Center back Ian Hueter on attack vs Canada

The U.S. has a 12 goal lead from the 1^st leg and it’s really hard to envision Canada turning things around to the point of pasting an even bigger loss on the U.S. in the 2^nd leg.  While, it’s true that anything can happen, the odds of something like that happening are really remote.  But, the Canadians are a tenacious team and play with a lot of pride.  Can they turn things around and beat a vastly improved USA Team in front of a sold out crowd?  With the huitième homme (eighth man) behind them?  Absolutely, they can.  (Just not by 13 goals)

To get a win, Canada, will need to play a full 60 minutes at the intensity level they played the first 50 minutes in Auburn.  They will also need to do a better job at capitalizing on any scoring opportunities provided them.  Most notably, they will need to make sure that they punish the U.S. when they go up a man as a result of two minute penalties.  (This means score a goal or two and deny the U.S)  On defense, they’ve now seen the athleticism and 1 on 1 skills of Fofana, Hueter and Hines.  They know what they are up against and that it will take a team defensive effort to slow them down.  A big challenge, but one they can meet.

For the U.S. Men, this is an opportunity to make a statement.  To show themselves, and anyone watching, that the 12 goal win at Auburn was not a fluke.  That they can get the same sort of convincing win in a more hostile environment.  To do so they will need to play with poise and determination.  They will need to cut down on mistakes at both ends of the floor.  In particular, on defense, they will need to keep the aggressive intensity, but channel that aggressiveness to meet the offensive attack before it’s too late and results in sitting out for 2 minutes, too often.

While, there may not be PANAM Qualification on the line, this game should still be well worth watching.  Can Canada get a little revenge with a win at home?  Or, will the new look U.S. Men impress again?  Show that Chile and Cuba have another team in this hemisphere at their level?  Or, dare I say it:  Have Brazil and Argentina looking over their shoulder in the run up to the PANAM Game next summer?

Match Schedule

Wednesday, 5 September

Canada vs USA (Women) 1900 Eastern Time (0100 CET, Thursday)
Canada vs USA (Men) 2100 Eastern Time (0300 CET, Thursday). 

The match will be live streamed on the Quebec Handball Federation Facebook page:  Link

USA’s Julia Sayer on attack in the 1st leg match vs Canada.

The “home and home” 2 game aggregate playoff may well be the fairest playoff format devised.  Both teams get a match at home.  The winner is whoever has the most goals after 120 minutes of play.  No home court advantage and less chance that the outcome that one fluke performance (good or bad) will determine the outcome.  And, if by chance, there is a fluke outcome in the first match, each team has some time to make adjustments to correct any problems that may have occurred.

For sure, both sides had their share of problems in the first game.  The U.S. offense struggled against the 3-2-1 defense of the Canadians.  Forced out higher away from the 6 meter line the U.S. backs had difficulty getting in position to be a threat to score.   And, when they did move forward on attack coordination with the wings and circle runners was lacking resulting in only 1 goal in 60 minutes from those positions.  The U.S. will definitely need to make some adjustments if they want to improve on the 22 goals scored in the first match.

The Canadian women will also need their own adjustments to improve on their 20 goals.  At times it seemed as if the Canadians were simply playing catch hoping for an opening in the U.S. defensive wall to magically appear.  As the saying goes: hope is not a strategy.  Canada will need to make some adjustments to get the static U.S. defense moving to the point where they can find some more offensive openings.

If either side can find a way to step it up a bit on offense, that side will likely be well on its way toward victory.  But, it could very well be that we just might see another night of stellar defensive play with both team struggling to eke out goals in half court situations.  If that’s the case, the outcome may well come down to which team minimizes turnovers and resulting opponent fast break opportunities.

And, if that’s the scenario for tonight I think the veteran U.S. team is probably at an advantage with several players having been there before.  Indeed, the U.S. team 8 years ago needed a 5 goal win in Canada to qualify and they found a way to do it.  This time around they have a +2 goal cushion to work with.

Countering that argument, though is a hungry Canadian side which surely feels they can play better than they did Sunday night.  And, on top of that, they are playing at home in front of a sellout crowd of 600 fans who will surely be making some noise in support.

Emotions should be running high tonight.  And, with everything to play for in front of a sold out crowd.  This is going to be one game to watch for sure.

Match Schedule (Wednesday, 5 September)

Canada vs USA (Women) 1900 Eastern Time (0100 CET, Thursday)
Canada vs USA (Men) 2100 Eastern Time (0300 CET, Thursday). 

The match will be live streamed on the Quebec Handball Federation Facebook page:  Link

With several changes to the U.S. roster the big question heading into last night’s contest was how much of a difference those changes would make.  From the opening minute it was pretty clear that the new backcourt trio of Fofana, Hueter and Hines would add much needed scoring punch to the U.S. offense with crisp passing and one on one athleticism.  But, Canada met the challenge with a little athleticism of their own and matched U.S. scoring in the early going, even taking 1 goal leads in the early going (5-4 and 6-5).  Midway, through the first half, though, after being tied 9-9, the U.S. was able to clamp down a bit on defense and get some separation for an 18-14 lead at the break.

