Fast Takes with Fast Break: Ottawa v NY
Author: Tad Walters
On the weekend of independence, the New York Titans will defend our homeland against the Ottawa Black Bears, in a place that is ubiquitously American, New Jersey.
New York will be missing several key pieces to their active roster, most notably Devin Lee, Mike Li, Molly Potter, Michael Parada, and USNT players Josh Johnson, Mo Haggag, and Tate Kay. Most of these names being left off roster were probably purposeful from Coach Tate Kay, in an effort to get the younger and less experienced players more gametime minutes. Hailing from Brandeis, Shakthi Kodeswaran has been a stalwart of this New York team so far, eating a significant amount of minutes this season. Missing basically a full chaser line that will be on the eventual championships roster, players like Kodeswaran, and Emerson's Amiri Sillah and Ryan Leary will be asked to do more on the field than they've done all season. Rutgers' Luis Mendoza will most likely find themselves ball-carrying a significant amount, alongside veteran players like Frank Minson, Jon Jackson, and Lindsay Marella. Despite not having the other USNT players, this New York team will press and run in transition, especially if their beaters are dominating Ottawa like they should.
In the beater game, expect to see Tessa Mullins and Vincenzo Cicco as a pair instead of the classic Mullins/Kay combo. Last year Cicco set the record for a single-series plus/minus, against Ottawa with a +23, a record that has held up until just last week, when Washington Admirals beater Adrien Koretsky took the title (also against Ottawa) with a +24. A challenge for New York this series will be maximizing the efficiency of beaters pairs. Who of Jacob Ehrlich, Jason Ng, and possibly Kellan Cupid will pair up with USNT Rachel Ayella-Silver? Who will play with MLQ rookie Elizabeth Lawson-Keister? With Kay as a non-playing coach on the sideline, expect a lot of experimenting with beater sets to see what's working.
In the absence of Mo Haggag, the Titans will likely rely on Kellan Cupid to seal the deal in the seeking game after returning for a year off. Will seeking be Titans’ only use of him, or will he be seen in a black headband at all? Who else could don the yellow headband this weekend?
On the Ottawa side, they cross the border this “holiday” weekend looking to continue the longer journey- developing a franchise. Against an opponent that still has offensive issues to fix, the Ottawa Black Bears will look to beaters Zach Reiken and Emily Naftel to cause some well timed disruptions for Alex Naftel to get some disrupted scores off a turnover. With 13 people and a heat advisory in effect in New Jersey, Black Bears will need to adjust consistently and play their pace to make it through all 3 hours. With a small roster and facing the consolidated talent of Titans- we expect Ottawa to get swept. That being said, the team always comes out swinging so New York will still need to work to make sure they're not caught flat footed- as Ottawa fights for anything and everything they can get
This series should be used for a lot of experimentation to help Coach Kay choose his championship roster in August. With established lines and veterans, the young rookies will be looking to see who's best fit to help New York take home the Benepe Cup
NY 3-0 (both writers)
