Written by Noam Gumerman
WUL Lead Writer
In a packed Week 7, Utah Wild secured their first win of the season over Arizona Sidewinders, and Bay Area Falcons split their road trip at Seattle Tempest and Oregon Soar, resulting in Tempest and Falcons securing the third and fourth spots at Championship Weekend. Here’s how it all went down:
Game 1: Utah Wild 22 - 15 Arizona Sidewinders
Utah Wild won its first game of the season with a seven-point victory over the still-winless Arizona Sidewinders. Arizona jumped out to a lead to start the game, going up 3-1 to start and ending the first quarter up 4-3. The first half was hotly contested ending 8-8, but, at home and in front of a big crowd, Utah cruised in the second half. For Arizona, Paige Applegate (3A, 410ThY) and Melissa Dunn (4G, 4A, 458Y) got off to hot starts and stayed unstoppable all day long. But even adding five goals from Brittany Stettmeier wasn’t enough for the Sidewinders, and they fatigued as the game went on. Whether from playing at altitude, the pressure Utah put on their offense, or the pressure to win a tight game, it was too much. Even throwing and catching the centering pass became too much at times. The Utah Wild defense ran, well, wild, in the second half chaining breaks together multiple times across a dominant 14-7 second half.
For Utah, their first win of the season came from finding part of their identity from last year again. Paige Kercher’s (1G, 3A, 1B, 499Y) big day saw her back to playing exclusively O-line, and become the first WUL player to cross the 10,000 total career yards threshold. She got support via big days from Kat Songer (1G, 3A, 368ThY), and Liz Bunderson (3A, 2B, 301ThY). In fact, there were big performances from up and down the entire Wild roster. Everyone got in on the action giving Utah a true team win. Utah used relentless efficiency to put the game out of reach. And as the Sidewinders' short field turnovers piled up, so too did the Utah break conversions. Wild ended the day converting 9/17 break opportunities, and 80% of their red zone possessions. That killer instinct from the entire team powered them to a big win.
Game 2: Seattle Tempest 11 - 10 Bay Area Falcons
The winner of this game would clinch a spot at Championship Weekend, and the loser would be left with work to do and a mounting sense of pressure. Seattle’s comeback win left Bay Area picking itself up off the mat to take care of business on Sunday. It was a tight, windy, physical defensive battle that the Falcons got the better of for the first three quarters. Each team had numerous opportunities to score, but the elements and defensive pressure were both incredibly effective at stifling offense. Eliza Pugh (3A, 1B, 346Y), Robyn Fennig (1G, 522Y), and Han Chen (1G, 2A, 296Y) led the way as the Falcons built an 8-5 lead part-way through the third quarter.
Sometime in the third quarter, Tempest flipped a switch. Through the final stretch of the game, Tempest went on a 6-2 run to take an 11-9 lead before Bay Area finally punched in a goal with under a minute left to bring it back to a one-point game. The Seattle defense had slowly built pressure across four quarters of ultimate until it was impossible for Bay Area to navigate. Once Seattle had the disc, they operated with ruthless efficiency to put the game away and complete the comeback.
Ikran Elmi (1A, 4B, 195ThY) was a huge part of Seattle’s late turnaround, turning in her best performance of the season highlighted by some lockdown defense in the critical moments. Sadie Jezierski (1G, 1A, 3B, 200Y) continues to be an absolute menace up and down and all over the field, but especially on the defensive side of the disc. Drea Baroma (2A, 2B, 212Y) played a key role downfield for Seattle, helping move the disc and earn blocks in a game where nothing was easy. Tempest’s win leaves them in a good position - when they travel to the Bay for Championship Weekend, they’re unlikely to be the fourth seed (and thus face the regular-season winner in semifinals). While there was little remaining doubt, this win for Seattle fully solidifies it: Tempest is back.
Game 3: Bay Area Falcons 11 - 9 Oregon Soar
After their second loss to Seattle this season on Saturday, Bay Area Falcons dug deep and delivered a solid performance to lock up their second win over Oregon Soar this year and their spot at Championship Weekend. And unfortunately for Oregon, they let their best chance of their final three games to find that first win get away from them. It was another slog for the Falcons; they got the better of the early half of the game. A sloppy, long, first quarter ended up just 1-1, with both teams missing numerous chances to grab an early lead during some marathon points. But the Falcons responded across the middle half of the game, going 9-3 for a 10-4 lead after three quarters. Oregon was able to bring it back within two, but once again they were unable to dial it in for a complete game. And once again, if they’d started stronger, their late-game push could’ve been enough to pick up a win, instead of just shortening the gap.
McKinley McQuaide (3A, 203Y) stepped up big for the Falcons as they established and built their lead. So did Eliza Pugh (1G, 2A, 171Y) with a very solid game of her own. Soar just didn’t have any answers for the poise of Bay Area’s veterans, and didn’t get any kind of rally going until it was too late. A 5-1 fourth quarter made the final score more respectable, but once again Oregon had dug themselves in a hole too deep to climb out of. Eliana Norton (4B, 177Y), Raina Kamrat (3B), and Jackie Riley (1G, 1A, 4B) all tried their best to pull off what would have been a second stunner against Bay Area, but to no avail. It’s been incredibly evident over the last three games that for Soar, many of the pieces to be successful are in place. They’re just not all connecting yet. But once they are…watch out.