- Pawel Janas
Note: The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the WUL.
This week, we welcome Seattle superstar Lexi Garrity to the show. Thank goodness, because I am in no mood to sing Seattle’s praises. And someone has to after they didn't get broken once and put up historic numbers last Saturday. Je refuse. Adele lyrics are all you’re getting from me today.
Lexi Garrity (she/her) had a great time contributing to this week's coverage. Lexi plays for Seattle Tempest and Seattle Mixtape. You can find her on Twitter @lexigarrity10.
(Editor’s note: If there is anyone on Colorado who would like to contribute in the future, my DMs are open)
Question for April 7th, 2023:
Well, it wasn't the weekend Colorado was hoping for. After going down early in the Seattle game on Saturday, Alpenglow could not seem to bring the game any closer against the cohesive and experienced juggernaut. In your view, was the 28-16 blowout a testament to how good Seattle actually is (they did break a bunch of records), or is it more about Colorado still figuring things out? The next day, Onyx picked up their first win of the season in a commanding fashion. After three 1-2 point losses to start the season, do you think this win will give Oregon the confidence to steal a victory from Seattle in Week 6? Finally, what are the odds that Colorado will upset Utah in their home opener this weekend?
Is Seattle even good?
Ange: The start of every season is hard. Maybe not for Arizona, but that seemed temporary. (Editor’s note: ka-boom!) The shift from preseason practice to in-season games is tough for players and coaches, and Colorado is at a massive disadvantage because it's their first time ever experiencing that. It didn't help that Seattle wanted to prove they don't have any weaknesses (despite the fact that Arizona found some in Week 1) and that Oregon had to win to right the ship (and not slip further from a playoff berth). Colorado will figure it out.
Lexi: Biased perspective as one of the captains of Tempest, but as a wise man once said, "Men lie, women lie, buckets don't." (Editor’s note: spoons don’t lie, either.) Tempest came out firing in our home opener against the newcomers to the league. Numerous game-day records were broken, which gives us confidence that this was an earned result versus a lucky fluke. The mindset for Tempest after a loss to Arizona (a loss in which Tempest had 34 turnovers, including numerous unforced errors) was to be aggressive on offense and to back it up on defense.
The depth of Seattle is our true weapon, and this is where we separated from Colorado. Colorado has star players in McLaughlin, Dietrich, Kleinkopf, Pesch, and Reed (among others). However, Seattle was able to counter with fresh legs every point (1 point on and 2 points off for each line) and go hassle Colorado's players with a variety of defensive looks. It will be interesting to see how Seattle responds next month to altitude when we face Alpenglow on their home turf.
Ben: Colorado is still figuring things out, but Seattle’s dominant win on Saturday proved to me that we’re going to look back on their loss to Arizona as merely an early-season stumble rather than a portent of future struggles. Their offense was back to what we’ve come to expect from the Tempest - shooting deep with abandon and winning up-lines in the red zone - and adding Sadie Jezierski, Abby Hecko, and others has made it all the more lethal.
Colorado is absolutely still figuring things out, though, particularly on defense. They got their first break of the weekend late in the game against Oregon on Sunday (Editor’s note: yikes) and needed to cross Jade McLaughlin and Abby Thorpe over to the D line to do it. For the season, they’ve gotten breaks on 10% of D line points - no other team is below 20%. It’s easy to take McLaughlin, Thorpe, Kristen Reed, and others and throw them on O line and say: “score goals.” Players of that caliber will make it work. But no team can play perfect offense for four full quarters, and they need to figure out the right player combinations and schemes to string some breaks together soon if they want a shot at championship weekend in their inaugural season.
Helen: It’s me, hi, talking about home-field advantage again. Seattle is a talented team, and I think getting their first game home after three on the road gave them the opportunity to tie everything together nicely to put on a truly dominant performance. I think the most impressive stat is that they weren’t broken once. This is particularly noteworthy because Seattle doesn’t really have set O and D lines and usually rotates amongst 3 lines evenly. So this isn’t just one really solid O-line not getting broken, it’s the entire Seattle roster not getting broken. Granted, many weren’t clean holds often because Tempest would get a bit impatient to score. There are cracks in the Seattle armor. Give Alpenglow some time to keep ironing out their systems, and they’ll give them a fight in Colorado at the end of the season.
Pawel: Helen is totally right. Hello, it’s me. I was wondering if after all these years you’d like to meet. To go over everything. They say that time’s supposed to heal ya, but I ain’t done much healing. Hello, can you hear me?
Is Onyx back on track?
Ange: While Onyx played a lot better this weekend, I'm not sure they have what it takes to beat Tempest in Seattle on April 15. Maybe if they continue to limit their turnovers and consider tightening up on Seattle's very dynamic throwers, they'll be able to hang. I'll keep my other coaching tips to myself and my squad, though. (Insert nail painting emoji here.)
Lexi: Oregon had a solid win over Colorado at home, featuring a monstrous and somehow yet routine grab by Jaycee Jones. This could be the start of a mid-season push for them. The talent of their roster, with both veterans and young up-and-comers, can't be underestimated. One of the great perks of pro is the joining of players from different eras of ultimate. Oregon is bolstered by savvy vets such as Julia Sherwood, Chelsea Putnam, and Murl Hammond (welcome back!), and young talents such as Greta Eisenbrey, Trout Weybrigh, and more. Those loud costumed Onyx fans might even make the trek to Seattle to cheer on their squad. (Editor’s note: we love costumes.)
