WUL Update: Western Ultimate League Week 2

How did Oregon do in their debut?

April 3, 2025 by Emilia Scheemaker in Recap

Welcome to the WUL/PUL Update, Ultiworld’s roundup for the two women’s and nonbinary semi-pro leagues. The Western Ultimate League had three new teams break ground on their 2025 seasons. The Premier Ultimate League will kick off this weekend.

Seattle Tempest Grounds Oregon Soar in Opener

Seattle Tempest and Oregon Soar both took the field for the first time in their 2025 season this weekend, a return to league play for an Oregon franchise under a new banner. The teams were predicted to be a close match in early seeding, but Seattle Tempest put those rumors to rest with a definitive win over Soar, taking the game 24-10. The trouble started early with Tempest up by four points at the end of the first quarter¹ and beginning to run away with it.

The good news? Seattle looked very good. They could pass for any elite club team headed for a TCT event. Their defense was spot on, pressuring Soar into tight spaces and more difficult looks. Seattle’s determination forced their opponents into errors they could convert on. And they did, all game long. Tempest brought a solid pace to the game, making decisions early and often. They were decisive in pumping off cutters and made good decisions with the disc.

Soar looked like it was their first time as a semi-pro team. In their defense, this was their first time hitting the field together. Their defense was squishy, but after the first quarter they did try to adjust to the pace of Seattle Tempest. It was in those moments that Oregon Soar looked the best. When they were in motion they were able to flow together better. Credit to the Seattle defense, flow was hard to come by. In those stilted in-between moments, Soar relied heavily on Rachel Egan, Gelli Boyden, and Wren Vogel to keep the disc alive. To relieve the heavy ask, Soar did attempt a few different strategies to slow down Tempest. They moved their D-line to play offense a few times and they moved from working the disc between handlers to taking more shots downfield. Soar seemed to be trying to decide what their go-to switch-up would be as a program. These are typical growing pains for any program, but it certainly didn’t help them on the scoreboard.

The quick movement and chemistry they’ve built over years allows Tempest widen the gap in the latter portions of the game. Sadie Jezierski, Cheryl Tsu, Linnea Soo, and Laura To all took turns on the other side of the goal line for Tempest, but they weren’t the only ones pulling in points. Molly Wieringa, Emily Decker, and Anna Cauchy were all in the mix. It’s clear from the scoreboard that the players on these lines are comfortable spreading out the responsibility and throwing to their first open friend. It’s easy to do when your D-line is giving you so many chances. Jamie Eriksson was keen to add to her defensive stats, pulling in a pair of blocks early on in this game. Her intensity and tenacity helped this team stick to the pace they’ll need if they want to conquer the Bay Area Falcons next weekend.

Oregon Soar will have a week to iron out the details before they take on Colorado Alpenglow at home on April 5th. Their schedule isn’t offering them any space to ease into the league with the Bay Area Falcons in week 5, but if they’re able to adapt and come together as a team they may be able to prove themselves over this Seattle Tempest team when they meet again in Week 9.

Bay Area Falcons Beat Arizona Sidewinders in Turn Plagued Road Trip

The Falcons and Sidewinders met for their first contest and it was an underwhelming start to the season. A game marked by frequent turns by both teams, unforced errors, miscommunications, and overthrown cutters, it was not the strong opener Bay Area hoped for, despite the 23-17 win over the Sidewinders.

For Arizona, there was improvement from their first game. They kept some of that pace around the disc that Super Bloom had forced them to match and they tightened up their downfield person defense. They didn’t have the discipline to hold to that defense all game, but they had moments of brilliant red zone defense. Their marks around the disc didn’t see the same improvement. The marks were broken easily, but they were playing a Bay Area team that really thrives on inside breaks and stepping out to get around a mark.

The Bay Area Falcons faced a different set of problems, but made up for it with defensive pressure. This team had its share of miscues and overthrows that they’ll need to iron out, but with neither team using possession to control this game they weren’t punished for it. They had defensive looks from Kristin Weyenberg, Georgia Cardosa, and Lily Steponaitis to turn the tide of the game. Eliza Chang locked down opposing handlers, really causing problems for the AZ Sidewinders. The thing that really propelled the Falcons towards their win was a unique play style featuring sharp cuts, pinpoint inside break throws, and a willingness to throw to tight spaces or even (near) coverage. Nicki Yang was in an out of the handler space with an outstanding display of disc control and decision making to hit those inside chances. Robyn Fennig and Han Chen anchored the Falcons offense, really creating a steady back drop for their cutters to work against. One of those steadfast cutters was none other than Amanda Meroux, able to bring in two goals for the Falcons.

For the Sidewinders, it was another great showing from Brittany Stettmeier and Kay Powell. Powell’s calm confidence steadied the offense. She was able to value the disc in the midst of the controlled chaos of this game, and garner two assists while she was at it. Stettmeier played defense, she played offense. She got the goals, she forced the turns. She made a definitive difference for the team and was fun to watch. Erin Donahue, Chip Chang, Emma Erickson, and Mel Dunn were the other standouts from this game. Chang distributed the disc and managed to pull in two points (one on a pass from Dunn). Meanwhile Erikson and Donahue connected on their own goal.

For Arizona, week 3 means time off to reflect on games, come together as a team, and make a plan to come back stronger. They learned from their first game against San Diego and brought those learnings to this game. If they continue that trend they’ll improve every week and they just might make up their standing on the tables. The Sidewinders will take on Colorado Alpenglow in week 4 (on April 12th). Bay Area will need to adjust more quickly. They are matched up against a feisty Seattle Tempest next week on April 5th.

WUL Power Rankings

1. Seattle was up 13-7 at half. ↩