Fast Takes from Fast Break: SOUTH SUPERSERIES I
Get ready for the most exciting South Superseries we’ve had since 2019!
Austin Outlaws
The Austin Outlaws will kick off their season with an absolutely loaded roster and aspirations to avenge their loss in the 2019 finals. The epitome of consistency— this Austin team brings back much of its vaunted quaffle and beater depth, but with several lethal additions. Elite chasers Andrew Axtell (#45), Sam “Sam Ham” Haimowitz (#77), and keeper Josh Johnson (#1) are all new to the Outlaws’ roster this season.
Their already-stacked beater core now has the additions of Jackson Johnson (#12) and Hallie Pace (#27). However, they did lose a key player in Kylie McBride, which will be a tough pill for them to swallow. We'll have to see if newcomers Claire Costanza (#14), Mia Muñoz (#26), and Purvi Majumdar (#13) can help Pace fill that void.
The Outlaws are also welcoming Texas Quidditch chasing talents Kayse Beavers and Caroline Tao (part of USNTDA). Both players are huge offensive weapons to pair with elite chasers Kaci Erwin (#2) and Erin McBride (#94).
This Austin team looks like it's the most complete 2021 MLQ team top to bottom, but it'll have to be seen how they'll cope with young talent taking over some key positions. In 2019, they were the highest scoring team in the South Division with a QPF/G of 150.8. They also caught 75% of all snitches in the regular season.
Prediction: they are going 6-0 this weekend in a dominant fashion.
New Orleans Curse
Even though New Orleans went 0-3 this past weekend against San Antonio, they showed that this is a team with a bright future and one that is probably the best MLQ or USQ team out of the NOLA area in a while. Even though we had the series as a sweep, we could not predict how well this team would perform even after early injuries to Charlton Tramel (#14) and Bryan Cascio (#13). The fact that the younger players— Emily Thompson (#30), Justin Nunez (#17), and Marcellus Lewis (#10)— were able to step up and play big minutes and hold their own is a testament to their talent. It is also a huge learning opportunity that cannot be replicated at practices.
However, it helps that this Curse team has an elite beater pair in Team USA caliber beaters Sarah Kneiling (#11) and Joshua Mansfield (#2). Sources have told us that this immediate chemistry that was displayed was because of them having played together “for years on at least three separate official teams.” A strong beating pair can absolutely be a game wrecker in any series and is why I believe this is a team that is primed to shock any unprepared team thinking they expect an easy win.
While an efficient offense is still a work in progress— they formed 65.0 QP/G in 2019 and have stayed the course at 63.3 QPF/G in 2021— their defense has made all the difference. With a quaffle-points-against difference of nearly 28 points— the physicality of their defense has been a huge boon and has our source remarking to us that the “physicality was next level for any Louisiana team [that has] ever [been] seen.” Combined with a young quaffle line that is learning and growing, I think this New Orleans team has a strong potential to compete against any team who might overlook this Curse team.
For this weekend, I believe the Curse will get their first series win against League City. Finishing this weekend 2-4 is a very real possibility. League City was lit up by MLQ Chaser of the Week for Week 1 in Darian Murcek-Ellis and while New Orleans does not have a quaffle player that will replicate Murcek-Ellis’ performance I believe their top level beating is better than League City and the Legend’s limited female chaser depth and lack of efficient offensive strategy will be their downfall against a surging Curse squad.
Prediction: 0-3 against Austin Outlaws and 2-1 against League City Legends.
League City Legends
Last, but certainly not least, we have the League City Legends. The Legends played their first series on June 26th against the Kansas City Stampede. They were 0-3 for the day, but overall played Kansas very close. They were slow to start, but played better throughout the day. Cullen Friday (#12), a keeper for the Legends and one of their top scorers, suffered an injury in Game 1. Friday is popularly known as “the fastest man alive.” The driving abilities of League City’s other quaffle players, including Sean Townsend (#19) and Dilan Freeman (#6), kept Games 2 and 3 close.
I think the biggest challenges that the Legends will face is in ball movement on offense and SOP. The majority of the Legends’ goals in the Kansas series were scored off of drives, and we did not see a ton of passing, drive and dishes, or screens. They are currently at 100.0 QPF/G, behind their 120.8 QPF/G from last season. However, this is not an insurmountable gap— especially if they continue to improve the way they did in the last series. Most of the offenses were initiated by the aggression of engage beaters Carlos Elarba (#81) and Baldemar Nunez (#0). I think that relying solely on drives to score will make them struggle against the Outlaws, who are known for their incredibly physical defense. In SOP, their beaters struggled to give their seeker looks and were unable to sufficiently hamper Kansas’ seeker, leading to 2 Kansas catches.
The Legends did show an impressive adaptability on defense, playing man defense, a 2-2 zone, and a 1-3 zone at different points in the series. This ability to change strategy mid-game, especially this early in season after a 1.5 year hiatus, will serve them well this weekend.
Worryingly, the Legends have only rostered 4 female players for the upcoming SuperSeries. This could prove to be a make-or-break move for the Legends. On the one hand, Haley Dupré (#8) chased for almost 3 entire games against Kansas. She was one of the few Legends players to set a screen and played consistently physical defense throughout the series. Mel Brown (#69), who played both beater and chaser at the series, also played almost 3 complete games. They were both able to play at a consistent level throughout the Series, but the SuperSeries means double minutes, including games against one of the only teams to win the Benepe Cup. Can Lisa Reisenauer (#77, chaser) and Brianna Bolling (#18, chaser) step up and play those minutes?
Reisenauer is a MLQ rookie and plays on Houston Cosmos in the USQ season. In her first ever Cosmos season, she scored in every game. Bolling is also new to the League City Legends and brings an intensity that will serve the Legends well in the SuperSeries.
The Kansas games were extremely close, but with the length of the COVID gap a hurdle for everyone coming back into the game, should Legends have diversified their chaser line in their close Kansas series for a potentially better result against New Orleans and Austin?
Prediction: 0-3 against Austin Outlaws and 1-2 against New Orleans Curse.
