly. One of Italy's most historic and successful teams, CUSB La Fotta has been traveling through New York and Chicago on their way to next weekend's US Open in Minneapolis.
Despite the jet lag and heavy legs, the Italians came out with lots of life early in Monday's scrimmage. With only one turn for either O-line and no breaks, Machine traded to 5-5 under a beautiful Schiller Park sunset. With high around breaks and strong wideside work, the Italians were looking tough to stop, even under high pressure from the Machine defense. A turn against a CUSB zone led to a break for the Italians, giving them a 6-5 lead. After a hold each, Machine scored quickly on O and then broke for half on a gentle away shot from Stephan to AJ, 8-7.
The second half saw even more pressure from Machine's changing D looks, and the stifling defense on handler resets led to two breaks and a 10-7 lead. A series of trades, featuring some big throws by CUSB's #90 and athletic grabs in the air by #97, brought it to 13-10. The CUSB zone, anchored by Davide Morri up front and Ironside's Kurt Gibson (picking up with CUSB for the evening) in back, slowed Machine's offense, but content to take as many throws as required, the Machine offense would find ways to punch it in each possession of the second half. With the dark advancing, two more CUSB turns led to two quick breaks, and Machine finished the game winning 15-10.
After the game, both teams came together to share praise for the supportive group of spectators on hand, and friendly feedback for each other. The post-game celebration moved to a nearby brewery where players were able to trade stories, jerseys, and lots of laughs. In a gesture of extreme kindness, Machine introduced the Italians to local Chicago delicacy: Malort (a disgusting spiced liquor). In a surprising turn of events, the Italians not only tolerated the Malort, but several found it to be enjoyable.
Photo highlights will be posted on www.huckpix.com (action shots above courtesy of Huck Pix).
One story of note, Machine rookie (and player with the most Italian sounding name of any attendee at the scrimmage), Vinny Ciaramitaro, was delayed getting to the scrimmage as the car in front of his bus flipped over in downtown Chicago while crossing a bridge, blowing out all of its windows. Both the bus driver and Vinny jumped out to help the family of four who were stuck inside as the gasoline leaked out. Everyone was safe, and Vinny was able to play in the scrimmage despite cuts to his hand.
Chicago Machine is excited to announce that we will be scrimmaging Italy's CUSB La Fotta men's ultimate team on Monday, July 31st. The game will be played with USAU rules, to 15, with observers (if available). Spectators are encouraged to attend.
- What: Scrimmage between Chicago Machine and CUSB La Fotta
- Open to the public and free
- Where: Schiller Park Woods
- N East River Rd, Chicago, IL 60634
- Field Map (Targeting Field 1)
- Date: Monday, July 31st 2017
- Time: 7:00pm
CUSB La Fotta, one of Italy's top men's ultimate teams, will be in Chicago for two days on their way to Minnesota for the US Open taking place later next week. CUSB La Fotta, founded in 1988, is based out of Bologna, and is one of the most well traveled and decorated teams in Italian history. If your Italian is strong, you can read more about them, and their team history here: http://www.bodisc.it/cusb-la-fotta/
Otherwise, follow along on Machine's Facebook & Twitter for updates as we get closer to the scrimmage!
Follow CUSB La Fotta on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CusBolognaUltimate/
CUSB La Fotta 2016 Video Highlights:
We will be selling Machine discs ($10) and hats ($15) on the sidelines!
Machine's first tournament of the 2017 campaign came with growing pains, as the short-handed squad struggled to find consistency with a new offensive system.
USAU Pro-Elite Challenge Score Reporter
While Machine was able to take early leads against both Ironside and Doublewide, inexperience shown through as both opponents would lock-in defensively and run away with victories in the second half. Final scores: 9-13 & 10-13. Machine began to hit their stride during the third game of the day on Saturday, versus PoNY, but an offensive miscue on universe point gave PoNY the only chance they would need to steal the game. Final score 10-11.
After dropping all three games in pool play, Machine fell into a lower bracket round-robin with Prairie Fire, Chain Lightning, and Madison Club. A lightning delay before the Prairie Fire game did little to slow Machine, and an early lead was stretched out as defensive pressure led to multiple errant throws. The biggest change was an increase in conversion percentages from the Machine D-line on the turn (a problem that plagued them throughout pool play). Final score 13-7.
Saturday evening gave Machine an opportunity to bond over food, drinks, and a river swim in downtown Denver. Sunday morning's game against Chain Lightning felt reminiscent of pool play, however, with Machine jumping to an early lead, only to see it quickly be erased. Loose decision making with the disc gave Chain ample opportunities for breaks, and despite strong defensive pressure, Chain stretched the lead to a 11-13 victory. Focused on process goals, Machine came out with more intensity in the final game of the tournament, against Madison Club. Machine patiently took advantage of zone looks and poachy D to convert at their highest percentage rate of the weekend. The early successes gave life to the team, and the defense poured on the breaks, leading to a 13-7 victory.
Despite the rocky results, there were several strong individual performances from the likes of Cullen Geppert (prior to a hamstring strain on day 2), Yiding Hou (assuming an offensive handler role), Jesse White (leading the team in D's and plus/minus), Jeff Weis (in his first elite club level tournament), and Travis Carpenter (also moving to the O-line).
Video Highlights:
The 2017 Chicago Machine campaign starts this weekend at the Pro-Elite Challenge in Denver, CO. (Tournament Details: http://play.usaultimate.org/events/TCT-Pro-Elite-Challenge-2017/)
Machine's first opponent of the season will be the defending national champion Boston Ironside. The pool also features games against New York's PoNY, and a retooled Doublewide team who brought in several players from nationals contender HIP (a Houston based team that disbanded during the offseason).
Full Schedule: http://play.usaultimate.org/events/TCT-Pro-Elite-Challenge-2017/schedule/Men/Club-Men/
Ultiworld has yet to announce coverage, but tape delayed recordings of select PEC games are expected to be included in their 2017 video subscription package.
Machine will be sending a roster of 20 active players and coach Andy Neilsen, with 5 players missing due to various reasons (Dada Libo-on & Xtian Guerrero: travel, Kevin Kelly & Joshua Stevens-Stein: injury, Michael Schwenk: wedding).
To follow along for live updates: http://twitter.com/machineultimate
Check back after the tournament for a recap, highlight video, and much more throughout the season.