2025 WUL Season: Week 6 Recap

Written by Noam Gumerman
WUL Lead Writer

Week 6 was blockbuster nonstop action across both games. Two tightly contested matches, ending in two clinched spots at Championship Weekend. First, Colorado got the best of Utah for the third time in their last 3 matchups, dating back to the Championship Game last year. Alpenglow have locked up a spot back in the final four and will be defending their title on the biggest stage in the WUL. Down south in San Diego, the Super Bloom beat Seattle Tempest in an instant classic between the two rivals and previously undefeated teams, in a back-and-forth game that ended in overtime with a buzzer-beater for the win. Here’s how it all went down.

Game 1: Colorado Alpenglow 18 - 15 Utah Wild

The Colorado Alpenglow have clinched a spot at 2025 Championship Weekend the same way they ended the 2024 Championship Weekend, with a win over the Utah Wild. It wasn’t as dominant or in control as their previous two wins though. Utah came out hungry to start the game, taking an early 5-2 lead with just under 30 seconds left in the first quarter behind a hot start from Lily Terpstra (5G, 2A, 2B, 412Y) who would go on to have an incredible day despite the loss. Unfortunately for Wild, Alpenglow were able to move the disc down the field and finish the first quarter with a beautiful Rena Kawabata huck to Jade McLaughlin to bring the score within two. From there, this 2025 version of the Alpenglow came to life. No single or small group of players dominated their matchup, instead, the full team showed their chemistry as they turned that 30 second possession into the beginning of an 8-3 run to take half up three.

To Utah’s credit, their second half showed a level of resilience they’d yet to display this season. They fought tooth and nail with one of the strongest teams in the league til the end of the game. In previous weeks, when they got in a hole, they were unable to recover. But this week they stayed in contact with the Alpenglow through the third quarter, and were able to bring it back within one point at 15-14 and 16-15 late in the fourth quarter. They had the disc with an opportunity to tie the game on both points as well. Devastatingly though after forcing a short field turnoverat 16-15, Utah called a timeout they didn’t have, and with their ensuing possession Colorado scored to put the game beyond Utah’s reach in just two throws. There are no moral victories this late into the season. This will just be a tough pill for Wild to swallow, but shows just how resilient this team is.

Game 2: San Diego Super Bloom 16 - 15 Seattle Tempest

Saturday night in San Diego was an all-time WUL classic. Not only was it a matchup between two 3-0 teams vying for a playoff spot (with the inside track towards the top seed), not only was it a battle between two of the biggest powerhouses in the league (with history between them), it was an absolute thriller - ending on a game-winning overtime buzzer-beater for San Deigo. This win was huge for San Diego. They started the game in control, cruising through the first half despite missing six big names at home, including Kaela Helton and Kirsten Pojunis, and built a 9-6 halftime lead. The high usage of zone defense by Super Bloom remains effective, as their opponents struggle to be both patient and assertive enough to swing the disc during the seven-second stall.

As the second half progressed, Tempest began to claw their way back into he game. Beyond some absolute heroics from Sadie Jezierski (4A, 5B, 400Y) and Lauren Page (4G, 3B, 0.5T) Seattle found their rhythm against San Diego. Under more confident Seattle pressure, Super Bloom felt their missing stars and started to slow down. At 13-10 SD with under five minutes left, Tempest put together a goal line stand coming off of a San Diego timeout, marched down the field and cut the lead back to two. Seattle then broke three times in a row to take a 14-13 lead with just 27 seconds left. But San Diego stabilized just in time, and Avery Jones (2G, 3A, 511Y) pulled down a contested deep shot with the clock showing 0:00 to send the game to overtime. 

In overtime, a tightly contested period started with a Super Bloom break and Tempest hold leaving us tied at 15-15 as the game approached its dramatic conclusion. Once again Super Bloom received a pull with under a minute left to play, but this time they had a chance to win. They worked the disc all the way down to just yards outside of the end zone, and seemed to turn over the buzzer-beater attempt, but got a timeout in with two seconds to go. Out of the timeout, Kelli Iwamoto broke free on a front-of-stack, breakside play for the win, leaving Tempest stunned. Dena Elimelech (3G, 1A, 1B, 491Y) and Kaitlyn Weaver (2G, 1A, 3B, 380Y) carried San Diego and showed they can get it done no matter who of their stars are on the field. Seattle showed their ability to fight back into a game, and got a chance to flex their overtime chops which could prove useful heading deeper into the season.

2025 WUL Season: Week 6 Preview

Written by Noam Gumerman
WUL Lead Writer

Week 6 of the WUL season is the first where Championship Weekend clinching scenarios are officially in play! By the end of this week, two teams might have locked up their spot in Championship Weekend 2025. If Colorado Alpenglow win at home against Utah Wild this weekend, they will clinch a spot at Championship Weekend where they will seek for back-to-back WUL titles. Additionally, the winner of Seattle Tempest and San Diego Super Bloom’s clash of undefeated 3-0 teams will clinch a spot in the top four heading to Championship Weekend. There is so much to look forward to this weekend with the top 3 teams in the league on the cusp of clinching. Here’s what you need to know:

Game 1: Utah Wild @ Colorado Alpenglow
Saturday, April 26 | 1 pm PT
Pinnacle Athletic Stadium | Thornton, CO

The two participants in last year’s Championship game are on opposite trajectories this year. The defending champions, Colorado Alpenglow, have not let up,, racing out to a 3-0 record. The 2024 runners-up, Utah Wild, have yet to find their stride from last season, starting out 0-3. However, Utah has had a brutal schedule to start the season, playing all three currently undefeated teams, including a Week 1 22-15 loss to Colorado. It’s do or die for a return to Championship Weekend for Utah. The O-line has struggled for chemistry at times this year and will need to step up if they want to match the efficiency of Colorado. Part of that struggle to find chemistry has been the result of Paige Kercher moving to Utah’s defensive line, which has also limited her usually staggering production. 

