Diving into all the games and star players from WUL's weeks 2 and 3, plus a preview of the PUL's first matches!
April 3, 2026 by Keith Raynor and Emilia Scheemaker in Preview, Recap
This week’s edition of Four Quarters brings you a week 3 WUL recap, standout players from Colorado Alpenglow’s Pacific Northwest roadtrip, plays of the week, and a preview of the PUL’s first matchups! Want more on the PUL? Dive into our team-by-team primer!
1st Quarter: Week 3 Recap
Week 3 brought us four games from the WUL and only one of them was a rematch. With so much action happening around the league, we’ll take some shallow dives into each game and just skim the highlights.
Super Bloom at Home Over Astra, 18-10
San Diego Super Bloom hosted LA Astra, coming out ahead 18-10. Super Bloom held the Astra scoreless in the first quarter, giving them a head start on this game. The stats tell a lopsided story with San Diego leading in break opportunities, 26 to 9. Margot Nissen and Megan Maxfield topped the stats for Super Bloom, with four assists and three goals, respectively. Abbi Shilts came up with three of the 13 blocks tallied on Super Bloom’s stat sheet.
For LA Astra, Nadine Meister, Malia Smith, and Chip Yen rose to the top with three assists, two goals, and three blocks, respectively. While Astra had a higher pass completion this game, they also attempted ~30% more passes than their opponents. What we’re seeing from Super Bloom is passes with higher impact, and completions where it counts.
Sidewinders Lose to Bay Area, 24-13
Arizona slithered up the coast for their competition against the Bay Area Falcons, only to bring home a 24-13 loss. Call it home-court advantage, but the Falcons were able to soar to nearly twice as many goals per quarter as Arizona. The Falcons notched up a 92% passing efficiency and a 75% red zone conversion rate. Compared to the Sidewinders’ 38.5% red zone conversion, it’s clear where Arizona will be focusing this week.
Oregon Soar’s 1-1 Roadtrip: 19-14 Over Utah, 19-15 Loss to Colorado
Oregon Soar started out on their own roadtrip, playing Saturday against the Utah Wild. These teams played relatively tight, coming out 19-14 for Oregon’s win. Soar’s ability to create and convert eight of their 31 break opportunities brought this game home for them. Out of the 11 blocks Soar put up, three of them came from Caitlin Fitzgerald1.
The first rematch of the WUL season came from Oregon and Alpenglow. These two teams came together only a week ago in Week 2. Alpenglow repeated their performance of a week ago, pulling together a 19-15 win over Oregon. If there’s one game to go back and watch, make it this one.
Alpenglow jumped out to an early lead, but the teams traded well through the second, third, and fourth quarters. Colorado was able to force a number of turns on backfield swings, but struggled to hold the forehand force in the red zone. We won’t see these teams meet again in the regular season, but it will be interesting to watch if the trends we saw in this game persist against other opponents this season.
2nd Quarter: Meet the Match Makers (Week 2 Roadtrip)
In Week 2, Colorado Alpenglow took to the road to play Oregon Soar and Seattle Tempest. Alpenglow tallied a narrow win over Oregon Soar, concluding the match 17-15 in Colorado’s favor. The match against Tempest quickly got away from Colorado, ending in a 23-14 rout for the home team. Here we’ll take a look at the players who topped the stats.
Ari Nelson (Colorado) – Nelson has long been a standout for Colorado Alpenglow. Their steady presence behind the disc gives the offense space to work, but they are never hesitated to remind people exactly why their hucks are such a threat. With an average completion of 88% on the weekend, Nelson is tracking the same completion percentage this team has seen over the past few seasons. They chalked up two assists Saturday and six on Sunday and a total of 753 throwing yards on the weekend.
Abby Thorpe (Colorado) – One of the most covered receivers on the Alpenglow roster, Thorpe never fails to pull down discs in the end zone. Six goals on the weekend put her name at the top of the stats leaderboard during the Alpenglow road trip, a position she’s used to. Looking back at stats from past seasons across all rosters, Thorpe’s name shows up on most points played, most receiving yards, and goals. To stop this Alpenglow team, someone needs to find a cure for the drive of Abby Thorpe.
