Sandy Jorgenson reaches above to knock a disc out of the air - Photo by Kevin Leclaire (UltiPhotos.com)
Scandalous Overview
A hard hitting contender from our nation’s capital Scandal is hitting their stride in the fifth year of the club’s existence. Taking 6th at the 2010 USA Ultimate Club Championships, Scandal looks to improve with their sights on the semifinals and beyond. A goal well within the team’s reach.
2011 will be Scandal’s third trip to the big show. With a line up strong and athletic enough to challenge any contender, Scandal looks to UCSB star Briana Cahn and former Fury teammate Manu Argilli to bring leadership on and off the field and fight through pressure situations.
Strategy and Leadership
Scandal is rolling without a coach this season and taking on some new offensive sets. This combination of change is a difficult obstacle for any team to face, but captain Allison Maddux willingly greets this challenge and prides her team on becoming a well oiled machine over the course of the regular season.
The captain attributes the growth of Scandal this year partially to the high level of play they’ve seen at ECC and Virginia Fusion. Maddux says “We get fired up to play Capitals and Fury… knowing that the win hinges on every strategic or in-the-moment decision, every aspect of the timing of that cut, every completed pass that transpires on the field.” Maddux and co-captain Molly Roy’s preparation and thirst for these types of situations will carry Scandal deep into the Championship bracket in Sarasota.
Without a coach it has been on the shoulders of Maddux and Roy to utilize new and returning player’s strengths and develop their weaknesses. It hasn’t been an easy road, but they are confident they have found a balance coming into the national championships. “To witness finally that beautiful offensive flow translate to the field in a close game, is something that is so satisfyingly rewarding that we forget about the daily challenges.”
Photo by Kevin Leclaire (UltiPhotos.com)
Scandal came out of the gates hard with June’s Boston Invite going 6-1 and losing only to 2010 national runners up Capitals.
The Emerald City Classic showed great promise for their season giving Scandal a first look at women’s powerhouse and Northwest home teams Riot and Fury, falling short to Fury only 12-15 and losing to Riot in the quarters 13-15. They would go on to walk over national contenders Brute Squad and Nemesis to claim 5th.
While Virgina Fusion proved to give the DC team turbulence (going 3-4 in round robin), Scandal would go on to crush through their Sectional and Regional tournaments claiming a nationals bid with a bullet. Scandal held back regional rival, Phoenix from North Carolina, to secure the top seed out of the Mid Atlantic and fuel the team’s lust for another tournament win.
For any team, feeling like you didn’t play to the level you know you can is something that will be bothersome for some time, like an itch you can’t scratch. That event has probably fueled a lot of the fire we have brought to games against Boston this season. -Allison Maddux
2011 Outlook
Jenny Fey goes up for a disc - Photo by Kevin Leclaire (UltiPhotos.com)
Scandal will be a team to watch at the club championships and certainly a team no opponent wants in their pool or side of the bracket. The catch will be if they can take their early season losses to the top three teams (Riot, Fury, and Capitals) and utilize what they’ve learned to turn the screws. Given their season results so far Scandal deserves a spot in the semis but it will take the team running deep and on all cylinders to assure they achieve that and maybe beyond.
Follow Scandal
Feature image of Octavia Payne.
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