For Colorado, it’s been smooth sailing. They are entering Week 6 after a week off and a dominant win over Arizona in which they did not allow a single break. With almost their whole offensiveline returning from 2024, their offense has only been more dynamic and harder to stop in 2025. If they play like they have all season, they will clinch a chance to defend their title at Championship Weekend.

Staff Pick: Colorado 26 - 16 Utah


Game 2: Seattle Tempest @ San Diego Super Bloom
Saturday, April 26 | 6pm PT
Mission Bay High School | San Diego, CA

This is the biggest game of the 2025 WUL season so far! Two 3-0 teams going head to head to secure their spot at Championship Weekend. The history between these two teams make it even more dramatic. Tempest beat Super Bloom twice for WUL titles in 2022 and 2023, and when San Diego finally beat them for the first time ever (1-4 all time against Seattle) in 2024, they were still unable to take the trophy at champ weekend. San Diego is hungrier than they’ve ever been, but they’ll be missing key pieces in Kaela Helton, Abbi Shilts and Kristen Pojunis this weekend. This is their biggest test of 2025. They’ve looked incredible in wins over Utah and Arizona (twice) and this is their first chance to prove they can do it over another title contender as well. They’re deeper than they’ve ever been, and are a well-oiled machine. A win here would be an incredible boost to confidence and belief. 

After Seattle missed out on Championship Weekend last year, there’ll be no better way to make the “we’re back” statement than to clinch a spot over San Diego this weekend. This is a chance to reclaim their spot at the top of the pecking order (for now) and remind San Diego of 2022 and 2023. It would put the rest of the league on notice, and likely rocket the number one favorite status across the league. Seattle has their main stars traveling to San Diego, only missing Hana Kawai. The weather calls for possible rain in the forecast, and with the Helton/Pojunis combo missing, can Seattle impress their will on San Diego? Catch this one live at 6pmPT  on the league YouTube channel!

Staff Pick: San Diego 15 - Seattle 16

2025 WUL Season: Week 5 Recap

Written by Noam Gumerman
WUL Lead Writer

Week 5 was a big one to stratify the standings. San Diego and Bay Area both earned big wins, solidifying their place in the top half of the WUL standings, looking to clinch a playoff spot with just one more win each. On the other end of the games, Arizona and Oregon missed big opportunities to throw their names in for a spot at Championship Weekend. All teams have played at least half their games now, so we’re officially entering the business half of the regular season. Here’s how Week 5’s action shook out, and what it means for each team moving forward.

Game 1: Bay Area Falcons 14 - 12 Oregon Soar

Oregon continues to forge its identity as the plucky underdogs of the 2025 WUL season. They have proven they are capable of putting together excellent stretches of play against some of the best teams in the league. Still, a disappointing trend of being unable to do it for all four quarters continued last weekend against the Falcons. Soar had early promising flashes in the first quarter. After going down 0-2, Soar rallied to take a 4-3 lead with possession late in the first quarter, but they turned it over, giving a short field to Bay Area who tied the game. Later, Soar started off the fourth quarter with a furious 4-0 run to pull the game back to 14-12 after tumultuous second and third quarters. Oregon had the disc on the goal line to bring the game back to a one point deficit, but an open five-yard forehand for the score caught the wind and bounced over the intended target, eventually leading to a Bay Area score to put the game away.

To Bay Area’s credit, they were absolutely dominant across the end of the first quarter through the second and third, going on an 11-4 run during that stretch of play. They looked the more comfortable team in the gusty conditions they often play in at home. And is there a backfield in the league you’d trust more to move the disc in the wind than Han Chen and Robyn Fennig? Both handlers were able to just move the disc with far more ease than anyone else on the field.This was a big statement (admittedly with a slight scare at the end) for Bay Area to make after losing at home to Seattle. A loss here would’ve left them fifth, behind Soar on a head-to-head tiebreaker for the last playoff spot. But instead they are cleanly in fourth, and have a two game lead on everyone chasing them entering the second half of the season.

Han Chen (2G, 2B, 268Y) and Fennig (2G, 1A, 295Y) were the offensive engines for sure, but it was a spread-out, well-rounded, team effort for the win from Bay Area this week. Beth Daviess, was another standout, however, with four assists, nearly a third of all Bay Area goals. The Falcons effectively quieted the previously unstoppable duo of Kimber Coles and Noelle Takahashi this week, but new contributors stepped up big time for the Soar. In particular, Jackie Riley (3G, 1A, 1B, 327 RecY) had another big day.


Game 2: San Diego Super Bloom 20 - 12 Arizona Sidewinders

For the second time this year, San Diego handily beat Arizona to remain undefeated and put itself in position to clinch a spot at Championship Weekend. It’s easy to forget that just last year San Diego and Arizona played two games that went down to the wire. San Diego’s statement wins this year speak to the leaps Super Bloom have made as a team since last season. San Diego forced Arizona to play a ton of zone offense, stifling a team that really liked to run and make big plays last year, especially with Paige Applegate in the lineup for just the second time this year so far. They ran so much zone that despite gaining 200+ more yards than Arizona, they threw 140 fewer passes.

The turning point in the game came early in the second quarter. San Diego turned a slightly better first-quarter performance into a three-goal lead after 12 minutes of play. Despite Super Bloom starting the quarter on offense, a long point and inability to hold meant that after a timeout was called, Sidewinders had their offense on, looking to break. Several opportunities and five minutes of game clock later, the point ended in a San Diego hold to go up four, and the game would never be closer than three points again. In fact, for the second week in a row, Arizona failed to register a single defensive break in a game. They really struggled playing offense when their D line generated a turn. Despite registering eight clean holds of the 12 they scored, their red zone efficiency for the game ended barely above 50%, meaning they had a lot of opportunities they couldn’t complete.

