Philadelphia, PA – The defending open division champs look sharp, some big upsets in the women’s division, and more quick hits from Saturday’s pool play action at the USAU Pro Championships.

PoNY Picking Up Steam

After a loss in the US Open finals and some moments over the course of the season where the defending champions looked maybe more vulnerable than expected, PoNY was clicking on Saturday, picking up wins against Machine, Dig, and Truck Stop. Ben Jagt’s return and presence on offense was a significant boost, as the dominant cutter looked almost unguardable at times in the deep space.

Head coach Bryan Jones stressed the importance of overcoming some adversity over the weekend to help solidify an identity heading into Nationals in October: “It goes back to just making new mistakes rather than old mistakes and learning more about ourselves,” he said. “That way we can set better goals, figure out what we’re doing on offense on a turn, do things like that right.”

“And if we do those things right we can expand our game a bit and learn new stuff.”

PoNY head coach Bryan Jones with player Ben Katz.

In terms of outcome goals, winning the tournament is an important and attainable one for New York, especially with teams like Sockeye and Revolver not present.

“We want to crush this tournament,” said Jones, “Because we want to see what we have. If we don’t tighten up in the moments we need to tighten up and get a stop, we just won’t know.”

“We want to have that confidence going into Nationals.”

Of course, the energy around PoNY is different this year. Teams are eager for a shot at the champs, and it shows in the level of preparation they arrive with and the different looks they throw out.

“We definitely changed up what we’ve been doing to react to [different strategies],” Jones added. “It’s not surprising, it’s just a bit more than we thought. Our defensive identity is a bit different than what we did last year in some ways.”

Molly Brown lands statement win over Riot



In a visibly cathartic moment for multiple Molly Brown players, the underdog Denver squad punched in a huge 13-10 victory against top-seeded Seattle Riot.

Manuela Cardenas, Lisa Pitcaithley, and others had standout individual games, but it was Denver’s defensive unit as a whole that applied constant pressure throughout the game and kept a typically clinical Riot offense uncomfortable.

“Riot is one of those teams that are just so ‘system’ and so freaking good, to beat them means a lot for our team,” said Lisa Pitcaithley, one of Molly Brown’s captains.

Molly Brown’s consistent energy on and off the field forced Riot into multiple sloppy end-zone possessions that opened the door for breaks.

For this team, [beating Riot] is huge. We have so many new people, we’re really building a new team. This was great, the ladies are fired up.” -Lisa Pitcaithley

“I think we were playing a little bit more to win instead of not to lose,” Pitcaithley added.

The game also represented the first round of a Cardenas sibling rivalry that both twins were eager to get underway. While they played mainly on defense for their respective teams and were not matched up together, it was a special game for Manuela to win with Molly Brown.

This is Manuela Cardenas’s third club series with Molly Brown after joining the team in 2017.

“We were waiting for this game since I first saw the schedule. I was really excited, my whole family was so excited,” said Manuela.

“I am very proud for Manu because she played so well,” said Valeria after watching her sister show off her throws in an impressive performance. Valeria added that she is pleased with Riot’s performance overall and expects a different outcome the next time the two teams — and sisters — go head to head.

“Tomorrow is a new day,” she concluded.

6ixers beat Brute Squad

Two weeks removed from winning the Canadian Ultimate Championships, Toronto is aiming to do more than just show up for the USAU series. A big win against Boston Brute Squad was a confidence booster for a team looking for the elusive double peak.

“We’re gunning to disrupt the system, because it’s been the same top four teams [at Nationals] for forever,” said captain Jordan Meron. “I think teams like us and Scandal are really knocking on the door and we’re hoping we can get there this year at Nationals.”

Toronto dropped their first game of the day to the Raleigh Pheonix, but came out strong defensively against Brute Squad.

“We knew that it was going to be challenging to come out hot here after the incredible high of winning CUCs, but when we went into the Brute game I think we were just really amped and ready to beat them,” Meron said.

“If you had asked me a week ago if you thought we would beat Brute Squad, I’d say we could give them a good game but it would be unlikely that we would come out on top. It turns out the loss [to Pheonix] really revved us up.”

Disruptive handler defense was a key for 6ixers as they kept Boston’s offensive from settling into a rhythm.

“Major credit to our d-line handlers who were absolutely locking down some incredible players on Brute Squad,” Meron added. “They were really having to work super hard to get their dumps off and we were making them go to option two, or three, or four every single time.”

A big matchup against San Francisco Fury tomorrow morning followed by bracket play will help contextualize what Toronto is bringing to the table heading into the postseason, but it’s clear the team doesn’t plan to take the fall series lightly.

“We’re definitely not taking our foot off the gas, we’re pushing hard for six more weeks and hoping to end really strong,” Meron said.

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