Three teams came away without a win, but it wasn’t for lack of trying
October 25, 2024 by Alex Rubin in Recap with 0 comments
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All season long teams emphasize their process goals, acknowledging that -excepting teams on the bid bubble – the game-by-game scores do not matter as much as players’ individual growth and development alongside the team chemistry gained from more time playing together. But here at Nationals, it’s time when the paradigm flips and suddenly the results actually do matter. No matter how strong a team’s development pipeline or feedback mechanisms, at the end of the day the outcome of each game decides if and how their season will continue.
You all can see the results on Score Reporter, so I’m here to tell you about the teams that got the process right. All of these teams are 0-3, but with one bounce or another might have seen more impactful results and might still be eligible to compete for the title rather than fighting through consolation for a place in next year’s Pro Flight.
Over in the women’s division, #13 Washington DC Grit started their day with a 15-12 loss to #8 Seattle Riot – about what one might expect. They then went on to take both #3 Raleigh Phoenix and #14 Quebec Iris to double game point in an incredible display of, well, grit. Tayara Romero Peña announced herself as a premier handler capable of running a Nationals level offense. Abigail Antolick sits at or near the top of both the goals and assists leaderboard. By and large, Grit had all the tools they needed to take a massive step forward for their program and score a signature win. Phoenix played a soft, junky defense and Grit were able to take the throws available and keep possession against one of the title favorites. Carrying a steady lead throughout the game, Grit were not able to hold on in the end as stellar individual plays down the stretch from Claire Bidigare-Curtis and Audrey Lyman powered Phoenix to the victory they were favored to achieve all along.
Though Grit stumbled – another winless performance in pool play is surely disappointing for a team that has been steadily growing over the past few seasons – at the same time they showed today that they don’t just belong at this tournament, but they belong on the list of teams opponents need to game plan for. Phoenix is one of the best-prepared, most thoughtful teams at the tournament…and yet Grit had them on the ropes for the majority of the game.1 For 2025, Grit will be a team on the rise, but for 2024 they’re unluckily out.
The unlucky mixed division team of the day is #10 Washington DC Rally, who sandwiched two universe point losses around a six point defeat. Sami Smalling and Zach Norrbom capably led the charge on offense, while Alan Kolick and Taylor Coursey did the same on defense. Like Grit, Rally continue to improve season-over-season even if their results from today’s games do not show that progress. Kolick and Smalling combined to squeeze the available space for a tight inside throw in the final moments of Rally’s last pool play game against #17 Montana MOONDOG to earn the disc inside the attacking brick mark. Rally couldn’t keep possession with but a few yards to spare until the winning score and allowed MOONDOG to march down to the field and steal their spot in the bracket.
Rally’s Regionals win over #13 Philadelphia AMP is surely the highlight of their season already, but despite the opportunities, Rally couldn’t, well, rally themselves to victory. Earlier in the day, Rally had a chance to upset #3 Austin Disco Club, but also fell by a single goal. For all that Rally gave up in the talent matchup, they had stronger experience after two seasons of Nationals-level play.
Finally in the men’s division, #12 Vancouver Furious George, well, furiously tried to keep pace in the “Pool of Death” with #1 Denver Johnny Bravo, #6 Atlanta Chain Lightning, and #9 Portland Rhino Slam!. They went 0-3 which was theoretically expected given their bottom seed, but managed a point differential of -4, which was an impressive surprise. Between Nyle Lebbell’s sense of timing, Quinn Snider’s nose for the end zone, Max Pettenuzzo’s drive to match up with the opposition’s best player, and Jay Boychuk’s ability to churn out yards in the middle of the field, Furious George showed off plenty of their best attributes. They played with composure in the face of pressure and are simply unlucky to come away without at least one win.
Against Johnny Bravo, Furious had the disc on the attacking endzone line, but Bravo snuffed out Furious’ standard endzone motion and earned a crucial block. When they played Rhino Slam!, Pettenuzzo came inches away from a game changing block on a Raphy Hayes slash cut, but ultimately Rhino Slam! punched in the game winning score. Given their collective effort, Furious are unlucky to miss out on the bracket. They clearly can play with the best teams in the division and deserve the chance to showcase their skill and scheme for more than just a single, excruciating day.
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