It wasn’t all doom and gloom for the Sidewinders, though. As mentioned, Paige Applegate (4A, 383ThY) provided both a spark and a steadying presence in the backfield. Chip Chang (3A, 1B, 316ThY) also had her best game of the season, and Lauren Pisani (3G, 1B, 286RecY) was incredibly effective downfield too. And yes, for the Super Bloom, there are greater tests coming, but this team looks better than it’s ever been. The stars are out, shining, and there are more of them than ever before. Dena Elimelech (4G, 1A, 1B, 310Y) led the way today but Kristen Pojunis (1G, 2A, 2B, +/- 4.5), Kaela Helton (1G, 3A, 1B, 364Y), and Kaitlyn Weaver (1G, 1A, 2B, +/- 3) were all over the stat sheet. That doesn’t even touch on the the big days from Abby Shilts (4A, 3B, 0T) and Rebecca Ellis (2G, 3A, 1B, 362Y).

2025 WUL Season: Week 5 Preview

Written by Noam Gumerman
WUL Lead Writer

During this weekend of WUL action, we will cross the halfway threshold for the 2025 regular season! Oregon Soar, Bay Area Falcons, and San Diego Super Bloom will all play their third game of the season while Arizona Sidewinders will be the first team to hit four games. Each team has something different they are playing for, and the playoff picture is beginning to solidify. Here’s everything to look out for in Week 5 of the 2025 WUL Season.

Game 1: Oregon Soar @ Bay Area Falcons
Saturday, April 19 | 4pm PT
Fremont High School | Oakland, CA

Oregon Soar traveling to the Bay Area to take on the Falcons may just be the most compelling matchup of the 2025 season so far. Oregon is still looking for their first win as a franchise, however, they nearly pulled off a furious comeback against Colorado Alpenglow in the second half of Week 3. Soar really looked like they turned a corner in their second game, in large part thanks to the incredible duo of Noelle Takahashi and Kimber Coles. With a win this weekend, Oregon would have the inside track to a playoff spot. The Falcons meanwhile, are coming off a tight loss to a resurgent Seattle Tempest squad, and have fallen behind after being the best regular season team in the league last year. If Bay Area can rebound and find their form, they will build a clear divide between the top four teams in the league, and everyone else. A loss here would raise some concerns and doubts about Bay Area’s ability to make Championship Weekend, and offer a lot of hope to the three currently winless teams. But Bay Area will still be the heavy favorites, despite the results from Week 3. Bay Area’s experience and deep roster, as well as playing at home, should leave them as favorites, but Oregon has all the momentum, and are hungry for their first win.

Staff Pick: Bay Area 13 - Oregon 9


Game 2: San Diego Super Bloom @ Arizona Sidewinders
Saturday, April 19 | 7pm PT
Tempe High School | Tempe, AZ

In our second Week 5 matchup, we have a very David vs. Goliath battle. On one side, we have a humming, in-sync machine of a team in San Diego Super Bloom, who are 2-0, have won both games by an average of nine points each, and are deeper and more star-studded as a roster than they’ve ever been. On the other, we have an Arizona Sidewinders team on the heels of a huge blowout loss to Colorado, still looking for their identity, their first win, and 0 - 6 all-time record against San Diego. It’s going to take a herculean effort for Arizona to pull off the upset. Last year, they were able to take San Diego down to the wire both times these teams played. Three weeks ago though, San Diego cruised to a 23-14 win over Arizona. In that matchup, Arizona could not create even half as many break opportunities as San Diego did, and converted less than a quarter of what their opponents did. They’ll have to play better on both sides of the disc, and rise to the occasion in the clutch moments in a way they couldn’t last year if they want to pull off the upset.

Staff Pick: San Diego 20 - Arizona 16

2025 WUL Season: Week 4 Recap

Written by Noam Gumerman
WUL Lead Writer

Another week has come and gone, and with it the top half of the league continues to separate themselves from the bottom half in the standings. In last weekend’s games, two of the top teams of the 2025 WUL season made clear statements about their 2025 goals, with defending WUL Champion Colorado Alpenglow and the only two-time champion franchise Seattle Tempest each cruising to 3-0 records. Meanwhile, both the Arizona Sidewinders and Utah Wild fell to 0-3, digging themselves into big holes that push this year’s championships further out of reach. Here’s how it all went down:

Game 1: Colorado Alpenglow 26 - 12 Arizona Sidewinders

It was two complete halves of domination from Colorado on Saturday afternoon, contrary to their weak second half against Oregon in Week 3. Colorado had a pinnacle week as they accumulated the most yards in a single game in WUL history (2117), threw the most completed hucks in a game (15), tied the largest margin of victory ever (14) and became the fifth team ever to allow no breaks in a game. The returns of Abby Thorpe and Sarah Levinn to the Alpenglow O-line after their week off was immediately and predictably helpful with Levinn scoring the first Colorado O-line goal and Thorpe scoring and assisting early and often. Colorado is the most dangerous downfield team in the league when their whole offense is present. Ari Nelson is spoiled for choice on who to throw to, and this week Arizona had no answer for Thorpe, Levinn, Allysha Dixon, Sarah Itoh, and just about everyone else playing offense for Colorado. Because Alpenglow’s O-line is so fast and comfortable stretching the field, it’s a nightmare for teams to try to break against.

