A dominant second half from SmOAK helped them pull away from a stingy Boston BUDA squad.
August 11, 2026 by Josh Katz in Recap
One year after winning their first YCC title in dramatic fashion, Oakland SmOAK rolled to a second title in a far more comfortable performance in the final. A dominant second half from SmOAK helped them pull away from a stingy Boston BUDA squad to earn a 15-11 victory. Powered by an offense that was broken just twice and a hounding defense, SmOAK never trailed in the final.
It didn’t take long for SmOAK to find an early advantage. Two goals from Nick Rusa produced two holds for SmOAK, and the defense seized its opportunities for blocks. Lane Mires notched one on BUDA’s first offensive point, but SmOAK could not convert. On BUDA’s second offensive point, tight defense downfield and a lack of viable cuts forced a reset that Son Mai-Clark easily blocked in the backfield. He and Eliseo Vaquerano ran a quick give-and-go, and Vaquerano made the catch along the sideline for the game’s first break.
BUDA fought back quickly and leveled the score at 4-4. After Timothy Draut’s backhand huck for Muhammad Awais traveled too far, Nathan Thompson fired a return shot that hung perfectly for Yaotong Zhang in the end zone, earning BUDA their first break. But crisp offense from SmOAK for the rest of the half prevented BUDA from mounting a serious challenge. SmOAK had just one turnover in the remainder of the first half, a miscommunication between Awais and Jasper Graf, but a drop from Eli Staples ended the BUDA counterattack. Rusa’s third goal of the half, off a short Awais backhand, sent SmOAK into halftime up a break, leading 8-6.
The second half started with a pair of BUDA goals to get back on serve. The first, a hold, came from Zeke Spector after he snuck past his defender and to the front cone to receive a dish from Max Coe. The second, a break, came on a wild, lengthy point that featured numerous turns, multiple injury calls, and a yellow card to SmOAK’s Hugo Tsai. It ended with Jude Martin-Weinbaum receiving a flick from Thompson in the end zone, tying the game at 8-8.
With the momentum building in Boston’s favor, it would have been understandable for SmOAK to fold at this moment. But this wasn’t the first time SmOAK had faced adversity during the tournament. After dropping a pool play game to Raleigh Triforce, the defending champs needed to play an additional prequarter game in the grueling heat. Despite the circumstances of that situation, SmOAK were appreciative of the opportunity.
“Our captains were very vocal about how grateful they were to have another game to play [in prequarters], rather than fearful of an extra game on our legs,” Michael Pang commented. “And in our coaches’ meeting, we spoke about how lucky we are to have more chances to play as a team.” All of the coaches echoed that sentiment. The togetherness that SmOAK displayed all year and all weekend was a vital part of their YCC victory.
SmOAK rebounded quickly with a pair of holds, starting with a beautiful backhand throw from Alex Poy to Mai-Clark down the far sideline. Another Coe-and-Spector connection for BUDA tied the game at 9-9, before Graf threw his 12th and final assist of the tournament on an easy break side flick to Draut. Two breaks quickly followed as SmOAK used their depth to their advantage, capitalizing on execution errors from BUDA. Elliot Elson corralled a Mires deep shot just shy of the goal line and quickly found a continuation to Ezra Grziwok Dowling to put SmOAK up two. A short-field turnover led to Jasper Kirsch catching a swing pass and hitting Alessio Gilabert-Papagni with a backhand just over the goal line to put SmOAK up three. Suddenly, SmOAK had breathing room and could taste victory.
Oakland never gave Boston even a whiff of a comeback chance, refusing to turn the disc over the rest of the game. Spector’s fifth goal of the final, off a deflection from Elson and/or Kolin Broderick, ended the break train for SmOAK. But Hugo Tsai bookended an Owen Bogumil goal for BUDA with two of his own for SmOAK to push Boston to the brink. After an overthrown huck from Coe, it was Mires running the counter attack and finding Elson in the end zone, finishing the game with one last break and sending the Oakland sideline storming onto the field.
Even with all the young stars on the roster, it was SmOAK’s depth that was vital to their championship win. “Every player on our roster played in the final. Every player had their moment to contribute,” Jason Seidler said postgame. Fifteen different players for Oakland registered a goal or an assist in the final, and only one player on the roster failed to do so across the entire tournament.
Despite the outcome, it was nothing but pride for BUDA afterwards. “This is the best team I’ve ever coached,” shared John Rice. “I’m so proud of them and of how hard they worked to get here.” Every coach spoke so highly of the bond the team had formed and how willing every player was to play for each other, even those who couldn’t be with the team in Colorado. Everyone associated with the team was wearing a red bandana all weekend in support of Cooper Whitney, whose father passed away earlier this summer.
But this season and this decade officially belong to Oakland SmOAK, now four-time finalists and back-to-back champions in the U20 Boys division. With the talent in the Bay Area and the level of buy-in from the whole community, don’t expect to see SmOAK fade away anytime soon.
