Fast Takes with Fast Break: New Orleans v San Antonio
Author: Naresh Edala
Showdown for Silver
The series this weekend defines who will claim 2nd in the South Division. With San Antonio having swept Kansas City already, they’ll be looking to continue their dominance over what will be the fight for 2nd between all the non-Austin South Division teams. As we've said before though, the depth of the rosters at the away series is really what decides the South Division, and this'll be an important factor for San Antonio to overcome this season. With a roster lacking depth at beater, and in female and non binary players regardless of position, a lengthy 3 game series could spell defeat for San Antonio against any opponent. Add in a full roster led by the strategic mind of Ben Mertens, and New Orleans becomes the worst kind of opponent for San Antonio to face with low numbers. New Orleans Curse is a team ready to make adjustments mid game, including a change in pace when necessary in their beater play.
For San Antonio, Jay Stewart (coming off a player of the week accolade already this season) will look to continue as a key point for Soldados on both sides of the ball as a catalyst for their offense and a physical defender to make stops. Around him, you've got key pieces like Dilan Freeman,who absorbs defensive pressure before finding the right time to distribute the ball;Milena Sousa, who can shoot or drive under pressure (especially if she's being wrongly underestimated by her opponents); and Matthew Blackwood, who can safely finish any offense and still make it back in time to create turnovers with physical defensive plays. In the beater game, all eyes are on Javi Tijerina, Kris De La Fuente, and Julie Picasso to generate parity in the beater game to open up the way for their chasers to cook. In the seeker game, we may see Christian Cortez or John Alvarez look to make success with catches, or at least hold off New Orleans's seekers enough for Jay to get on the yellow for a finisher. The game plan for San Antonio will likely teeter between transition plays to disrupt New Orleans chemistry but pacing their beaters and female chasers to prevent exhaustion. The heat will be the biggest enemy as this team faces 3 games of play, with temperatures starting at 91 degrees before dropping to about 85 by the end of competition. Luckily the expected rain earlier in the day will make things more bearable, though they've still got a competitive New Orleans team ready and waiting on the other side of it.
Last year's New Orleans team was the latest in a long line of redevelopment of New Orleans quadball under the helms of leaders like Sarah "Phantom" Kneiling, Josh(ua) Mansfield, and Russell Bryan Cascio. Bulking up their franchise roster, having more consistent practices, and the level of heart has carried this team series after series into last year's MLQ Championship qualification. After a taste of the potential of this program, the 2023 New Orleans Curse will look to present themselves as expected championship contenders. To start that journey, Curse will look to start out strong during the first of their two home field advantage series of the year by coming out of the box looking for blood. First—their beater core, which hasn't been talked about enough. Most MLQ franchises have a roster of beaters that must spend the beginning of their season testing out and acclimating new pairs. New Orleans beaters, on the other hand, have spent their USQ season on Gulf Coast Gumbeaux fine tuning themselves, playing against a series of MLQ level opponents at events like Crescent City Invitational and Southwest Regionals. Just looking at the footage from these events will tell you all you need to know about the expertise of every pairing of these beaters, so this article will have to drop closer to the series so we don't give away ALL the secrets. Mansfield and Kneiling are perhaps the most adaptable of the crew, able to pair with all other beaters on the roster, but they can also pair up to show off what is probably the most total years of beating experience between them of any pair across the league. We're most hopeful that with NOvSA being the series of the week, more people will finally see the skill of beater Alex Pucciarelli, who seems to always miss mention despite consistent pace changing plays in both USQ and MLQ. She'll be a definitive key to unlocking a Curse victory this Saturday to start the road to Des Moines for this team.
On the chaser end, New Orleans is a team that can perform when they're not running over themselves. They've got Veronica Spicer, who completes cuts even through defended space and finds loose balls like they're made of money. PJ Mitchell will be New Orleans's answer to Dilan Freeman, absorbing defensive pressure in his almost unstoppable drives, and Dylan DeLee will line up powerful hits to stop any driver on his side of the half line. In the seeker game, New Orleans can look to 2023 addition TJ Goaley to bring in 35 points toward a victory with his years of experience as a high level seeker in both USQ and MLQ. If TJ has trouble, New Orleans can always fall back on veterans Sarah Yanofsky or Eric Jurgeson, who have no issue playing seeker shifts for their teams. With all these pieces for success at his fingertips, Ben Mertens will simply need to force San Antonio to play to New Orleans tempo, whether it's a slow jazz tempo to settle in or then a fast paced dynamic game when their opponents are beginning to feel the heat. Adjustments will be needed against a San Antonio team that loves to win against all odds, with all the haters thinking they'll fail.
This Saturday, we'll be watching two teams that, on paper, could be competing for second in the South. San Antonio brought fewer numbers than they should, and that leaves the cards in New Orleans favor. However, San Antonio has always had heart and if you didn't know, that's what really wins championships. Our prediction is that New Orleans ultimately takes it in a nail biter, but we'll be watching intently to see if San Antonio can prove us wrong again. To New Orleans, you've already shown you can win this. All you've got to do now is go out there and do it, and we'll be watching with bated breath.
Prediction: New Orleans 2-1
