November 7, 2013 by Charlie Eisenhood in Livewire, News with 1 comments
Seattle Riot coach Mike Lawler left a long comment on our Facebook page about the Women’s All-Club players. He had some very nice things to say about each of the women selected.
He wrote:
[quote]I didn’t really follow the men’s side, but I was a little disappointed in the direction that the discussions went on the women’s side.
We all will, of course, have different ideas of who would be on a “1st team” and a “2nd team.” That’s to be expected. Much, if not all, of the discussion about your selections related either to the order of the players or to who wasn’t there. Lost in the shuffle is the chance to celebrate the talents of the 14 players you included.
FWIW, my quick reaction on the women’s side was as follows:
Nice to see a little recognition for some of the top players in the game. Looking forward to seeing the rest of the list tomorrow. As for this list:
(1) Chewy gave us fits all season. Super talented player.
(2) Katey Forth. An amazing player, and incredibly dedicated to the game playing both in England and in the US. Made one of the best catches of the tournament in our 3/4 game at nationals.
(3) Robyn Wiseman. Saw her play for the first time in 2010 when I was covering the women’s division for Skyd. She helped lead RevoLOUtion over Ozone in a huge upset then. One of the thrills for me at nationals this year was seeing first hand what an amazing talent she’s become leading Heist. She’s basically unstoppable.
(4) Butters. Yes!! Absolutely one of the athletes I’ve ever seen in the game. Love her and am so happy she’s being talked about in this group of players.
(5) Anne Mercier. Great, great player. Have loved watching her play for years. Used to give Brute Squad fits when I coached them. Such a dominant handler. I was impressed how well she was able to fit in with Scandal this year.
(6) Shmi. With so many great players on Fury, seems like Shmi’s contributions can get overlooked, so props to Ultiworld for recognizing what an amazing player she is. Sad that I never got to worth with her on Brute Squad.
(7) Opi. Saw her play in 2009 for the first time and had to pick my jaw up off the ground. Hope she plays for a long, long time because I’ll never get tired of watching her. She’s also an incredible ambassador for the game. Really, there aren’t enough words to say all the good things about her that need to be said.
** and **
Congrats to the 7 players named to Ultiworld’s All-Club women’s team.
So proud of the year that both Calise and Surge had. Such strong players and such hard workers. Every minute watching them play is a treat. I am so happy to have gotten to know both of them over the last two years.
Have to confess that I really didn’t know Sandy Jorgensen as a player when she was named to the US team earlier this year. Went up to Boston to watch the US team play early in the summer and she blew me away. She played really well every time we played Scandal this year, but saved her best for last in the semis and finals at club nationals. What a player.
Cara Crouch was named to her second US national team this year, so it seems like there’s not much more to say about her. However, having seen her play against Riot / Brute 10 times in the last 6 years, I think this was the best I’ve ever seen her play.
It is sort of strange to write about a Brute player that I don’t really know, but Becky Malinowski is an absolute force on the field. The two times I saw Brute play this year, she was absolutely unstoppable. What really impressed me is how she grew as a player from this year compared to last year. Catching the disc under and then turning and throwing perfect throws, in particular. With her size, speed, and throws she’s basically impossible to guard.
Finally Lien Hoffman and Kami Groom from Nemesis. After the women’s final I ran to my car to get something from the Hall of Fame ceremony that I grabbed for Gwen. On the way back I ran into Kami who introduced me to Lien. They both played unbelievably well in our game against them the day before and I was glad to have the chance to tell both of them how much I thought of them. We ended up talking for about 10 minutes. Both are amazing young players. Attracting people like them into the game is going to be so great for Ultimate’s future. Happy to see them getting some recognition from Ultiworld.[/quote]
