Park’s girls and non-binary ultimate frisbee team, Crush, lost against Apple Valley on Tuesday, April 28. Even though this was a challenging loss against the Eagles, coaches and players say that hopes remain high for the rest of the season.
Head coach Claire Cech said Apple Valley was a less difficult opponent compared to previous games they have played, with a similar ratio of new and experienced players on the field.
“(Apple Valley) is less challenging than the games we have had earlier (this season). They also had some newer players that were learning some of the things as we played, so that was a difference compared to some (other) teams,” Cech said.
Sophomore Caroline Phan said Apple Valley is similar to Crush in terms of player skill, commitment and past years of experience playing ultimate frisbee.
“They were a pretty good match for us, they kept us on our toes, and I think that they have a similar range of experience of players,” Phan said.
Sophomore Natalie Hall said a better defense strategy that focuses on having a more spread out and efficient defense and having a better passing strategy will be beneficial to the team in future games.
“We could do a lot more zone (defense) instead of one-person defense. I think we could try to do more undercuts because I feel like that will help,” Hall said.
According to Cech, this game puts the team into a good position for the rest of the season, with the addition of new offense and defense strategies and an aim to improve individual players’ skills to help their overall competitive advantage.
“This year, we have a lot of focus on trying new things as a team and growing individual skills. This game specifically, people got to try new things, got to try new defensive styles and I think that is going to help us as we go on,” Cech said.
According to Hall, the most challenging part of the game was Apple Valley’s ability to have multiple players available to catch and making sure they had a good defense to counter.
“(Apple Valley) was very good at getting open, just finding ways to catch the disk very well and we had to get very tight on the defense,” Hall said.
Phan said the best part of the team’s play was their ability to get the disc to score in the last minute and her slide to score in the final seconds of the game.
“My strongest point was the slide for the point at the end of the game,” Phan said.
The next Crush girls and non-binary game is May 5. at the Park stadium.
