Written by Noam Gumerman
WUL Lead Writer
What a first day of Championship Weekend action in the Bay Area. No matter what, the WUL will crown a first time champion on Sunday. It’ll be an all-California final as San Diego Super Bloom and Bay Area Falcons will compete for the first title in program history, while Seattle Tempest and Colorado Alpenglow will battle for third place. Here’s how it all went down.
San Diego Super Bloom 17 - 16 Seattle Tempest
For the first time in their three postseason meetings, San Diego Super Bloom vanquished Seattle Tempest 17-16 to return to the Championship Game since losing to the Seattle squad in the 2023. For Super Bloom, this game was the perfect example of how this team has evolved and grown over the last two years. They won with their defense, the zone they’ve relied on all year, this time paying dividends in a gusty upwind-downwind game. Despite their stars, they won with their depth, letting players like Kaela Helton and Dena Elimelich avoid playing two-thirds of their points like they have in years past. Regular season stalwarts showed up in full force for the postseason as well, with Kristen Pojunis, Kelli Iwamoto, Rebecca Ellis, and Kaitlyn Weaver all showing out with solid performances. And because of that, Super Bloom will have their third chance to capture their first-ever WUL title tomorrow.
During the game, it was Seattle who struck first as Sadie Jezierski skied a pile of defenders to come down with the game’s first break (upwind) and a 5-4 Seattle lead. Maybe a harbinger of things to come, Tempest was unable to convert the downwind break on the next point, despite earning a turn and using a timeout to get their O-line on the field. Once we hit the second quarter though, the San Diego defense got to work. They stacked three breaks in a row to claim a two-goal lead before Seattle responded. Super Bloom held and broke again to complete a 5-1 run in the second quarter, sitting on the verge of blowing the game wide open. Super Bloom let Seattle back into the game, though, first by pulling the disc out of bounds, giving Tempest a short field which they scored from, then Super Bloom dropped the ensuing pull. When the dust settled, SD had a 10-8 halftime lead.
In the second half, Super Bloom largely picked up where they left off. A hold and a break continued their theme, and they played the role of confident, poised favorites, closing out the game despite Seattle bringing it back within one at the end. Their mixture of person and zone defenses slowed the Seattle offense for large portions of the second half. San Diego’s offense wasn’t perfect, but their O-line defense was good enough to hold Seattle until a couple of scores at the very end made the game tighter than it seemed the rest of Q4.
For Seattle, losing to San Diego for the third time in a row, and to be knocked out of championship contention has to sting. But ultimately, this season was a step in the right direction for Tempest. After a surprise down year in 2024, they bounced back with a season more reminiscent of their championship runs in years past. There is still more to work on for Tempest to return to the top of the mountain, but they’ve found their way again.
Bay Area Falcons 19 -16 Colorado Alpenglow
For the second straight year, the underdog Championship Weekend hosts have found their way into the finals, despite matching up against a team that had a much better regular-season resume. Bay Area Falcons dispatched of the previously undefeated defending champion Colorado Alpenglow 19-16 in a game they led wire-to-wire. The Falcons have a chance to make it a three-peat for the home teams at Championship Weekend tomorrow, following in the footsteps of Seattle and Colorado the last two years in their first-ever WUL final.
It was a physical, contentious game between these two teams in just their second-ever meeting. But Bay Area seized control immediately with a dominant first quarter, clearly prepared with an effective game plan to slow down Colorado’s high flying offense. Across the next three quarters of play, every time Colorado made a run and snagged a break or two, or every time the Falcons seemed to have the nerves kick in, they managed to steady themselves and score goals despite some tremendous Alpenglow pressure.
It was a huge, team-wide defensive effort from the Falcons to secure this win. Everyone other than 2024 league MVP Abby Thorpe was held in check by Bay Area. (Thorpe had the night of her career, putting up a league record 8 goals in a single game.) No one has matched up with Colorado this year the way Bay Area did in the semifinal. Additionally, the continued swap of Han Chen from O-line to D-line really helped give Bay Area’s D-line offense enough juice to put serious pressure on Colorado, who had to defend the whole field with their O-line. Splitting Chen from Robyn Fennig on offense has allowed both of Bay Area’s best handlers to control even more touches, and set both the O and D-lines up for success by utilizing their throwing prowess. And it’s worked, as both players left their mark all over this game.
The Alpenglow undefeated run finally came to an end. There will be no undefeated season in 2025, and no repeat champions. Colorado’s depth downfield – the players that turned Colorado’s high-risk, high-reward offense into a nearly unstoppable juggernaut – were held in check by excellent gameplanning from Bay Area. And while Colorado nearly just kept shooting their way back into the game on the back of ratcheting up defensive pressure, it wasn’t enough to overcome Bay Area’s impressive team defense.
The stage is set, and the title is up for grabs—today we crown a new champion. After a shocking semi-final loss to the Bay Area Falcons, top-seeded and defending champs Colorado Alpenglow will now face Seattle Tempest in the 3rd Place Game—two powerhouse teams looking to close the weekend with a statement win. Watch the 3rd place game here.
In the Championship Game, San Diego returns to the final for the third time in franchise history, still seeking their first-ever championship. They’ll face Bay Area, who earned their first trip to the final with a massive upset in front of their home crowd. Watch the Championship Game here.
At the end, a new team will lift the WUL trophy for the very first time.