Tempest beat Oregon in the last two head-to-head match-ups but lost some momentum in the second half of their most recent game. In the second half, Tempest was up 12-7 but only won 15-13. A drop on a centering pass gave Oregon a chance to bring the score to 14-15. Seattle was able to generate a high-risk throw and run out the clock to win 15-13. This performance added fuel to the fire for Tempest, and it might remind Oregon of how close this matchup is when they play their best. The plethora of talent on Oregon Onyx will make this rematch exciting. Will Seattle be able to stifle the deep throws of Julia Sherwood and Greta Eisenbury and limit the goals of speedy cutters such as Jones, Coles, Snieder, and Zajonc, or whoever else streaks deep?
Ben: Oregon certainly played the best game of their season against Colorado, but I have a hard time seeing them playing similarly against a Tempest squad that was firing on all cylinders this past weekend. Onyx went a perfect 6/6 on hucks against Alpenglow, but in the game against Seattle earlier this season, they went 5/14. Unless Aly Steinfield shows up out of nowhere, I can't see them replicating Sunday's success against Jamie Eriksson, Kaitlynne Roling, and company. (Editor’s note: only if we put Aly on all the graphics that week.)
Helen: No.
Pawel: Why are we hating on Onyx? They should be 4-0 now. Onyx over Seattle by 2, book it. Never mind, I’ll find someone like you. I wish nothing but the best for you, too. Don’t forget me, I beg, I remember you said. Sometimes it lasts in love, but sometimes it hurts instead. Sometimes it lasts in love, but sometimes it hurts instead.
Colorado home-field advantage?
Ange: Every time I play frisbee in Colorado, it sucks. (Editor’s note: okay, bye) I can't breathe, the disc goes way farther than I expect, and the weather is wild. As a temperate sea level gal, it's a nightmare. Maybe Utah doesn't care as much as I do about playing at altitude, but I expect Colorado to have a lot of advantages on their home turf and in front of their home crowd for the first time ever. It's hard to bounce back from a pretty demoralizing weekend - but I think they can do it.
Lexi: The Colorado vs Utah game is a do-or-die game for Colorado. I hope Colorado's mindset is reminiscent of Han Solo with a "never tell me the odds" swagger. Expect Colorado to come out aggressive on offense. (Editor’s note: it’s the defense I’m more worried about.) I am expecting their cutters to be attacking the deep space and their big throwers to be shooting for the endzone. The Tempest vs. Alpenglow game saw some gorgeous deep throws from Itoh, Thorpe, and Kleinkopf. On defense, it will be imperative for Colorado to slow down the dynamic O-line handler duo comprised of Kat Songer and Paige Kercher. If the Wild home opener was an indication, those two are must-shut-down matchups for opposing teams.
Utah started the season off with a comfortable win at home. Albeit the first point was a little sloppy with multiple turns for both teams but morale in Utah seems high. Wild's offense looks good and significantly stronger than last year, with additions such as Brooke Stanislawski, Kat Songer, Ellie Sjordal to name a few. Cass Williams has been popping off downfield, and Cori Bigham still has a nose for the endzone. Shae Wallen is back from Europe to anchor their D- line with long-term stalwarts Molly Robbins and Kendra Miller. This game is a must-watch for WUL. fans. I am expecting fireworks.
Ben: I picked Colorado in the first matchup against Utah, and the Wild taught me a lesson, one I don't need to learn twice. Kat Songer has fit so well into the Wild O-line, and alongside Paige Kercher gives them one of the best handler duos in the league. In addition to the defensive struggles Colorado has faced, I just don't see their handlers able to keep up with Songer and Kercher's conversion rate. I'm predicting that Colorado prevents an early Utah lead from getting out of hand and rides the energy of a raucous home crowd to tie the game by the end of the third quarter, but Utah is a little cleaner over the last few points and pulls out a close one. (Self-edit: looks like Songer isn’t playing this weekend, so give me an Abby Thorpe layout on an away shot from McLaughlin to win on the last possession.)
Helen: You know what I’m going to say. There’s this thing that I think might give Colorado the boost they need to finally take care of business.
Pawel: There's a fire starting in my heart, reaching a fever pitch and it's bringing me out the dark. The scars of your love remind me of us, they keep me thinking that we almost had it all, the scars of your love they leave me breathless, I can't help feeling, we could've had it all (you're gonna wish you) (Never had met me) Rolling in the deep (tears are gonna fall) (rolling in the deep)
This Week’s Contributors:
Helen Eifert (she/her) is a player and captain of the Arizona Sidewinders. She is a perpetual travel player in the USAU club division and has played for many teams across this country and internationally since 2016. Find her on Instagram (@heleneifert) and Twitter (@HelenEifert46).
Lexi Garrity (she/her) had a great time contributing to this week's coverage. Lexi plays for Seattle Tempest and Seattle Mixtape. You can find her on Twitter @lexigarrity10.
Pawel Janas (he/him) is the curator of West Perspective, so send your complaints his way. He plays for the Los Angeles Aviators in the AUDL and Chicago Machine in the USAU Men's Club Division. You can find him on Twitter and Instagram at @secondarypotato.
Ben Sadis (he/him) is a data collector and statistician for the WUL. He plays for Washington DC Rally in the USAU Mixed Club Division. He can be reached on Twitter at @ben_sadis.
Angela Wells (she/her) is the head coach of San Diego Super Bloom and San Diego Wildfire. For nearly two decades, she has coached and played for women's teams in San Diego. She is unapologetically loud and bossy, and endlessly supportive of providing opportunities for female, trans, and non-binary athletes of all ages to play sports together in her community.