Kennedy McCarthy (Colorado) – Kennedy McCarthy earned her first Player of the Week honors in Week 2. A standout at UVM, McCarthy has been making waves in New England for some time. She garnered four blocks during the game against Seattle, as well as three goals and four assists. But no play was more spectacular than her layout callahan. McCarthy’s speed, timing, and natural ability in the air make her a threat on either side of the disc.
Emily Pozzy (Soar) – Another UVM highlight, Pozzy came up through the Maine Ultimate development pipeline and has been causing teams problems with her throws since she was in high school. Her strength in her throws has been well documented, but what teams need to look out for is her body positioning and field awareness. Pozzy will punish teams with high flying bids when she’s covering the stack, and a disciplined positioning that always has her in the right spot near the handlers. This weekend against Utah she used that seasoned positioning to tally herself a hand block. This player has a long reach. Thrower beware.
Murl Hammond (Soar) – Murl Hammond was at the top of the stats in the game against Alpenglow, pulling in 4 goals and 333 receiving yards. Grinding openside unders is where Hammond shines. Even players that know where the throw is coming from find Hammond hard to defend. Topping the charts in receiving yards and goals, Hammond is one of Soar’s go to weapons.
Cheryl Hsu (Tempest) – The Seattle Tempest simply would not function without Cheryl Hsu. A steady hand behind the disc and a consistent reset for the offence, she keeps this offense firing in the right direction. Hsu has been unshakable under pressure and an offensive threat. Her ability to create space and keep control of the disc have her sitting on top of some impressive offensive and defensive efficiency stats. It’s clear that any disc in her hands is not only safe, is a threat. Teams looking to break up Seattle’s tempo will need to keep the disc away from Hsu. With the way Hsu moves on the field, it seems a lofty goal.
3rd Quarter: Play(s) of the Week
It’s often hard to pull out just one great play from the weekend, especially with four games to choose from. But these double bookends from Caitlin Fitzgerald deserve recognition. During the Soar v Wild game, Fitzgerald showed up for her team with a hand block and a soaring layout D, converting both into points.
4th Quarter: PUL Week 1 Preview
Opening weekend in the 2026 Premier Ultimate League features two match ups: Philadelphia Surge vs Nashville Nightshade and Raleigh Radiance vs Austin Torch. Both games are a chance for the underdog to punch up and prove they plan to play above their weight in 2026. For Nashville, it’s a chance to introduce a little stability, create some holds, and find that high-percentage offense that will pull them through big games. Expect Nashville to come out hot, but that energy to fade as Philadelphia asserts the calm, commanding structure that is becoming their calling card.
For Austin Torch, the match up against Radiance is a chance to test themselves against some real disciplined defense. Torch is a team fueled by break chains and momentum, but they’ll need to grind to get past Radiance. Raleigh will trust their athletes to win space and make the game with their legs.
Hot take: Austin lands the louder highlights, but Raleigh lands the cleaner possessions — and in an opener where execution matters more than flash, Radiance steal a statement road win by converting late break chances after halftime adjustments.
WUL Power Rankings
| Rank | Team | Change | Prior |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Diego Super Bloom | - | 1 |
| 2 | Bay Area Falcons | - | 2 |
| 3 | Seattle Tempest | +1 | 4 |
| 4 | Colorado Alpenglow | -1 | 3 |
| 5 | Oregon Soar | +2 | 7 |
| 6 | Arizona Sidewinders | -1 | 5 |
| 7 | Los Angeles Astra | -1 | 6 |
| 8 | Utah Wild | - | 8 |
PUL Power Rankings
| 1 | New York Gridlock |
| 2 | DC Shadow |
| 3 | Philadelphia Surge |
| 4 | Indianapolis Red |
| 5 | Raleigh Radiance |
| 6 | Atlanta Soul |
| 7 | Minnesota Strike |
| 8 | Austin Torch |
| 9 | Milwaukee Monarchs |
| 10 | Nashville Nightshade |
Check out the replay in our Play of the Week ↩
