Written by Noam Gumerman
WUL Lead Writer
Week 9 saw six teams in play: Seattle made a statement win on the road over Oregon, Bay Area showed they know how to seal the deal at home against Utah Wild, and Colorado claimed the top seed over San Diego by gaining a lead through three quarters before weather ended the game early. Here’s how it all went down:
Seattle Tempest 17 - 10 Oregon Soar
The Seattle Tempest swept the renewed Cascadia rivalry in 2025 with a comfortable 17-10 win over Oregon Soar to finish their season 5-1, while their rivals fell to 0-6 on their debut season. Soar hung tight for the second and fourth quarters, but it wasn’t enough to match Seattle’s output.
Seattle used a mix of tight person and zone defense to force Oregon’s offense into repeated arrows. No matter where on the field, Tempest defenders were hot on Soar’s heels. The first four points were marked by Soar near misses followed by Tempest conversions, allowing them to build a solid lead before Oregon stabilized. The windy conditions and Seattle’s stifling defense prevented Oregon from making any ground up. Seattle once again jumped out on Oregon at the start of the second half, and built their commanding halftime lead into an insurmountable one, as the Soar struggled once again to find their identity on offense as they closed out their season.
Sadie Jezierski turned in an otherworldly performance (2G, 5A, 2B, +5.5, 362Y) to lead Seattle to victory, while Hana Kawai (4A, 376Y) was an unstoppable throwing partner across from Jezierski. For Oregon, Clea Poklemba (1G, 3A, 4B) was once again a bright spot in a rough team game, as well as Emma Bartlett (3G, 247Y).
Bay Area Falcons 24 - 14 Utah Wild
The Bay Area Falcons captured some significant momentum ahead of hosting Championship Weekend with a 24-14 dismantling of Utah Wild. The Falcons finished the regular season 4-2, while Utah fell to 1-5. The Falcons’ first half against the Wild was functionally flawless. Across the first two quarters of play they dismantled Utah before coasting through the second half. They put up nine points in the second quarter alone on their way to a 14-5 halftime advantage. During the game, Bay Area converted 12 breaks (of 26 opportunities), which is more than the total number of break opportunities (11) the Wild generated.
The Bay Area defense forced Utah throwers to throw into tight windows and had the Wild giving up unforced or short field turnovers. Falcons are a team that thrives on making their opponents pay for their mistakes. At the end of the first quarter, Utah had the chance to get a stop with just 20 seconds left, but Bay Area easily marched down the field and converted a hold as time expired. Falcons carried that momentum into the second quarter where they ran away with the game - starting by going into half up 15-4.
Malina Wiebe (6G, 1B, 228Y) was unguardable downfield for Bay Area, and Robyn Fennig (2G, 3A, 3B, 438Y) turned in yet another masterpiece. This week though, the Falcons got big-time contributions from up and down their roster, really showcasing the depth that will make them dangerous in just a few weeks at Championship Weekend. For Utah, Kat Songer (1G, 3A, 430Y) and Paige Kercher (1G, 3A, 1B, 499Y) led the way again, but couldn’t get enough support around them to make it a competitive game.
Colorado Alpenglow 10 - 7 San Diego Super Bloom
Unfortunately, the headline matchup between undefeated titans was marred by lightning delays, and eventually called early at with 9:40 left in the fourth quarter, Colorado Alpenglow up 10-7. The action we got largely lived up to the hype. San Diego jumped out to a 3-1 lead after the first quarter, effectively utilizing their zone to slow down the potent Colorado offense. However, they left a point or two on the table, missing break opportunities on Colorado’s first score of the game, and on the final point of the quarter. Super Bloom showed a way to prevent Colorado from scoring, which is something other teams have yet to find a recipe for.
As the clouds began to roll in though, Alpenglow found their stride. Their defense began to match Super Bloom’s and they began to create more opportunties and win some of these long points. They erased a 3-1 deficit and the teams ended the half tied at 4-4. But as the second half was set to begin, the first lightning delay began.
After a 90-minute halftime, the game began again. With Colorado picking up right where they left off, Abby Thorpe reopened the scoring on a beautiful deep shot from Rory Veldman. This set the tone out of the delay, as Colorado broke twice more to take a three-goal lead they would maintain throughout the third quarter. Alpenglow looked readier to return from the delay than Super Bloom did, but Super Bloom stabilized, finishing the quarter holding their deficit at just three points.
We were all set for a thrilling finish before the bad weather returned and forced another delay with Colorado in possession, looking to break to start off the fourth quarter. But this one lasted for over an hour before the game was ended due to continued lightning. It is hard not to feel cheated as a fan - was San Diego going to pull off the upset? Would Colorado assert dominance on their home turf? Who knows how an uninterrupted game would have played out.
The stars were out in full force on Sunday, especially Rory Veldman (2G, 2A, 425Y, 0T) and Abby Thorpe (2G, 1B, 276Y) for Colorado, and Kaela Helton (2G, 1B, 221Y) for San Diego. We may get this matchup again at Championship Weekend in a few short weeks, but until then we’ll be left with an unfinished feeling.
Championship Weekend!
Don’t miss the action over championship weekend! Grab your tickets early to claim your space in the stands, find a watch party near you or catch the action live on the WUL YouTube Channel! On Semifinals Saturday, first catch 5-1 San Diego Super Bloom taking on 5-1 Seattle Tempest; then, undefeated 6-0 Colorado Alpenglow face off against 4-2 hosts Bay Area Falcons. Then on Sunday, watch the winners play for the 2025 WUL Championship!