Carleton, the last team to defeat UNC, repeat the feat over four years later, ending one of the most impressive streaks in ultimate, But Syzygy still had a final to play, and UBC's romp through competition would not be stopped.
March 17, 2024 by Felicia Zheng in Recap with 0 comments
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Welcome to Centering Pass, Ultiworld’s articles covering tournament news and event stories you need to know.
On Sunday of Northwest Challenge, national contenders clashed and history was made. #3 British Columbia Thunderbirds have once again firmly established themselves at the top of the division by earning comfortable wins over every team they faced this weekend. #4 Carleton Syzygy defeated #1 North Carolina Pleiades on universe point in a thrilling game to end Pleiades’ years-long win streak. Today’s results show where top teams are in one of the last tournaments before the Series.
Carleton Win Against UNC, Ending The Streak
All great things must come to an end and the Pleiades’ win streak is one of the greatest feats in ultimate history. After a back-and-forth semifinal with Carleton Syzygy, The Streak ended at 1,451 days with a controversial universe point loss.
The game started just like many of the matches Pleiades have played in the last four years – a clean hold, followed by a break to put UNC up early at 2-0. From there, the two teams traded holds until a missed huck by UNC gave Carleton an opportunity to punch in their first break, bringing the game to 4-4. Carleton’s second crucial break came a few points later when Carleton converted on a missed UNC huck with a pinpoint throw from Tori Gray to Clara Gale. Carleton enjoyed their lead for a while before UNC went on a run to tie things up.
At 12-11, Carleton held to force universe point with an assist from Beeman-Weber to Gray. With the game–and the streak–on the line, both teams put out their final seven. At first, things seemed to be going well for UNC. They marched down the field with ease, quickly finding themselves on the goal line. Then, a missed swing gave Carleton the opportunity they needed. But UNC wasn’t ready to give up yet. Erica Birdsong showed why she is one of the best defenders in the division with a flying layout D to regain possession.
Unfortunately, just as quickly as they’d earned it back, UNC turned it again with a throw to Theresa Yu that sailed just out of reach. It was Carleton’s turn to work it up the field, and Gray found Clara Gale in the end zone past Birdsong for the game-winning score. Interestingly, Gale’s defender had called a pick when Gale cut out of the stack. After a brief discussion, the observer overruled the pick and upheld the goal, ending the game and Pleiades’ win streak.
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