The national junior team was trailing the U.S. by three points when a thunderstorm in Lecco, Italy paused the group stage match last month at the U23 World Junior Ultimate Championships. At least, the Canadians thought the match was paused.
“It was the first really close games of the tournament,” said Trevor Knechtel, a defender for Canada who started playing ultimate as a Grade 8 student at Prince of Wales secondary. “We knew we’d get one of the best tests to see how strong they were. The entire team was really disappointed we didn’t get to finish it.”
After the weather cleared, the game didn’t resume. Tournament officials decided the score would stand and Canada ended up third after the group stage while the U.S. led the world with an undefeated record.
The Stars and Stripes team had captured four consecutive titles and was confident a fifth was within its grasp.
But Knechtel said the Canadians could see how the truncated game may have played to their advantage.
“It helped a bit because in that we were trying to learn as much as we could about them and keep a few things secret about us. It ended up working out,” he said. “We played man-to-man defence the entire half game. So we never revealed any of our zone defensive strategies. The offence never ran any of our more complicated plays.”
Playing on an open team with a concentration of athletes from Vancouver, including Knechtel and team captain Hugh Knapp, Canada defeated Germany 17-9 to win the semi-final and prepared to meet the U.S. in the championship final the next day.
On a windy field ripped up from two earlier championship matches, Canada’s defence caused two turnovers and the offence followed through with points on the board.
As the game stormed toward the final point, the teams were even and locked tight three times at 13, 15 and 16.
“Both teams knew it was going to be very, very close,” said Knechtel, adding he thought his teammates were more versatile than their opponents. “I wouldn’t say we were underdogs.”
Finally, Alan Scarth threaded the needle to Darren Wu who climbed the ladder between two U.S. defenders and snatched the game-winning point out of the air. The Canadians ended a historic winning streak with a 17-16 win.
“Now that it’s kind of settling in, it’s a pretty crazy feeling. I know one of the things that this means the most for me is how excited all of the former Team Canada [junior players] are for us, how excited they are that we won,” said Knechtel, who soon begins his second year at the University of Victoria where he plays competitive club ultimate with the Vikes. He is also a new recruit to Vancouver’s Furious George.
”Just about everyone that knows about the win has said congratulations and has been watching the videos online and seeing the photos. It really is more than just a victory for the U23 team, it was for all of Ultimate Canada and everyone that has been a part of the program. It really is a cool feeling.”
twitter.com/MHStewart
