Fast Takes with Fast Break: South Super Series
PC: Major League Quidditch
A few weeks ago, we said that the winner of New Orleans vs. League City would most likely be the 4th seed in the South Division, and the loser was not going to make Championships. However, that was before a League City sweep of Kansas City. That shocking result has set the stage for the most excitement the South Division has seen in years. Going into tomorrow’s super series, the standings are the below:
PC: Major League Quidditch
New Orleans:
The idea that New Orleans would be in second place with two weeks left in the regular season may be shocking to many, but is not shocking to those who have watched Curse all season. A team that has made strides at every series, has shown that while they might not be as “experienced” as the other south teams, the ability to play smart and tough is a great combination for pulling upsets. The stifling defense that New Orleans has had this season has been a huge improvement in their ability to keep games close. While facing an opening series sweep by San Antonio wasn’t the result they were going for, the film showed a team that really understood concepts and had an idea for what they wanted to do on both sides of the ball.
There is an argument to be made that this Curse beater corp will be Kansas City’s toughest test of the summer (the stronger argument is, of course, the host of the super series: Austin Outlaws). This is an important talking point because Kansas City’s beaters have not been able to separate themselves from the pack in the two series that they have played so far. Things will only get harder for them with the likes of a Sarah Kneiling & Joshua Mansfield beater pairing. The addition of breakout star, Alex Pucciarelli in the beater game, combined with the veteran presence of Michael Sanders-Valdes makes this a one-two beater pair punch that can give other teams a grueling task to try and beat.
In the quaffle game, Curse has always been able to trust Charlton Tramel and P.J. Mitchell for a drive-in from half court or behind the hoops. Every game this season we’ve seen more from Shelby Cascio and Veronica Spicer, whether it’s a quick cut to a blocked shot, or surprise defensive pressure after a transition to stop opponents from a fast break to let their team set up for defense. Even if you’ve watched film from their previous seasons to get prepared, the breakout performances from Dylan DeLee and Drew Stroud shows this is a team that is no longer relying upon one or two people to try and carry the burden of scoring. DeLee and Stroud have been great complimentary pieces to this offensive attack, and when combined with the talent of Cascio and Spicer the Curse have the quaffle players to make it extremely competitive against nearly every team. It does also help that non-playing coach Bryan Cascio has been able to lay the foundation for an offensive structure that can make New Orleans one of the premiere teams in the South division.
Potential Scenarios (presumed sweep by Austin against both teams):
Kansas City was set up to finish this season with the #2 seed after their opening series win over San Antonio. However, the aforementioned sweep at the hands of League City, a series in which they only had 13 players, now puts them in a do-or-die scenario this weekend.
If New Orleans wins 3-0 against KC: That would put the projected finals standings as NOLA 6-6 and KC 2-10; this would knock-out KC as they would have 1 more loss than League City (if San Antonio returns in full force and sweeps next weekend).
If New Orleans wins 2-1 against KC: That would put the projected finals standings as NOLA 5-7 and KC 3-9; this would knock out KC as they would have the same number of losses as a potential 3-9 League City finish (if they get swept by San Antonio). With the H2H in League City’s favor, Kansas City would find themselves out of the running even if League City gets swept by San Antonio.
If Kansas City wins 3-0 against NOLA: That would put the projected final standings as Kansas City 5-7 and NOLA 3-9; meaning that if League City is able to take at least a game from San Antonio, they would knock NOLA out of contention because they would have one less loss (4-8) than the Curse. If they are not able to do so League City would have the same record as NOLA and would be out of championship weekend due to H2H between the two teams.
If Kansas City wins 2-1 against NOLA: That would put the projected final standings as Kansas City 4-8 and NOLA 4-8; this means that League City would have to avoid getting swept by San Antonio to keep their chances alive. Winning even one game against San Antonio would allow for League City to finish 4-8. This would make this scenario the most chaotic outcome for the South division, as well as making H2H irrelevant. And with the way the snitch records look at the moment, New Orleans (3-3) and League City (2-5-2) would have the edge as Kansas City is 1-4-1 on the season.
We are at a stage where League City can still control their own destiny because if they are able to take even a game from San Antonio, it would all but cement their ability to go to Benepe Cup.