It was a rough day across the board for Arizona, as they struggled to get much going on offense throughout the game. They had some success on defense where they extended points and forced Alpenglow into timeouts, but they were never able to get the better of those points. Two big factors in Arizona’s struggles were a lack of composure on the goal line and an inability to move the disc with ease on offense. When Arizona did manage to work the disc into the red zone, they were often let down by that final throw or cut, lacking the composure to score the point. Arizona felt the pressure of quick offensive points from Colorado, hardly letting the Sidewinders offense recover before returning to the field.

Abby Thorpe and Rory Veldman were two of the multitude of players with fantastic days for Colorado. Thorpe finished with four goals, one assist, one block and 464 total yards, while Veldman had one goal, five assists, two blocks, and 406 yards. Rookie Rena Kawabata had a breakout day with three goals, one assist, one block and over 300 yards. Melissa Dunn was a bright spot for Arizona with three goals, two assists, 376 yards, and just two turnovers.


Game 2: Seattle Tempest 19 - 14 Utah Wild

Saturday’s game between Seattle and Utah was a tale of two teams on opposite trajectories. Seattle Tempest kept on rolling, putting their tumultuous 2024 season in the rearview mirror. Meanwhile, Utah Wild remain winless in 2025 as they struggle to recapture the late-season magic they found last year that propelled them to the 2024 WUL Championship Game. Once again, Utah started the game stronger than their opponent, starting 2-0 and then 3-2 up on Seattle. But once again, they were unable to hold onto their early advantage. Utah never recovered after Seattle scored three points in a row to end the first quarter. During this run, Seattle maintained nearly 45 seconds of possession in the red zone after the clock expired to punch in an incredibly calm and collected break to go up 5-3. Seattle effectively utilized the gusty home conditions and some excellent defense to force short field turnovers from Utah. They built a six-goal lead with 20 seconds left in the half before Wild scored their own end-of-clock goal to go into halftime down 12-7.

Similar to the Alpenglow-Sidewinders game, this one was again a tale of a team playing with their full identity, and one still finding it. Throughout the game, Tempest looked at ease with Sadie Jezierski back in action, who made plays up and down the field all game, finishing with three assists, one block and 376 total yards. Tempest looked comfortable running a variety of defensive sets and getting contributions from their entire roster. They used that comfort to extend their lead in the third quarter before Utah ultimately pulled back within a few points in the fourth. Meanwhile, Utah Wild, are still looking to their groove. With Kercher spending another week on the D line, the offense needs to find a way to be more consistent. On the D-line, they need to figure out how to utilize Kercher’s throwing ability to be significantly more efficient with break opportunities than they’ve been, as her 80 yards of output this weekend was a career-low. 

In addition to Jezierski, Seattle’s Lexi Garrity scored four goals, and Hana Kawai had a fantastic all around day with three goals, two assists, one block and 337 total yards. For Utah, Kyra Khoroujnikova scored four times and Kat Songer had five assists and over 400 total yards on the day.

2025 WUL Season: Week 4 Preview

Written by Noam Gumerman
WUL Lead Writer

It’s already Week 4 in the 2025 WUL season, and this Saturday features two teams looking to continue hot starts and push to 3-0 records, and two teams sputtering to start their seasons and hoping to avoid 0-3 starts. To kick off Week 4 action Arizona Sidewinders will travel to the unbeaten defending champs Colorado Alpenglo. Then, last years runners-up Utah Wild head north to face a refreshed and dialed-in Seattle Tempest squad. Here’s what you need to know:

Game 1 Arizona Sidewinders @ Colorado Alpenglow
Saturday, April 13 | 5pm PT
Pinnacle Athletic Stadium | Thornton, CO

Arizona was the only team to get last week off, and are hoping their extra time in the lab will give them the boost they need to pull off an upset and right the ship. At their best, Arizona has been a gritty underdog capable of pushing the best teams in the league, and they will get an opportunity to do just that this weekend. They are playing a Colorado Alpenglow team that looked vulnerable in the second half against Oregon last week. Yes, they were on the road, and yes, they were missing some big contributors on offense, but Colorado’s second half showed that they do not always use that extra gear on offense that powered them to the 2024 WUL Championship. Their offense can be inefficient, and their defense is still hovering around league average. If Arizona can coalesce as a cohesive unit this week, they could catch the defending champions off-guard. I’m not sure I’d count on it though, as getting Sarah Levinn and Abby Thorpe back from absences last week will give Colorado a larger margain for error, and Arizona still needs established stars like LP Aragon and Chip Chang to hit their stride, as well as some role players to step into extra responsibility if they want to pull this off.

Staff Pick: Colorado 20 - Arizona 17


Game 2: Utah Wild @ Seattle Tempest
Saturday, April 13 | 1pm PT
Seattle Memorial Stadium | Seattle, WA

Sure Arizona has a had a tough schedule to start the season, but what about Utah? Drawing the three teams undefeated through the first weeks of play is tough, and they travel to Seattle to complete the gauntlet. Their first two games were both big losses t Colorado and San Diego. Their game last week against San Diego was especially rough as the Utah offense went ice cold after the first quarter, scoring just once in the second, then just once in the entire second half. In large part this appeared to be in part caused by switching Paige Kercher onto the D-line. Kercher is Utah’s offensive engine, and while a team wants fire power on their D-line, Utah couldn’t stop San Diego’s offense at all last week to give her the chance to contribute. On offense, the Utah handlers struggled to gain momentum, resulting in short-field giveaways to San Diego. Seattle on the other hand, earned a statement win last week against Bay Area. They are looking to put the league back on notice with a 3-0 start to the season. And they are winning the same way they did in 2022 and 2023, with depth. Players like Cheryl Hsu and Sadie Jezierski carry more of the load, but Seattle has contributors up and down the entire roster that few teams in the league can match. Twelve different players had a goal contribution on just 12 goals scored last week against the Falcons. They showed they can earn an away win in bad weather, and will be the favorites to keep rolling unless Utah finds the rhythm they’ve been lacking so far in 2025.

