Minnesota Team Handball and Vegas....they just have something about them when combined.
14 years after MNTH took 2nd at Nationals in Vegas (2010) they came back and took 3rd place against the best in D2 across North America. What a tournament this was, everything you would want to experience in a Handball tournament happened during the journey for Minnesota in Vegas.
Game 1 - vs. Columbus Armada - Group Stage
Minnesota fought off a tough Columbus team with great defense in the 2nd half. Minnesota's offense seemed to stall at times but the consistent play of their defense kept them from losing the first game of Nationals.
Check out the Match here:
Game 2 - vs. Dallas - Group Stage
Oh boy....we won the game. All we can say about this game is we had a dominate play of game in the first half. The second half.....we'll watch the tape and learn from mistakes.
Minnesota goes 2-0 on Day 1 of Nationals!
Game 3 - vs. Miami Storm - Group Stage
Tough game against a very good Miami team. Minnesota kept up well against Miami in the first half but turnovers cost us.
Minnesota finishes 2-1 in Group Stage play and takes 2nd in the group. They move on to the Semi Finals with a chance to play in the Championship Game of D2 at Nationals!
Take a look at this action shot of Right Wing Josh Hetterick during the game.
Game 4 - vs. Maccabi LA - Semi Final
Minnesota losses a heartbreaker in the semi finals against Maccabi LA. Both teams were neck and neck the whole game and this game literally filled the seats of the venue with everyone watching on.
In the end, Minnesota fought hard till the end but couldn't stop the final goal with 6 seconds left in the game.
Minnesota moves on to the 3rd place game the next day.
Game 5 - vs. Vancouver - 3rd Place Game
Minnesota had contorl of the game from beginning to end. Thier most complete game of the tournament and it came at the right moment.
Minnesota finishes the tournament with a 3rd place placement in D2.
Minnesota TH Individual Achievements and Tournament All Stars
Our players Kastu, Sam and Josh made the All Star Team! What a great achievement for 3 players who were very key to our sucess during this weekend.
They got to play in the All Start game where a team of D2 All Stars faced CalHeat in a friendly.
Here's a picture of the All Stars with CalHeat after the game. This is why we LOVE Handball!
Katsu wasn't JUST an All Star...he also made All Tournament Team AND he was the Scoring Champion for D2! What a great tournament for Katsu! Such a great way to end his tenure with MNTH as he heads back to Japan after 2 years with the club.
Captain & President of the Club Josh with Katsu during the award ceromony.
What a great way to end the 2023-2024 Handball Season!
See you next season!
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