Fast Takes with Fast Break: Ottawa v Washington
Author: Ben Mertens & Savannah Campbell
Washington is shipping up to Ottawa this weekend, but will the sailing be as smooth as previous years? This will be Washington’s first trip to Ottawa since 2017, and the Black Bears will be hoping to defend home court and take a game off Washington for the first time in half a decade, while Washington will look to right the ship after a season opening sweep at the hands of the Titans.
The conditions will be ripe for an upset. Washington, who will be coming off a ten hour drive, is already bringing a shorter roster and multiple players who are rostered are battling injuries. In addition, the ongoing wildfires in Canada have forced the teams to play the series on an indoor field that will have modified dimensions and players will not be able to wear cleats. Those factors could lead to sloppy, slower paced games - conditions that favor an underdog.
For the most part, the Black Bears we know and love have returned to join the maul, with few notable absences outside of strong defensive quadball contributor Lucas Pawley and assistant beater coach Marc Evrad. In their absence, Ottawa may not be running as tight a ship as Washington, but this is where that Montreal Flamingo-flavored creativity may come in handy. How this will meld with the team’s historically opportunistic-to-a-fault offense remains to be seen, but powerhouses in the likes of current and former Team Canada’s Alex Naftel, Darren Bell, Emily Naftel, Nathan Reid and Hailey Yhap, who cumulatively racked up 30% of last season’s goals, 43% of total assists, and 50% of the team’s stops will look to continue fighting for the team’s success. How coaches have elected to build their lines around these players has the potential to turn tides in Ottawa’s favor. In the dodgeball game, Sean Bairos, and particularly the long-paired Louis-Charles Dupont and David Danos (formerly of Team Belgium), will be the ones to watch out for. With 19-year-old Zach Reiken expected to play heavy minutes and 20-year-old Alex Rivoche providing some contrasting stability, we can expect Ottawa’s greatest area of roster turnover (beater) to be an exciting matchup and learning opportunity. With the onboarding of so many new players in a short timeframe, the Black Bears will likely stick to conservative 2-2 and mark defences; playing at their own pace will be key this weekend.
Ottawa won’t be able to rely on a handful of players forever, and definitely not in their neck of the woods. Communication (especially interpositionally) would go a long way in reducing the wayward passing, reedy positioning, and selective off-ball movement that fans have come to recognize as a symptom of developing a team in the division of death. Transitions are one focus the Black Bears could use to massive improvement– with the primary offensive drivers doubling as the most menacing defenders last season, Ottawa has struggled to respond to fast breaks. If the beaters can avoid getting sucked into exchanges and focus on their own game, and the seeker talent from the Canadian season comes through, the Black Bears could be positioned to perform at the best we’ve seen them in years.
Washington, who boasts one of the deepest rosters in the league, will see their depth put to the test this weekend. Chasers Liz Stone, Rachel Williams and Jeannette High are all making their season debut, as are beaters Colin Bourn and Ali Iannucci. While Washington is bringing a full squadron of beaters, their chaser group will lack some of the physical punch of the opening day roster with heavy hitters like Bryan Mulcachy, TJ Generette and Zan Siddiqui all missing and Tyler Trudeau coming off an injury that limited him in their previous series. If there’s a path to Washington dropping a game in this series, it’s less physical chaser defense allowing Ottawa to get some goals early to build their confidence and hang around long enough to grab a flag runner - something that may be harder with Generette absent.
Even with their missing players, Washington should be fine though. Julia Rankin, Juli Nuetzel, Liz Stone and Riley Starrs are all first rate defenders who can be counted on to bring the physicality as needed. Hoops defenders like Trudeau and Shane McConaghie will be a huge problem for Ottawa’s chasers at the rim, and Dale Farnan’s shot blocking will deter longer shots from Ottawa - one of the main ways Ottawa found goals in last summer’s blowout losses.
On offense, the breakneck pace of play Washington exhibited in the season opener should be more effective as the team figures to have the more athletic chaser group and should have beaters leading the way in transition. Expect this beater group, which had a bad weekend against New York, come out with something to prove and be much more dominant in this series. The shorter field could play in Washington’s favor here as their beaters can completely shut down the field - if their longer range beats are connecting.
If Washington can’t get out in transition, their halfcourt offense should be able to break down Ottawa’s defense - if they can show more discipline than they did against New York. The team looked at their best when Heald was getting the ball in space at the top of the keeper zone and needs to find a leader to slow the ball down this Saturday. They also should look to get their J’s- Julia Rankin, Julia Baer and Juli Nuetzel - the ball in better situations than they did against New York, when the trio combined for 11 turnovers - a large chunk of which resulted from those 3 players receiving the ball in no-win situations rather than the players themselves making bad reads. Lastly, the team will also want center around Shane McConaghie, who comes off a stellar breakout performance in the Titans series. And if Washington needs a little extra scoring punch, we might even get to see #BernieBuckets throw on the white headband and remind everyone that he was a Team USA chaser back before his beating days.
Washington has some questions to answer and some new players to integrate, and the unusual field conditions provide an extra challenge. The Black Bears have their best chance to take a game since their 2018 victory, and the final scores will be closer than casual observers might expect. Ultimately, expect the Admirals to find the answers and get back to .500 on the season.