Staff Pick: Seattle 20 - Utah 14

Additionally, keep an eye on Paige Kercher’s yardage output this weekend, as she is just 525 away from being the first player in WUL history to eclipse 10,000 total yards!

2025 WUL Season: Week 3 Recap

Written by Noam Gumerman
WUL Lead Writer

Week 3 saw all teams get to two games played. Oregon Soar looked much cleaner than last week in a loss to 2024 champions Colorado Alpenglow, outscoring Colorado in the second half. San Diego continued to lean on their plethora of stars in a thorough dismantling of Utah Wild, and Seattle Tempest gritted out a win on the road against Bay Area Falcons.

Game 1: Colorado Alpenglow 17 - 14 Oregon Soar

For much of the first half, both teams looked set to offer repeat performances from their season opener. Colorado was humming on offense, unlocking the entire field with big throws, content to play multi-possession points they felt confident they’d win. Oregon, on the other hand, continued to struggle to capitalize on the opportunities Colorado gave them. Soar had some trouble moving the disc when facing a zone look, and struggled converting red zone offensive opportunities. However, they did earn those turnovers through high defensive pressure. All of that amounted to a 12-5 dominant first half by Alpenglow, capped by an incredibly composed red zone possession to end the second quarter and finish the half on a score.

The second half was a different story. The lack of Colorado downfield anchors Sarah Levinn and Abby Thorpe became apparent. Alpenglow offense looked out of sync, missing throws and catches, while Soar began to get their legs under them. Oregon began converting break opportunities more efficiently, running their offense with more flow than we’ve seen yet, and unlocked a new electric duo in Noelle Takahashi and Kimber Coles. Takahashi and Coles’ chemistry on the field together was obvious as they threw four scores just to each other throughout the game, including some hockey assists to boot. Soar pulled a 12-5 halftime deficit back to a 15-13 game with 5:20 left in the fourth quarter. However, after a long Oregon hold, Colorado responded with a quick score off an Ari Nelson huck over the entire Soar zone to Allysha Dixon in the endzone for a momentum-turning goal. On the next point, Soar fell victim to the Alpenglow zone, and Colorado found their lethal efficiency once again, punching in the break and putting the game out of reach for Oregon

Dixon, Nelson and Jade McLaughlin were three of the standouts for Colorado. Dixon had three goals, two assists, and 245 yards; Nelson had one goal, four assists, one block, and 343 throwing yards; McLaughlin added three goals and an assist, alongside 381 yards. For Oregon, Takahashi and Coles were electric up and down the whole field, with Takahashi ending the day with one goal, five assists, two blocks, and 417 yards, and Coles with three goals, one assist, and 435 yards. Zoe Luke also had an outstanding game with four goals and three blocks.

Game 2: San Diego Super Bloom 17 - 8 Utah Wild

For most of the first quarter, Utah looked poised to push San Diego to the end and fight for a big early-season upset. Lily Terpstra set the tone with an incredible layout score on the first point of the game to cap a calm, confident, and collected Utah first possession against a San Diego zone. Then Wild jumped out to an early 5-2 lead highlighted by two breaks scored by Eva Hayes, as Super Bloom struggled to find their footing on the road. Ultimately, San Diego stabilized, scored, and began to settle in, breaking back to end the first quarter down just one goal (5-4) after Wild failed to run out the 55 second clock before giving the disc to San Diego.

From there, the rest of the game was all Super Bloom. Utah scored three times in the final three quarters, twice in the second, zero in the third, and only once in the fourth. Kaitlyn Weaver continues to be seamlessly integrated into this San Diego squad, paired with the return of Avery Jones, and the addition of Margot Nissen to the backfield. Nissen’s stabilizing presence and ability to get the disc moving off of stoppages allowed heavy hitters like Kaela Helton and Dena Elimelech to do what they do best: dominate the downfield space. San Diego got all of that flowing after Q1 and never looked back. Utah looked lost on offense at times after their hot start, struggling to throw and catch simple swing passes against a zone, let alone push the disc down the field. Paige Kercher played a lot of D-line on Saturday, and the O-line didn’t look comfortable at all without her.

Despite playing mostly D-points, Kercher still had a big day, scoring once and clocking 365 yards for Utah. Abbie Davis, 2024 Breaking POTY, was another standout, logging three blocks and one goal for the Wild. Dena Elimelech was the downfield engine for San Diego in this game, scoring four times, throwing one assist, and adding two blocks alongside 355 yards. Additionally, Kaitlyn Weaver had five assists for San Diego, alongside Abbi Shilts’ three goals, one assist, two blocks performance.

Game 3: Seattle Tempest 12 - 10 Bay Area Falcons

In a windy, gritty, and tightly contested game, Seattle Tempest managed to cling to a narrow lead throughout the second half to hold off Bay Area Falcons and secure a big road win. This was very easily a game that could have swung the other way, or even been a blowout if one team was able to convert on offense just a little more efficiently than they did. For much of the first half, things went the hosts’ way. Bay Area won a brutally long third point, featuring timeouts from both teams, and used that to take a 6-3 lead early into the second quarter. Cheryl Hsu was the anchor that kept Seattle in the game early with four assists in the first half, before Tempest found their best stretch of play across the entire game. Seattle scored four times on their next five possessions to claim a 7-6 lead, with Bay Area missing a huck that would have tied the game on the last throw of the half.

