Pro-Elite Challenge East 2024: Tournament Recap (Women’s Division)

Scandal takes home the title and Brute Squad knocked out early.

July 17, 2024 by Felicia Zheng in Recap with 0 comments

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Fredericksburg, VA — In a talented pool of competitors, #3 Washington DC Scandal came out on top with a 12-9 win against #6 Raleigh Phoenix. The 2023 national runner-ups faced challenges in the bracket, but depth and efficient offense saw them through to the title.

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Scandal Outlasts Phoenix in Final

At the early hour of 11 AM, the much-anticipated final between Scandal and Phoenix began. Both teams had faced challenges throughout the day, Scandal from a resurgent #9 Toronto 6ixers team, Phoenix from #7 New York BENT and #1 Boston Brute Squad. Battle tested but triumphant, the two teams prepared to face off in their final match.

The heat was as much a presence as any player on the field. Players were out in the blistering sun all morning and it had begun to take its toll. Between points, coaches ushered their team under the shade tents to talk strategy before getting a fresh, cooler line out. Efficiency was the name of the game as lines strived to convert quickly to minimize time in the sun.

In the game itself, Scandal and Phoenix were neck and neck, exchanging leads until Washington managed to pull away at the end. The game began with Scandal on offense. While it wasn’t clean, they punched in the hold with a backhand from Marie Perivier to Claire Trop. Phoenix answered with a hold of their own and the two teams traded points to land at 2-1, Scandal advantage.

On the next point, Scandal took their first lead of the game, capitalizing after execution errors from both teams gave the other opportunities throughout the long point. Scandal cashed in their break chance with a huck and give-go into the end zone.

The lead was short lived though. Phoenix broke back just a few points later after Dawn Culton made a crucial block on a crossfield look, tying the game up at threes. The next couple of holds were quick. Both teams’ defenses were working hard but hadn’t cracked the code, and the offensive units were too polished to cough up a break chance.

As the game progressed to fours, Phoenix had their first chance to go up a break. A Scandal huck put Kami Groom on the goal line but great pressure from Phoenix on the reset forced her to put up a lofty throw, resulting in a turn. Phoenix capitalized by flowing down the full length of the field to score and a one point lead, 5-4.

Of the next three holds, both Scandal points were scored by Trop. Her ability to find the disc in the end zone is one Phoenix struggled to combat all game. With the game at 6s and half cap on, Scandal locked in to get the break to take half. Their opportunity to do just that came with a Phoenix deep shot knocked down by an accelerating Groom, who turned on the jets to ensure the Phoenix receiver had no chance to make a play on the disc. Scandal quickly converted the break with a sky from Allie Wallace in the end zone, earning the lead into half.

Scandal ran up another two points out of half, putting Phoenix on their backfoot. It was a blow that Raleigh could not recover from. Though did go back and forth for the rest of the game, Phoenix even earning a break back on a Scandal throwaway, but when soft cap came on, the game felt over. Phoenix were down by two and Scandal put on a line that got the break through a grueling, turnover-prone point to end the game. The sense, when the final point has been scored, was relief.

Rugged Paths to the Final