Metro NY Sectional Champions

For the first time in NYU Ultimate's history, a team has won their Section. All the hard work this season culminated in a decisive, rewarding victory. We went 5-0, outscoring our opponents 30-8 in the semis and finals. It was a great effort by everyone involved, and it was clear by the results (and the stats) that the Femmes played their best tournament this year. Congratulations to all the players! They certainly deserved it.

Our first game against Fordham showed our inexperience. They had a small team but they were fresh and most of their key players were there. We were so pumped up and excited for this game that everyone briefly forgot how to play, complete with rookie mistakes, drops, and freestyling on offense. We were down 3-1 but rallied back to take the lead 9-6 off some excellent play by Amanda. When Fordham pulled to within one (10-9), we collectively had a "We cannot lose to Fordham" moment and took it 15-10. It was a battle the whole way and we had no idea that this would be by far our closest game of the weekend.

Beating Drew 15-1 got our confidence back and some rest for our starters for the big Vassar game. We came out fast and took half 8-3, never letting up and taking the game 15-4. Vassar looked beaten early in the game and we closed it out very well, playing smart and scoring on several upwinders through their zone.

Everyone was in a good mood Sunday morning, partly due to the fabulous fields Julie got us for Day 2. The semifinal game against Rutgers started out very intense, with us jumping out to a 5-2 lead. Mia and Sarah won what seemed like a 2-on-2 versus Amanda and Vanessa, the two players Rutgers' offense ran through. Luckily, their Ace cut to start their offense against a straight up was exactly the same as a drill we did several times to practice man defense. We played our best zone offense all year and won 15-4.

We were expecting to play Columbia in the finals as they, like us, went 3-0 on Day 1, but instead we faced a Vassar squad with more subs. This didn't change the result, as we once again came out strong and finished with a 15-4 win. Once they were down, Vassar did not look like they thought they could win. The second half of the finals was pretty much a celebration.

I also ended up watching Rutgers, with only two subs, beat a tough Princeton team and then gut out a 14-9 victory in the backdoor over Columbia, taking the third and final Regionals spot. Columbia was 3-0 on Saturday and ended up not even qualifying. What happened to them was basically the nightmare situation for us and what regularly occurred for NYU teams in the past.

We had two goals for this season:
1. Win the Section
2. Regionals Day 2

So we're halfway there!

Coaching was immensely rewarding, especially watching those players who were brand new to any field sport be decisive and make big plays under pressure. We can't wait for Regionals and the opportunity to test ourselves against the best teams in the Metro East.