The second half was even more of a grind than the first. Time after time, both teams would work the disc down the field only to lose possession on a drop or turfed throw (partially thanks to an unpredictable wind). It was a slog of a third quarter that finished tied up at 9-9, Bay Area receiving the pull with the opportunity to retake the lead for the first time all half. They worked into the Seattle red zone not once, not twice, but three times on the over-four-minute point that ended after multiple timeouts and a Seattle break. With this momentum, Seattle broke again to go up 11-9. Bay Area finally scored their first and only point of the fourth quarter, followed by Seattle holding on a 38 second, one possession point to remove any thought of a comeback from the minds of Falcons players and fans. 

Julia Hasbrook was one of the sparkplugs for Seattle this week, with three goals and 293 yards, and only being credited with 0.5 turnovers despite rough conditions. Lauren Page also had an impressive day with one goal, two assists, one block and 283 yards of offense with no turnovers. Cat Chung also played a clean game, scoring three times and contributing 243 yards. Robyn Fennig was the driver for Bay Area’s offense, scoring three times with 464 total yards. Alexi Zalk, a long time Bay veteran, contributed a well-rounded game with one goal, two assists, two blocks, and 212 yards.

2025 WUL Season: Week 3 Preview

Written by Noam Gumerman
WUL Lead Writer

It’s a full Saturday of action for Week 3 of WUL action. First, Colorado Alpenglow travel north looking to continue their title defense 2-0 against an Oregon Soar team hosting their first-ever home game. Next, San Diego Super Bloom make their way to Utah to face off against the Wild in just the third-ever matchup between these two teams, with the last one coming back in 2023 at Championship Weekend. And finally, a resurgent Seattle Tempest head south to face off against the Bay Area Falcons, a team that was flying high in Week 2. Here’s what you need to know:

Colorado Alpenglow @ Oregon Soar

The newest team in the league hosts the defending champs to kick off Week 3 action. We last saw Alpenglow in Week 1, where they jumped out to a quick first-quarter lead in their 2024 title rematch against Utah, then maintained that lead on their way to a convincing win.Their defense looked a level up from where it was throughout the 2024 regular season, and their offense was its typical explosive self that we’ve come to expect from Alpenglow. If the offense keeps humming like it has over the last year, they will be hard to stop. 

For Oregon, they have an opportunity to match the intensity of an established powerhouse, a feat they couldn’t quite manage last week against Seattle. There were periods of success for Oregon, breaking twice to start the second half, and earning multiple chances at a third in a row. Late in the game, however, they struggled to find success against Seattle’s poachy and zone looks. How they handle the start of the game and any non-person defense (which Colorado already has played in Week 1) will be deciding factors for Oregon’s success. 

Seattle Tempest @ Bay Area Falcons

Week 2’s winners face off immediately in Week 3, and both Bay Area and Seattle showed a lot to like during their convincing season-opening wins. They were similar games too, with each team using a dominant stretch of play or two to put the game far out of reach from their opponents. Bay Area ended the first half on a 9-2 run to take a six-goal lead into halftime, which never got closer than five in the second half, while Seattle ended the game on an 11-1 run, including shutting Oregon out in the fourth quarter. Both of these teams showed they have a switch they can flip that separates them from teams that lack the depth and experience up and down the roster than both Tempest and Falcons have in spades. 

One team will come out of this game with the potential to be top of the league standings early in the 2025 season, while the other will have to stew on this loss for a month until these teams finish their season series against each other in a month. Last week, Seattle looked incredibly comfortable in their gusty conditions at home, able to navigate windy conditions with a complete suffocating team effort on defense. Can they replicate that on the road, against 2024’s best regular season team that looks like they’ve only gotten better?

San Diego Super Bloom @ Utah Wild

Both San Diego and Utah had byes in Week 2, which means we’ll get a clear look at whose extra week of preparation paid off the most. San Diego went into their break on the heels of a big season-opening win against Arizona that saw them back to their usual selves: the most consistent regular season team in the league over the last four years led by a core of some of the best players in the world. Utah, on the other hand, failed to avenge a Championship Game loss to Colorado in their opener and went into the break needing to build more chemistry on their roster of multiple rookies. They are dealing with more roster turnover than league-average, and they will need people to step into playmaker roles if they want to make another deep postseason run in 2025.

Their biggest challenge this week will be finding ways to slow down and contain San Diego’s stars… something no one else has fully figured out yet. San Diego may not give Utah as many chances to break as Colorado’s huck-happy offense, so the Wild will need to be more efficient with their offense on break opportunities (the Wild only converted 2/16 break opportunities in Week 1). For San Diego, the name of the game is continuing to integrate the new pieces that are carrying a heavy load, and to engage as much of the team as possible so they can practice playing sustainable, winning ultimate that will last beyond just the regular season.

2025 WUL Season: Week 2 Recap

Written by Noam Gumerman
WUL Lead Writer

Week 2 of the WUL has wrapped and all seven teams have now officially begun their 2025 seasons! Two more teams added statement wins to their resumes, matching the dominance shown by San Diego and Colorado a week ago. Here’s what went down on Saturday:

Game 1: Seattle Tempest 24 - 10 Oregon Soar

In Oregon’s league debut, Seattle came out looking like the two-time WUL Champions they are, and never let off the gas. Oregon heavily relied on 2023 Breakout Player of the Year Nominee Raina Kamrat to keep the disc moving in tight spots, and newcomers Jackie Riley and Wren Vogel to move the disc up the field (357 total yards and 424 total yards, respectively). Notably, Oregon was missing Julia Sherwood and Mariel Hammond, two of their most experienced players. After giving up nine points in a row, with Seattle forcing Soar into 32(!) break opportunities, Oregon has some major strategy adjustments to make if they are going to stay in the running in their inaugural season.

On Seattle’s end, Sadie Jezierski feasted with an unreal +9 game with 296 total yards, two goals, four assists, and five blocks. Alexa Kirkland and Cheryl Hsu lead the way for the Tempest offense and backfield, Kirkland throwing for 307 yards and assisting five goals, and Hsu throwing 286 yards and assisting four goals. It’s a positive sign that the Soar hung in against Tempest for three quarters, but they’ll need to find a way to maintain that intensity throughout the entire game to prevent another fourth-quarter shutout in future games.

