Recap

Rush Win Fourth Straight Match, Topping United 3-1

Rush Women Stifle United Comeback in 15-14 Thriller

Some games are just more electrifying than others. In this, the first game between Toronto United and Rocky Mountain Rush, the women’s pairs put on one heck of a show. The Rush team of Casey Rodgers and Alex Walker did come out on top – just – allowing the United duo of Hannah Blatt and Carolina Hack to stage a furious comeback in the latter half of this contest.

The teams went back and forth initially, with no extended rallies. But, at 3-3, Walker lit up United with an overhand smash. This would not be her last big point, either. After that, both squads dinked well and played just enough offence before the Rush took an 8-6 lead into side change.

Walker again put her stamp on proceedings when she rifled a huge shot that eluded United, going up 9-6. A few points later, United took what was to be a well-timed time out, down 12-8 to the Rush.

United and the Rush traded points after the break, and then Blatt and Hack staged a monumental comeback, scoring three straight points, highlighted by a Hack smash. Now, the Rush did get it to freeze at 14-12, but had to fight tooth and nail to win it. United tied it up on some good rallying and the 14-14 freeze lasted four plays, before Walker put the finishing touches on this close game, smoking a forehand that went between Blatt and Hack.

United Men School Rush to Tie Up Match

For a little while at least, it looked like the Rush team of Brett Forsythe and Sunny Buttar were in this game. But only for a little while. United needed a win here to stay in the match, and Matt Kawamoto and Daniel Gottfried delivered, winning by a wide margin at 15-8.

Gottfried and Kawamoto did come out hot, both making excellent shots to put them up 3-1 early in this tilt. Forsythe and Buttar, though, withstood some blistering offence by United, dinking their way to a 5-5 tie. But United didn’t whither, going into side change up 8-5, with both Kawamoto and Gottfried scoring big points.

Early in the second stanza, Forsythe injected himself into the game, crushing a great overhand to make the score as close as it would get the rest of the way. And Forsythe didn’t help his team’s cause two points later when he was called for a foot fault in the kitchen.

Neither Forsythe nor Buttar had an answer for the great dinking play of United, and both hit the net on returns on three different occasions. Kawamoto put the exclamation point on this lopsided game with a backhand winner to make it 13-8 and two Rush net returns later it was all over.

Rush Mixed Doubles Beat United Handily in Rubber Match

Don’t let the score fool you, this one was not as close as the 15-11 count that the Rush mixed doubles team of Alex Walker and Brett Forsythe beat United’s Hannah Blatt and Matt Kawamoto by. Walker and Forsythe trailed but once – 1-0 – then climbed into the lead with steady play and never gave it up.

Kawamoto – who would have some electrifying shots for points in this contest – got it going at first serve and Forsythe answered with an overhand rocket of his own to tie it up. Soon after, both Kawamoto and Blatt either returned Dura balls long, or hit the Selkirk net on return to go down 5-2. Forsythe returned the favor twice, hitting the net to trim the lead to 5-4 but United would only count once more to the Rush’s three points to trail 8-5 at side change.

Kawamoto and Blatt were game starting the second half, playing solid defense, and getting two bombs from Kawamoto to trail 10-8. Walker contributed an amazing shot of her own, and she and Forsythe rallied well to extend the lead to 12-8. In return, Kawamoto made a seeing-eye lob shot for a point and then he and Blatt dinked in unison and Kawamoto added a blazing forehand to make it close at 12-11.

However, any hope United had of climbing on top and winning this key game evaporated when two returns by Blatt fell short into the net. Walker, for her part, ended this tilt with a great forehand that both Kawamoto and Blatt missed.

Rush Blow Open Tight Game Against United in Match-Clincher

United looked good enough to triumph in this game and send it to a singles tiebreaker, however, the Rush mixed doubles team of Sunny Buttar and Casey Rodgers were even better. Daniel Gottfried and Carolina Hack battled hard in the first half of this contest, but didn’t have enough in the tank to outlast Buttar and Rodger after side change.

Hack did her best Matt Kawamoto impression to open the scoring, hitting a beautiful lob that evaded the Rush and Gottfried flicked another wondrous shot that tied the score 2-2 a bit later. Buttar came alive two points later scorching a backhand to tie it 3-3, while Hack answered with a big forehand winner. The two squads went toe-to-toe leading up to side change, with Buttar again reaching back to smoke an overhand point that put the Rush up 8-7.

Once rested, Gottfried knotted the game up at 8-8 with a great set-up, but it was all Buttar and Rodgers after that. Hack and Gottfried both found the net on consecutive returns and then Buttar and Rodgers rallied to a point to force a United timeout down 11-8. Hack would then send a beautiful cross to cut the lead to 11-9. Buttar once again put his mark on this one, hustling to set up United for a missed return into the net and then crushing a backhand to force United’s second timeout with the Rush up 14-9. It ended rather quietly after that, with United handing the Rush the match with a short return.