The first 20 minutes of the second half would see the U.S. build a 6 goal lead only to have Canada claw its way back to a four goal deficit at 28-24.  At which point, a combination of Canadian fatigue and missed scoring opportunities turned the game into a rout.  It was as if the U.S. had found another gear and Canada had run out of gas.  The U.S. dominated play on both sides of the floor to finish the match with 8 unanswered goals for the final 36-24 result.

Abou Fofana, with 9 goals was the Match MVP, but quickly noted in a post game interview that Center Back, Ian Hueter was a big part of his success feeding him the ball for multiple scoring opportunities.  Gary Hines also benefitted from an experienced center back and another back court threat and scored 7 goals at right back, a position he does not regularly play.  (Indeed, as one who has seen Hines getting marked and roughed up over 60 minutes, it was as if he was 24 years old again.)  The U.S. also got solid play from wings Michael Lee and Ty Reed.  Reed, who outside of training camps, is not even practicing regularly was particularly effective with 8 goals.  A trio of circle runners (Baup, Skorupa, and Donlin) played hard, but were little overly aggressive on defense resulting in multiple 2 minute penalties.  Finally, Rene Ingram, played all 60 minutes in goal and found his rhythm in the 2^nd half with several nice saves.

Canada, except for the last 10 minutes of the match, had a lot to commend for itself.  Defensively, they adapted quickly to the capable USA back courts challenging them and making sure there that there were no free shots at 9 meters.  I was particularly impressed with the play of backcourt Marc-Andre Vachon who led Canada with 7 goals and also set up other scores as well with aggressive attacks on offense.

With a 12 goal aggregate lead the U.S. has a big cushion for the second leg in Montreal.  While not insurmountable, Canada will have its work cut out for them.  Regardless, they will be eager for revenge and with a sold out crowd of 600 cheering them on leg 2 should be closer.  Wednesday night’s game is at 2100 Eastern Time (0300 CET, Thursday).  The match will be live streamed on the Quebec Handball Federation Facebook page:  Link

Scoring

USA:  Abou Fofana (9), Ty Reed (8), Gary Hines (7), Ian Hueter (5), Michael Lee (3), Drew Donlin (2), Antoine Baup (1), Greg Inahara (1)

Canada: Marc-Andre Vachon (7), Justin Larouche (4), Alexandre Touzel (3), Christian Toth (2), Tim Sartisson (2), Etienne Mercier (2), Marc Gordulic (1), Gregory Chauvee (1), Mattieue Rousselle (1), Cedric Dupere (1)

Video:  USA – CAN Men (Leg 1): Link

The USA Women edged Canada 22-20 in a closely contested affair.  Both teams appeared tight to start the match struggling to score and setting the tone for a defensive minded match.  The first half was close throughout with a one goal lead by either side for most of the way eventual and at the break the U.S. held a 12-11 lead.  The 2^nd half saw each side manage a “mini-run” to surge into the lead.  Canada came out gunning and was able to overtake the U.S. getting ahead 16 to 14 at one point.  The U.S., however rallied to tie the game and then went on a 3-1 mini-run for the eventual 22-20 final score.

As has been their standard for the past few years, the U.S. women made it very tough for Canada to score in a set offense.  The taller American side’s wall made it virtually impossible for Canada to score at distance and limited their scoring pretty much only to the occasional breakthrough or wing shot.   Canada, meanwhile, utilized a 3-2-1 defense to great affect disrupting Team USA’s rhythm offensively and limited quality shots on goals.  At times it also forced turnovers leading to much needed fast break opportunities for the Canadians.

Nicole Andersen led the U.S. with 8 goals and Julia Sayer added 5. All but 1 of Team USA’s 22 goals came from four backcourt players (Andersen, Sayer, Rhoads and Darling) while Canada had a very balanced with their 20 goals coming from 9 different players.

The U.S. takes a two goal lead in the two match aggregate playoff.  The U.S. will advance for certain with another win or a 1 goal loss.  Canada will advance with a 3 goal win.  In the event of a two goal Canadian victory the next tiebreaker is away goals scored meaning that the U.S. will need to beat Canada’s 20 goals at Auburn to advance. The second leg of the match will be in Montreal on Wednesday night at 1900 Eastern Time (0100 CET, Thursday Morning).  The match will be live streamed on the Quebec Handball Federation Facebook page:  Link

Scoring

USA:  Nicole Andersen (8), Julia Sayer (5), Jence Rhoads (4), Kathy Darling (4), Monaye Merritt (1)

Canada: Emily Routhier (3), Myriam Laplante (3), Abbey Renee Perry (3), Audrey Marcoux (3), Myriam Zimmer (2), Catherine Leger (2), Haven Wong (2), Katya Chan (1), Rosali Langlois (1)

Video:  USA – CAN Women (Leg 1): Link