Game 2: Bay Area Falcons 23 - 17 Arizona Sidewinders

Likely in part due to high player retention, Bay Area looked in mid-season form as they cruised to a six-goal win over Arizona. After a 2024 season full of eye-popping throwing numbers, Han Chen has a new lethal backfield partner in WUL newcomer Robyn Fennig. Those two are the likely favorites to be the best backfield duo in the league as they continue to develop their chemistry. Chen and Fennig combined for nearly 800 throwing yards, while Fennig added over 100 receiving yards and six assists and Chen scored three goals. 

Downfield, Bay Area was deadly at creating space for their players, led by Amanda Meroux (262 receiving yards / 2 goals) and Jackelyne Nguyen (4 goals / 237 receiving yards). They looked like a well-oiled machine in their first game, converting on half of their 16 break opportunities and going 7/8 on hucks. Arizona on the other hand had another rough game; they were unable to operate as efficiently as their opponents going just 3/13 on break opportunities, and struggling to get the disc back after turning it over on offense. Bright spots included Chip Chang with 2 goals, 2 assists with 343 yards, and downfield target WUL rookie, Brittany Stettmeier, who also logged 2 goals, 2 assists, 1 block and 354 total yards. Arizona has a bye week for Week 3, and will look to get back on track when they travel to Colorado during Week 4.

2025 WUL Season: Week 2 Preview

Written by Noam Gumerman
WUL Lead Writer

Four WUL teams are in action once again as we look ahead to Week 2, including the three teams that had a bye Week 1 (Bay Area, Seattle, and Oregon), Here’s what to look for ahead of the games this weekend:

Game 1: Oregon Soar @ Seattle Tempest
Saturday, March 29 | 5pm PT
Seattle Memorial Stadium| Seattle, WA

The WUL’s newest franchise Oregon Soar make their debut against the WUL’s most accomplished team, 2x WUL Champions Seattle Tempest. The Cascadia rivalry reignites! Both teams face a lot of questions about their 2025 seasons. As a new expansion franchise, Oregon is largely made up of professional ultimate rookies. So much is up in the air. How will the Soar perform? Who will they rely on? And how will they stack up against teams with more experience in the pro circuit? Similar questions swirl around the Tempest. Since Seattle’s second WUL title, they’ve undergone a fair bit of roster turnover, and sputtered and struggled to find consistency in 2024. Will they return to their three-line rolling subs? Who will step up and fill the big roles on this squad? Despite the questions surrounding Seattle, they are the more experienced  squad and the favorites to start Oregon’s league introduction with a loss.

Staff pick: Seattle 22 - 16 Oregon

Game 2: Bay Area Falcons @ Arizona Sidewinders
Sunday, March 29 | 7pm PT
Mountain View HS | Mesa, AZ

Last year’s best team of the regular season, Bay Area Falcons, kick off their 2025 campaign against an Arizona Sidewinders team coming off  a Week 1 loss to San Diego. Last week, Arizona struggled to get any offensive momentum in the red zone, and will need stat-worthy performances from everyone on the roster if they want to pull off the upset. On Bay Area’s side, Robyn Fennig is the big-name offseason addition to a team that is bringing back a lot of continuity. High caliber offensive performances were the name of the game in Week 1, and Bay Area’s own offensive force Han Chen will look to continue that trend in Week 2. Bay Area’s depth and consistency will likely be the difference maker against Arizona this weekend. 

Staff pick: Bay Area 20 - 17 Arizona

2025 WUL Season: Week 1 Recap

Written by Noam Gumerman
WUL Lead Writer

The first weekend of WUL action in 2025 is in the books. And what a weekend it was! Colorado and San Diego picked up big wins over Utah and Arizona. There were big-time performances from big-time players all weekend as well, giving exciting previews for the rest of the season still ahead of us. Here is how it all went down:

Game 1: Colorado Alpenglow 22 - 15 Utah Wild

In our long-awaited 2024 Championship Game rematch, Colorado picked up right where they left off. In their second straight big win against Utah, they demonstrated a similar team identity to their 2024 WUL Championship team: running the offense through 2024 WUL Offensive Player of the Year Ari Nelson, who set the single-game throwing yards record with 622, and their big athletic receivers. Seven Colorado players had more than 145 receiving yards, led by Rory Veldman with 307.. Interestingly, Colorado’s approach to efficiency seems opposite to what one might expect. On offense they only converted clean holds three times out of their 13 total holds. However, Utah was only able to convert two of 16 break opportunities, as Colorado’s offense was routinely able to get the disc back and convert. Meanwhile, Colorado’s defense was ruthlessly efficient by comparison, converting nine of 17 opportunities. 

The stats show that Utah was fielding a less experienced roster than Colorado. The zone look they used on occasion was successful at generating turnovers against Alpenglow, they just couldn’t convert their early opportunities and the game slipped out of reach. Individual performances were a different story for Utah: Paige Kercher continued to add her name to different spots in the WUL record book finishing with 650 throwing plus receiving yards, good for the sixth highest number all time*., Cass Williams had a career day scoring four goals to go along with 175 receiving yards.