Kansas City
KC continues to show that this isn’t just a league for club players. Combining stars from Creighton, Mizzou, and Kansas, we’ve seen the offensive forces of 3 storied colleges come together for higher-level play under the leadership of Adam Health and Katie Branstetter. All the work this season may build up to pay off this weekend, looking to alleviate some of the offensive pressure from Darian Murcek-Ellis, so when defenses shift in preparation for his jump shot, he’s got other options in players like Sydney Boeger and Kate Rues. On defense, the wingspans of Adam Heald and Ryan Dickey will look to cut off shot opportunities and lead a drive straight into beaters like Justin Dewick, Brian McClannahan, and Micayla Gutierrez. If Heald and Branstetter can handle sideline and on-field coaching to match Cascio’s offensive strategies, they may be able to keep their young energy in the 100-degree weather and outlast their opponents.
However, their ability to catch a snitch will be paramount. Coming into this super series with a 1-4-1 snitch record is not where the Stampede wants to be. While it’s hard to truly use the League City series as a reflection on Kansas City’s ability to play or catch a snitch as Joe Goulet, their go-to seeker, was not available, playing with 13 players is an obstacle that most teams won’t be able to overcome. Snitch on pitch is also a question mark for the Curse as Eric Jurgeson and Sarah Yanofsky are both not on roster this weekend, and the former was instrumental in their sweep of League City, having caught two snitches that weekend.
However, an equalizer for Stampede could be their ability to effectively run a 1-3 zone; this has allowed for transition opportunities to come for them against League City. However, such moments might be harder to find against Nola, who has the edge in the beater game, and their tendency to sit conservatively in the 2-2 zone makes getting control back much harder. That was something that the Legends were not able to solve and it will have to be seen if Kansas’ beaters will have their breakout performance of the summer.
Coming into the weekend, the last time the Curse played will have been June 18th. After a whirlwind start to their season, having extended time off to develop and continue growing will only make this Curse team stronger. They have the luxury of having watched Kansas City play in that time frame while also having four weeks to continue working on their offensive and defensive sets. Going into this SuperSeries, NOLA and KC are both at 18 people and are expected to play six games throughout the weekend. Making sure that they are conserving energy while playing Austin might be the strategy. Each team will want to avoid any injuries to maintain the depth for NOLA and KC games. All the teams competing have heart, though, and no one will be looking to simply hand Austin an undefeated season. How Adam Heald, Katie Branstetter, Bryan Cascio, and Charlton Tramel can temper the heat and their players for each match will decide who comes out satisfied with this weekend’s results and could clinch more spots to fight for the Benepe Cup in August.
Austin vs The Field
Anyone following the South Division this season is going to expect Austin to sweep NOLA and KC. While we don’t expect any upsets to cause Austin to have anything less than an undefeated season, we are wondering whether Austin will use this SuperSeries to develop more of their depth for championships. With the same roster for both opponents, Austin may be highlighting their champs roster early. Their season so far has shown a high level of beater dominance in all parts of the game. From Taylor Tracy, who’s always stood with Team USA talent, but received less fanfare; to Purvi Mujumdar with her constant ability to create pressure in any situation; to Kyzer Polzin and Jack Wang’s willingness to create beater battles everywhere on the pitch to deprive their opponents of rest and peace of mind. With the tackling and ball movement abilities on Austin’s roster from top to bottom, the quaffle game doesn’t need beater support, giving Austin’s beaters the freedom to fight everywhere. This weekend, I hope to see more of Jaida Newhouse, a newer chaser to the Outlaws core, who spent a lot of the USQ season improving. She’ll join Missy Ghoddossy, after Ghoddossy’s return from injury, and Erin McBride’s continually high performance in the quaffle game, whether it’s tipping a shot so it can’t go in or scoring from the sides/behind the hoops.
On the ball-carrying end, Austin has a lot of options to choose from, but Sammy Garza and Augustine Monroe’s mastery of shots and finding the open chaser leave defenses unable to figure out which to defend against. The ability to calculate which move to make on a high-paced, transition offense has given Austin many goals this summer, and we expect to see more this weekend. With the heat of this weekend, they may look to set up their half-court and use the beater dominance to open up scoring opportunities, so they don’t tire themselves out and risk injuries, but this team is used to playing in the heat.
When it comes down to the snitch, Josh Andrews has all the beater support he needs, so it’ll continue to come down to time. He’ll eventually wear down the snitch to a catch, but will Austin’s offense reach the set score first? Even if they choose to cycle him out, the seeker depth in the faster wingspan of Keaton Mallory, or the smaller strategic grabs of Swathi Mannem won’t leave any snitch thinking they have any easy game to last in.
Prediction: Austin 6-0
New Orleans: 2-1 over KC; 0-3 against Austin
Kansas City: 1-2 vs NOLA; 0-3 against Austin
