Is this the blueprint for slaying the giant of the women's division?
May 23, 2018 by Katie Raynolds in Analysis with 0 comments
Dartmouth enters the 2018 College Championships as the reigning National Champion and the heavy favorite to take the title yet again this year. They haven’t lost a full game since pool play of 2017 Nationals1. They have the best player in women’s college ultimate history on their team, and she’s joined by several Brute Squad teammates as well as a crew of experienced playmakers. This is the unbeatable team. No collegiate team has the personnel to go one on one versus Princess Layout and live to tell the tale. Right?
Stanford is the only team who has brought Dartmouth even close to a loss. Their range of zone defenses eliminated the challenge of playing one on one with Dartmouth, and their zones exploited Dartmouth’s biggest weakness: downfield movement. Their choice to shift between defenses, regardless of what worked or what didn’t, kept Dartmouth on edge and out of the driver’s seat.
Stanford also utilized an effective pull play to gain easy yards on Dartmouth and to minimize Jaclyn Verzuh’s impact on the field. Stanford’s defense, coupled with strategic offensive choices, was nearly enough to topple the powerhouse at Northwest Challenge this March. Dartmouth won the semifinal 14-13 on double game point.
Here’s how they did it.
They lost a game to Ohio State at Queen City Tune-Up that was ended at halftime ↩
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