HCT finish 2-1-1 at Lipov Memorial Cup

In their second tournament of the season the senior men did not disappoint. Travelling to Chicago for the annual Michael Lipov Memorial Cup hosted by Inter Chicago Handball at Northeastern Illinois University, the squad finished seventh out of 12 teams.

In the opening round, HCT were up by over eight goals midway through the match, but a late surge by Chicago was too much to handle. In the end Chicago netted the equalizing goal on a seven meter penalty for a 21:21 draw.

In their second game, HCT took on last years USA National Championship runners-up. The team had some costly mistakes and could not get their offence flowing and suffered a tough 30:14 defeat.

In their final game of pool play, HCT were rolling from the opening whistle. With a balanced attack they took control and did not slow down ending with a commanding victory 30:13 over Inter Miami Handball Club.

That win booked HCT’s ticket to a 7th place game. In their final match, they faced a technically sound Minsk Handball Club from Belarus. However, the boys were not phased, sealing the win, 23:21.

Top HCT scorers for the tournament were:

Jason 16, Juan 14, and Alexis 13.

The tournament also featured a special presentation where the club also had the opportunity to meet IHF president Hassan Moustafa and handball legend Staffan Olsson.

Thanks to all the players and officials who represented the team at the tournament with respect and class. Also thanks to Inter Chicago Handball and the USA Team Handball for another fantastic event.

And as always, let’s go HCT!