USA Ultimate

Women's Division Northwest Regionals Recap

For one of the strongest regions in the nation, the weekend was full of upsets and close calls, with 11 women’s teams battling it out in Burlington, Washington for 4 bids to the Big Show.

2006 was the last time the Northwest had less than three bids, and 2009 was the last time the region had the luxurious cushion of 4 bids to Sarasota. Since 2004, Riot and Fury have snatched up the top two bids to Nationals, without fail, taking turns knocking each other out of the first position in an annual Pre-Nationals power struggle.

For Pool A (Riot, Zeitgeist, Further, Zephyr, and Slackjaw), Saturday morning held no surprises as all teams held seed, but the afternoon brought excitement in the form of Zeitgeist and Further meeting in a game that would prove to be a power struggle for the easier road on Sunday. With the Oregon women taking the lead early in the game, Zeitgeist clawed their way back with aggressive defense and bold deep looks from Marisa Mead and Susan Batchelder, going on a 3-point run to take half.  But Further did not let this momentum continue, and though both teams favored the give-go-huck on offense, Further’s accuracy proved it’s greatest asset, with go-to handler Shannon McDowell bombing deep shots to athletic receivers – particularly favoring the sticky fingers of Katy "Butters" Craley and the tireless legs of speedster Claire Sharman. The Eugene squad did not let up, pushing to an 11-10 finish for the upset, and overcoming the first true test on their road to Nationals.

Riot defended its position as the one seed by rolling through its Saturday competition, securing a coveted bid to Nationals and walking away from pool play with their closest match ending at 13-4 against Zeitgeist.

The shake-ups began early in Pool B (Fury, Traffic, Underground, Schwa, Wild Rose, and Fryz), with Underground coming out fired up against a seemingly lethargic Fury. In what had to be one of the most exciting games of the tournament, Underground traded out the game with Fury and then pulled ahead at 10-9. Getting a break on defense, and in a pool with games to 11, Underground had a chance to defeat the Bay Area powerhouse. With the disc on the goal line and a pivotal win within reach, Erin Crider sent up a blade to her receiver… Turnover. Fury knew they had dodged a bullet, and quickly converted that turn into a goal. Keeping their composure for the rest of the match, Fury closed the game out at 13-11. As a testament to the great game played by Underground, Fury’s Liz Penny would go on to say that she "Had never seen a team grow so much in one season, in skill and in decision making." Fury would not falter for the rest of the day, with their closest game against Traffic at 11-6. Bid secure, Fury’s next match-up was with Riot in the finals.

After coming so close to an upset of the reigning champs and easily taking down Calgary’s Wild Rose, Underground entered the next round with perhaps less caution than was wise and got caught flat-footed by a team that they had beaten handily at Labor Day and ECC: Portland’s Schwa. Overlooked by many coming into the weekend, Schwa was more than happy to throw themselves into the scrum of Nationals contenders with abandon, grappling with Traffic to a respectable 10-12 loss to start their day, and upsetting the hometown underdogs 11-8 to make things just a little more interesting in the Northwest.

 

At the end of the day, Slackjaw, Seattle’s Fryz girls, and Wild Rose were knocked out of contention, and Riot and Fury had punched their tickets to Sarasota. 

 

Sunday’s backdoor games began with a beautiful, and rare, sunny morning in Burlington, with Zephyr and Schwa duking it out on one side of the bracket, and Underground and Zeitgeist facing off on the other. Zephyr had managed to scrape by with a decisive win against Slackjaw on Saturday, keeping them in contention, but Schwa was not about to let up. Using their momentum from Saturday, they bumped the Vancouver team off in a tight 15-12 victory.

Zeitgeist and Underground last met at ECC, where the Bay Area team came out ahead of the unpolished Seattleites. But on Sunday morning of Regionals, it was all Underground. Going up big early on, the young Seattle squad stifled Zeitgeist’s offensive flow with tight man D, and showed nothing but confidence behind the disc. With incredible offensive and defensive bids by Erin Crider, and beautiful help D by Lindsey Miller on the goal line, Underground went up 5-0, and eventually took half 8-2. Zeitgeist rallied a bit in the second half, managing to score 3 more goals before succumbing to Underground’s commanding lead, ending the game at 15-5.

 

With the morning past, other teams began arriving and warming up as Schwa and Underground approached the playing field for their second game of the day, both knowing that it could be their last. Even coming off a crushing win, Underground’s defeat at the hands of Schwa the day before was anything but forgotten, and as the game began, it was clear that neither of these teams would go down easy. They traded points the whole way, with Schwa going up a break and then Underground getting it back and going up. The game came down to Universe point at 15s with Underground pulling to Schwa. This was one of the longest points of the game, with each team throwing up big throws and getting big Ds. Finally, on the goal line, Schwa put up a simple, easy hammer to Breanne Austin, who was wide open on the break side.

