WATCH: Asians excel in the opening weekend of the AUDL season (Scott Xu, Justin Norden, Mark Lin, Kenta Kawaguchi, Matt Smith, Christian Olsen, Victor Luo, Tim Okita, Mark Tran, Calvin Brown, Michael Kiyoi, Ivan Tran)

AsianPlayers | June 11, 2021 | Ultimate Frisbee | No Comments

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Matt Smith (4G, 1A), led the Atlanta offense with four goals and 327 receiving yards. “Brett plays in the zone quite well and is a million feet tall, especial when he lays out. Jakeem can actually match Fairfax’s athleticism, which is a big gain for us, and JP did an amazing job sticking to the game plan on Henry Fisher and limiting his impact.

The Atlanta hype feels very real following their 19-18 overtime victory, despite the fact that they nearly gave the game away. Christian Olsen (3G, 0A, 1B) was also lauded for his defense on Flyers hybrid Allan Laviolette (0G, 2A) while Smith authored two epic and memorable skies, victimizing Justin Allen in the first half and Terrence Mitchell for the first goal of overtime.

*Math Huang Smith scores a goal

“If I’ve learned one thing from eight straight season of being on a team with Matt Smith, it’s that he is going to make the play,” said Kelvin Williams, whose time with Smith dates back to their Alabama club connection. “Whenever I see a disc floating near him, I’m always thinking that he’s going to find a way to come down with it, and he does almost all of the time. Matt may be 32 now, but he’ll be flying for a long time.”

Smith was also 16-for-16 throwing, suggesting that while his interview questions may occasionally exit the playing field, every one of his upline tosses indeed remained in bounds.

While San Jose and Seattle did not reproduce an opening day overtime like their 2019 classic to start that season, the Spiders and Cascades did deliver another entertaining battle that remained in doubt late in the fourth. “Very competitive throughout,” said San Jose’s Justin Norden (2G, 6A), whose 542 throwing yards more than doubled anyone else in the game. “I thought we had it as we were coming back and tied it at 17. There was a ton of momentum for us at that point”. Scott Xu (4G, 1A) debut for San Jose Spiders and had a big offensive game. Mark Lin (1G, 3A) played extensive minutes for San Jose and was a major contributor. The Cascades prevailed 24-21 under the Space Needle at Memorial Stadium. Like the SoCal pairing, San Jose and Seattle reunite in the Bay Area this weekend.

Madison Radicals played a dramatic game against Minnesota Windchill that went into overtime with Minnesota winning 20-18. Victor Luo (3G, 1A) of Radicals played as one of the main handlers. The following day, Madison traveled to play Detroit Mechanix where they dominated to a 34-10 win with Victor Luo (2G, 1A) producing two goals.

The L.A. Aviators got off to a strong start, punching in the game’s first two points and holding a 5-4 lead after one, but San Diego countered with back-to-back goals to begin the second and never trailed again. The two SoCal teams will collide again in San Diego this weekend. San Diego Growlers went on to a 19-16 road victory over Los Angeles. Tim Okita (2G, 4A) was a major contributor as the “quarterback” with Mark Tran (0G, 2A) as his sidekick. Calvin Brown (1G, 3A) of the Aviators threw for the most yards of either team, 383, but was error prone with 8 throwaways. Michael Kiyoi (2G, 3A) was steady as always.