Fury takes Women's division title over Capitals
Carolyn Matthews
Posted: October 31, 2010 09:22 PM
2010 USA Ultimate Club Championships
Finals Recap
Women’s Division
By : Carolyn Matthews, special to usaultimate.org
Fury wrote itself into history books this weekend as the first team to win five straight USA Ultimate Club championships. The Bay Area juggernaut defeated the first-time finalist Capitals in a 15-9 blowout. The Godiva dynasty strung four titles together from 1995 to 1998 and the Lady Condors got four from 1984 to 1987. Women’s Ultimate now has a new standard of excellence.
Going into Nationals, Coach Matty Tsang was well aware of the game’s significance. “I didn’t tell the team but personally I really wanted the record,” said Tsang after the game.
The women’s final was the first game of the day. The scene felt like a practice field with only two teams playing on the vast Polo Grounds where 60 teams played the previous day. Fury ran through its typical pre-game drills but did not overdo it on the still, windless field on Sunday morning.
Tsang, no stranger to the finals, advised captains Alex Snyder and Nancy Sun to keep the team’s warm-up light.
“Ultimate players warm up too much. In a game like this, it’s easy to get overamped,” Tsang said. Fury clearly listened to their coach and the team came out composed and calm. The Caps started off forcing forehand and Fury quickly worked it to the goal line and Snyder scored easily on an oven cut.
Fury’s forehand person defense smothered the Caps offensive serve. Fury scored off a break to Alicia White to make it 2-0. From there, Fury built up its insurmountable 6-0 lead.
“We came out similar to last year’s finals. We scored the first few points as first possessions,” Tsang said. “Scoring like that gives us the mental edge. It makes the other team feel like they can’t turn it over.”
The closest the Caps came to Fury was three points, at 6-3 and 7-4. Fury’s Cree Howard made a beautiful grab over two Caps players to bring the game to half at 8-4. After half, the Caps scored three in a row but the effort was too little, too late. They squandered an opportunity on the goal line and Fury quickly converted it and the next D to put the game away at 15-9.
Highlights of the game included a lay-out point block from Fury’s Kari De Leeuw to stop the Caps rally and a bookend point from Alicia White where she got the lay-out d and skyed a crowd in the endzone. The Caps Anne Mercier had her share of big hucks and several precision hammers to break Fury’s zone.
Fury threw several defenses at the Capitals to fluster handlers and minimize hucks. The strategy succeeded. Tsang admitted that one of Fury’s defenses was stolen from the Capitals and tweaked over the years. The defense shows zone in the back and a loose wall in front to stop quick handler movement and hucks.
Tsang’s strategy and leadership are the keys to Fury’s success but he also brings something more. For the second year in a row, Fury won the team spirit award, scoring 4.9 points out of a possible 5. This year’s final game was incredibly spirited with only a handful of calls. In the team’s early days, Fury was not exactly known for its spirit.
“When I moved over [from Homebrood], I wanted to change Fury’s relationship with other teams,” Tsang said. He fosters a respectful, positive team atmosphere that radiates from his players. After the game, the Caps and Fury cheering other while they received their ribbons and the teams were seen dancing and celebrating together.
“I love this sport,” Snyder said. “The people, the plays, everything.”