Game 2: San Diego Super Bloom 23 - 14 Arizona Sidewinders

Early signs indicate the Super Bloom machine is once again humming in 2025. Despite getting broken to start the game, San Diego rolled to a very quick four goal lead that they carried into halftime and maintained through the third quarter. Then they scored the first five points of the fourth in a row to crush any thoughts of a comeback. San Diego’s defense feasted, converting 9 of a staggering 23 break opportunities. They completed nearly 50% of their 16 hucks, and were incredibly efficient near the end zone. Arizona couldn’t generate the same pressure or operate at the same efficiency Super Bloom did. They struggled to advance the disc to the endzone, but were usually able to generate a few looks per possession. By the end of the game the Sidewinders had completed over 150 more passes than San Diego, a reflection of Super Bloom’s defensive pressure. Once again, the more experienced team looked readier for Week 1. 

And speaking of experience, the field is Kaela Helton’s world that we all merely inhabit around her. The 2023 league MVP is showing her choice as a selection for the World Games roster right now, tying the league record with 11 G+A (Maggie O’Connor vs BAY in 2023) dropping the second game in WUL history with at least three goals, three assists, and 300 yards of throwing and receiving, and marking the first time she did it with at least three blocks. She also played a league-high 27(!) points, and continues to redefine what is possible on an ultimate field. New addition Kaitlyn Weaver looks poised to pick up where she left off with Los Angeles back in 2023 as an MVP finalist, with her usage entering the same tier as Helton and co-star Dena Elimelech. Watch out for when she gets more comfortable playing with the entire Super Bloom roster.

For Arizona, despite a frustrating result, stalwart snake LP Aragon had a standout game leading the offense with 572 throwing yards and five assists. The team was able to cycle through their looks, as evidenced by completing more passes than their opponent, but they couldn’t carry those possessions through to the endzone. In addition to Aragon, Arizona used veteran Chip Chang to distribute to receivers like Lauren Pisani and highlight machine Cynthia Thomas. The Sidewinders were without offensive staple Paige Applegate for this game who will certainly provide a boost upon her return, and with some extra team chemistry under their belt, the Sidewinders will look to find their form ahead of their next game. They will get to play at home, making it more likely their key pieces will be present.

*This weekend two other players earned spots in the top 5 total yards with Kaela Helton earning the 658 yards for 5th best and Ari Nelson earning the 3rd best single-game performance here with 685 yards.

2025 WUL Season: Week 1 Preview

Written by Noam Gumerman
WUL Lead Writer

Week 1 of the 2025 WUL season is finally here! Two games kick off the season this weekend, featuring a championship game rematch, and the renewal of one of the most tightly contested matchups from last season. 

Game 1: Colorado Alpenglow @ Utah Wild
Saturday, March 22 | 4pm PT
Judge Memorial HS | Salt Lake City, UT

The 2025 season begins how 2024 ended, with a showdown between Colorado Alpenglow and Utah Wild. Despite both teams coming off rollercoaster 3-3 regular seasons, Colorado and Utah found their strides when it counted to meet in the 2024 WUL Championship Game. In 2024, both of these teams featured aggressive, big-play-oriented offenses – Colorado, led by 2024 WUL MVP Abby Thorpe and 2024 WUL Offensive Player of the Year Ari Nelson, and Wild driven by 2024 Breakout Player of the Year Abbie Davis paired with 2023 Offensive Player of the Year Paige Kercher. Both teams split their regular season series last year, playing two tightly contested games that went down to the wire. Colorado will be looking to start their title defense off right and pick up right where they left off with their big win over Utah. Meanwhile Utah will look to show their rivals that last year’s blowout in the Championship does not reflect how close these rivals have played each other in the past, and that they are ready for another shot at the champs. 

Game 2: Arizona Sidewinders @ San Diego Super Bloom
Sunday, March 23 | 2pm PT
Mission Bay HS | San Diego, CA

Had just three points gone a different way in the two matchups between these teams last year, Arizona Sidewinders would have found themselves at Championship Weekend in place of San Diego Super Bloom. Near misses and heartbreak were the themes of 2024 for Arizona, as they very nearly won so many games last year that just got away from them at the end. This year they get an early chance to flip the script and show that they are a new team in 2025 with their Week 1 matchup against Super Bloom, a team that has had their number over the last several years. Making the Sidewinders’ job even harder is the return of the most decorated core in the league to San Diego – Kaela Helton, Dena Elimelech, Kelli Iwamoto, and Kristen Pojunis – combined with the return of Avery Jones after a year off, and the addition of former MVP finalist Kaitlyn Weaver as well. This San Diego crew will have to prove they can still get it done against Arizona’s offensive backbone of Chip Chang, Paige Applegate, and LP Aragon, who will be looking to guide Arizona to a 1-0 start and their first-ever win over San Diego.

WUL Championship Weekend 2023 Location Announced

The Western Ultimate League is pleased to announce the host city for our 2023 Championship Weekend: Seattle, Washington.

Taking place June 3-4, 2023, WUL Championship Weekend will see the top two teams from each conference (4 total) compete for the cup at Memorial Stadium, under the iconic Space Needle.

Championship Weekend will be hosted by 2022 WUL champions, the undefeated Seattle Tempest. Full event details are available through the host team here.

All four games will be broadcast live on the WUL’s YouTube channel in partnership with Ultiworld.

Opening weekend of our 2023 season is just a few weeks away, and will feature rematches of 2022’s third place game (OR @ AZ) and first place game (SEA vs SD) right out of the gates.

With the addition of an 8th team for 2023, the Colorado Alpenglow, the WUL has divided teams into two conferences: Northwest and Southwest. The Northwest Conference includes Colorado, Oregon, Seattle, and Utah. The Southwest Conference is comprised of Arizona, Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Francisco.

During the 2023 season, conference play is emphasized with each team playing 6 in-conference games, facing each in-conference opponent twice with two cross-conference games, for a total of 8 games per team.

We’re gearing up for another exciting season of ultimate and are looking forward to closing the 2023 season in style in Seattle.

Stay up to date with our 2023 schedule & standings here. Make sure you never miss a game, subscribe to our YouTube channel here.