Meanwhile, Further and Traffic faced off in a game where the prize was very clear – you win, you go to Nationals. For the past two years, Traffic has found themselves in the position of being in a game-to-go where a loss meant the end of their season. In 2009, they defeated a newly formed Underground to take the final bid to Sarasota, and in 2010, they bumped off Zeitgeist in a stunning upset for the third and final bid to Nationals. This year, Traffic decided to make their lives a little easier, and began the  ¾ game against Further with a 5-0 lead.  Further woke up after this and started putting points on the board, but could not catch up in the end, and Traffic walked away with a 15-6 win and a much-deserved bid to Nationals.

And this final was no exception. Though Riot went up 2-0, starting the game off with a huge bid in the endzone by Loriana Berman, Fury found their defensive stride and Riot couldn’t quite adjust. After a series of miscues, Riot found themselves down 2-5. Pulling it together, they scored their next offensive point, but couldn’t quite close the gap as Fury finished out the half 8-4. With both sidelines full of spectators, Seattle’s hometown advantage appeared to give them the boost they needed coming out of half. With their Zone O finally executing, and the defense converting breaks, Riot pulled to within 1. At 13-14, Fury started on offense and ended the game with a huge backhand huck to Genevieve Laroche ( or "Gen-V-P"), who pulled the game winner down easily.

Having lost the final, Riot now had to battle in the 2/3 game against Traffic. While the match would impact seeding at Nationals, what was really at stake was Northwest pride. This season, Traffic has beaten Riot in the finals of Flowerbowl and the semi-finals of Colorado Cup, and Riot avenged these losses at Sectionals, where they crushed the Vancouver squad 13-5. With this win still fresh in their minds, the Seattle squad started the game with confidence, again taking a 2-0 lead. But as in the final, their initial momentum was not enough to carry them through the first half, and Traffic had no intention of rolling over.  Making good use of tight handler D, Traffic forced turnovers that they quickly converted by hucking to their tall downfield receivers. In an eerie repetition of the final, the half ended with Traffic up 8-4. Though Riot would again push for a comeback, closing the gap to 11-12, Traffic had no intention of letting up. They scored their next offensive point, and then easily converted Riot’s next missed huck into the a game-winning goal. For the first time in 8 years, Traffic earned a spot as one of the top two finishers at Northwest Regionals.

But at the end of the day, there is one game that Regionals is built around – it’s the game that offers the most intense high and the most crushing low in one single moment – the Game-to-Go for that final bid to Nationals.

Both Schwa and Further were two teams that did not expect to be in this game. And, what’s more, both teams represent a Northwest state that has not been to Nationals since 2005. Though the anticipation was there, and both teams were hungry for the win, there was a sense of pride coming from every player that could not be overlooked. As the game began, a Schwa player, a happy smile on her face, turned to me and said "No matter what happens in this game, Oregon is going to Natties!" That said, the prize of Sarasota was still on the line.

Early on, either team could have run away with it. Schwa’s defense stayed gritty and pressured Further’s offense, and at half the Eugene women were up only 2 breaks. But Schwa’s fatigue began to show. In the next half, they would only score two more points as Further’s smothering zone – and D blocks by Claire Sharman, Erin Maloney, and Danielle Hirsch – forced numerous turnovers. Further, with a resounding 15-8 win, earned the last bid to Sarasota.

Upon reflecting on the game, Shannon McDowell made the comment that "Schwa's close games on Saturday and Sunday (before playing us) totalled to 147 points, whereas our previous games totalled to only 80 points. The parity in Pool B and our win against Zeitgeist on Saturday really helped us to be the fresher team going into the second half of this game."

 

Genevieve LaRoche of Fury makes the catch and clinches the win past Riot's Hana Kawai.
[PHOTO CREDIT: Scobel Wiggins]

And so Northwest Regionals ended with the most bland, predictable headline one could imagine: Fury wins. But with the most interesting details in recent years: Traffic upsets Riot to take a position that no other team has held since 2003. Further, with a roster of 15, gets a bid out of the Northwest. Sixth seeded Underground comes within one throw of defeating the reigning National and World champions.

Congratulations to those teams that made it out of the Northwest. It’s not an easy thing to do.

Championship Game:    Fury 15 - Riot 13 2nd Place Game:    Traffic 14 - Riot 11 4th Place Game:    Further 15 - Schwa 8 Full results

Final Standings: 1 - Fury 2 - Traffic 3 - Riot 4 - Further 5 - Schwa 6 - Underground 7T - Zeitgeist 7T - Zephyr 9 - Fryz 10 - Wild Rose 11 - Slackjaw