USA Ultimate

2011 HS Westerns - Sunday Girls Recap

The day started with a single first-round game: Summit versus Roosevelt. This was a close game the entire time and finished with an excruciatingly long point that lasted well beyond the hard cap, which resulted in Roosevelt winning 8-7 over Summit. The game seemed to be at a turning point during the third point when Roosevelt set the zone defense and got a quick turn. Summit maintained its position though, setting a zone on the fifth point in response to Roosevelt's defensive adjustment, and as a result both teams continued to force countless turns. Nastassya West, a sophomore at Roosevelt High School, helped lead her team with strong cutting skills followed by decisive and accurate throws to her teammates up field. She worked particularly well with senior Morelle Arian of Roosevelt High School, a very tall player with expert cutting skills, who was always able to get away from her defender.

 

During a crucial moment at the end of the game Roosevelt called a time out with the disc on their goal line. After checking the disc in, Summit immediately got a hand block and with that momentum shift the two teams began a back-and-forth struggle to maintain possession. The game concluded with a point that lasted twenty-nine minutes past the hard cap horn. Summit fought hard even though the outcome of the game had already been decided (hard cap went on when the score was 8-6). For more than half of the point, the disc was on Summit's goal line. After a long fight involving numerous turns, Summit took advantage of a Roosevelt catching error which gave Summit one final chance to make it happen. With a quick toss toward the end zone Summit scored the final point of the game, resulting in a Roosevelt victory, 8-7 over Summit. Although Summit did not walk away with the win, they played with enthusiasm and good sportsmanship. By winning this game, Roosevelt became the first and only girls’ team during the tournament to break seed.

 

 

Round two gave Nathan Hale their opportunity to see how they could do against the defending champions The Northwest School. Even with slightly longer rounds on Sunday, Hale was unable to make a dent in Northwest’s powerful offense. This game showcased the skills of two particular players on Northwest’s roster: Lani Nguyen and Emily Buckner, both well-rounded and experienced players who took control of the game.

 

During the third round the sun finally came out and the wind began to die down, and at the same time spectators shifted their attention to the game between Seattle Academy and Lakeside. If Lakeside were to win this game, there would be a three way tie between Nathan Hale, Seattle Academy and Lakeside for the second-place spot in the finals against The Northwest School. With this in mind, Lakeside put up a long fight against Seattle Academy, playing hard and using all of their strengths to try and take down Seattle Academy, who at that point had a 4-1 record for the weekend. Unfortunately for Lakeside, their intensity, which had grown exponentially throughout the weekend, was not enough to overcome Seattle Academy’s expertise on the field. During the first half of the game Seattle Academy's zone defense put pressure on Lakeside's offense, consistently forcing turnovers. However, during the second half, Lakeside was able to dump-and-swing their way up the field and throw through the zone, effectively utilizing their poppers. In this intense game between Seattle Academy and Lakeside, Seattle Academy prevailed in the end, finishing the game with a score of 9-8.

 

Over on field three, Nathan Hale continued to have their way with the lower-seeded teams while playing Franklin High School for their last game of the day. Nathan Hale's Margo Heffron (5'11" sophomore) dominated the field with her near-perfect assists and imposing defense. Although Nathan Hale came away with the win, spectators and players alike could hear the music and laughter coming from Franklin’s girls as they showed off their Spirit to the Hale girls at the conclusion of their game. This would later become even more apparent when Franklin was awarded the Spirit of the Game award for their great sportsmanship and obvious love of the game.

The finals were played by the defending champions, the Northwest School, and the number two seed, Seattle Academy. Northwest was just coming off of an easy win against Summit, while Seattle Academy had just finished a close game against Lakeside. It was clear that energy was waning on Seattle Academy’s part, with only two subs left after a few injuries throughout the weekend. Northwest had close to three lines worth of players for the finals, allowing them to play girls with fresh legs all throughout the game. Along with more players available to go on the field, Northwest had an advantage on the sideline as well. Their sideline presence helped tremendously throughout the entire tournament. Two skilled coaches and a few dozen players and parents yelling from the sideline during each point certainly helped them secure the Western Championship this year. The Seattle Academy parents tried to do their part by supporting their team loudly and optimistically, helping to keep spirits high throughout the game. It was fantastic to see the continuous positive support from spectators in the girls’ division all throughout the weekend.

 

Going into this game it was unclear how it would unfold. A repeat of the previous day’s game was not expected and definitely not what occurred. During Saturday’s game against Northwest, Seattle Academy was up 3-0 at first but they ended up losing that momentum and lost the game 9-4. This time around, in the finals, Northwest dominated from the very start. With the score at 5-1, the wind started to pick up and Northwest set a zone defense that Seattle Academy had a difficult time breaking. Northwest continued their winning streak point after point, not letting anything get past them. The points were long, the game went well into soft cap, but neither team surrendered. The game ended with Northwest up 12-1 to maintain their title of Western Champion.