Fast Takes with Fast Break: Washington v New York
Author: Ben Mertens
PC: Major League Quadball
There’s a reason MLQ has made this the season opening series three years in a row. The Titans v Admirals rivalry has consistently provided close, entertaining games even though the Titans are a combined 5-1 over the last two summers. Last year two of the three games were decided by less than 20 points, and New York’s blowout win in game 2 was still a relatively competitive 160-125 affair. And the stakes are all you could hope for in a season opener: two teams with legitimate championship aspirations who separately want the series win and to give themselves the inside track at a top 2 finish in the division and a bye to the quarterfinals at championships.
The downside of having these two top programs face off early in the season: neither team will be at full strength. Rachel Ayella-Silver for New York and Colin Bourn for Washington are both still recovering from leg injuries, meaning both teams will be without two of their best beaters for this all important series. Washington is also missing Zain Bhalia, another key beater, but the most alarming absence is US National Team chaser Lindsay Marella for the Titans.
Here are the key things to watch in this all important clash:
1. Who beats with who?
The only beater pair on either team we can predict with absolute certainty is Bernie Berges and Katryna Hicks, Washington’s stalwart pairing. The two are unlike any pair in the sport, communicating with nods and winks, passing their dodgeball back and forth when the team lacks control, and going for tricky plays most other pairs would not think to attempt. They face a difficult matchup in this series though, as Devin Lee and Tessa Mullins outplayed them last summer, and Tate Kay gave them a ton of difficulty during the USQ season. With Ayella-Silver unavailable, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Mullins play with both Kay and Lee at points as New York tries to sort out its matchups. Mullins is the most confident and poised option the team has, and will be able to feast if Washington’s pairs are locked in on either Kay or Lee. I would also expect to see some Christian Barnes with Kay, after they played together during the USQ season, and Phill Cain with Lee, a partnership that dates back to their time at Rutgers University. The always steady Emily Hickmott, who should see time at chaser and beater, would make sense with either of the two superstars or with the underrated Vincenzo Cicco and Jason Ng, as would long time Titan Kerry Donnelly. Expect the Titans to shuffle pairs throughout the series.
For Washington, after Berges and Hicks we’re likely to see Cody Nardone and Melissa Smith, and Washington needs them to come up big in this series. Nardone and Smith play a much more straightforward and aggressive style than Berges and Hicks, which keeps the team from being predictable, but they need to do a better job picking their spots than last year, when they engaged Lee in bad spots that allowed him to seize back control and create turnovers. The duo might be a better matchup for Kay, who can get drawn into unnecessary exchanges and make some wild throws, than Lee. I expect a point of emphasis for the Admirals this season to be better coordination between chasers and beaters, with a preference for tapping out opposing chasers over getting drawn into exchanges with New York’s deadly beaters. Washington’s third and fourth pairs, which should feature either Robby May or Rob Rice with Diana Howard, have plenty of experience with this style from the USQ season. Fans should also keep an eye on Adrian Koretsky, a young beater from Brandeis making their MLQ debut who the team is very excited about.
2. No Marella
There’s no replacing Lindsay Marella, one of the premier talents in the sport, who is key to the Titans identity on both sides. But the Titans have enough other talented players and a smart veteran squad that can adapt to her absence. I would guess that Molly Potter gets the start in Marella’s place, and while Potter may not be the household name Marella is, real heads know what she can do. Potter is a dangerous and willing long range shooter and an excellent playmaker, and if she isn’t quite the force Marella is as a defender, she’s still a physical player who has no problem matching up with bigger players. While not as experienced as their female chaser teammates, Annika Kim is also a talented facilitator who can replicate some of Marella’s playmaking ability, while Avery's ability to cut and receive alley-oop passes leave no question as to the completeness of Titans even without Marella.
Beyond her direct replacements, the Titans will also need players who are usually focused more on scoring to take on an extra playmaking role. Players like Frank Minson and Mike Li have the talent and experience to handle a few extra reps per game, and how the Titans fare in plays where someone besides Jon Jackson or Leo Fried is handling the ball could be the swing factor that decides this series.
3. Team USA “keepers”
First of all, it’s time MLQ puts the hammer down and starts fining franchises for listing tall players as keepers when the team plans to play point defenders as keepers for the entire game. It appears both of these franchises are guilty of doing that, with players like Leo Fried and Jon Jackson for New York and Rachel Heald and Dale Farnan for Washington. In this case though, the teams might be being honest. New York was one of the heaviest users of mark defense last summer, including against Washington, who were flummoxed by New York’s varied approaches to mark. There is much less of an advantage to having your point defender wear the keeper headband if they’re going to be playing high above the keeper zone, especially the way New York sometimes played Washington last summer, where the keeper would cover the hoops but step up to the keeper zone line to meet shooting threats. While Washington has been a heavy zone team for the last couple seasons, I would expect the new coaching staff to try mark defense for at least a few stretches in this series, especially when Heald plays.
Regardless of whether they’re wearing white or green headbands, Leo Fried and Jon Jackson will be the focal point of New York’s attack, especially without Marella. I would expect New York to keep one of these USNT players on field at all times to direct the offense, and how Washington can handle them is going to make or break their defense. If Washington plays mark and their point defenders either can’t stay in front of Jackson and Fried or get taken out by opposing beaters, it’s curtains. The two will hit the lane and either nail the shot or find a cutter right after drawing the beat. It’s a similar problem against zone, where if the duo can draw multiple defenders they’ll be able to break down the zone. The absence of Marella looms large against zone defenses especially, as she and Jackson have years of practice breaking down zone together, but New York has other players who can fill in. Washington needs its point defenders - TJ Genrette, Bryan Mulcahy, Zan Sidiqqui, Riley Starrs - to be able to guard Jackson and Fried with limited help and keep the duo out of the lane. If they force New York to move around the zone, Washington’s talented wing defenders like Julia Rankin and David Littleton, and their top notch hoop defenders like Trudeau and Heald, should be able to shut down the Titans. One other factor to watch: the Titans like to operate at a very methodical pace in the half court. With the new no reset rule in effect, Washington might have success playing a higher defense that can pressure New York into moving faster than their preferred pace - but that’s only possible if Washington can maintain parity in the beater game.
4. Washington’s offense
On the other side, expect New York to do exactly what we just described to Washington - meet them high and try to pressure them into making mistakes. New York’s beaters, especially Barnes, Kay, Lee, and Mullins, are going to be eager to get into battles with Washington’s beaters and try to force the chasers to rush the offense. Washington has the personnel to counter mark defense however. Drivers like Genrette and Trudeau are a problem for the Titans to defend one-on-one; but if they’re met at half court without momentum, they’ll have a much harder time getting deep. Players like Siddiqui, a budding star and phenomenal pickup for this team, excel at getting open off the ball which Washington struggled to do last summer. Shooters like Julia Baer and Julia Rankin can punish a mark defense if left open, while the passing ability of Heald and Juli Nuetzel can break a mark defense by forcing the Titans to either shift a chaser onto them, leaving someone like Starrs or Mulcachy open, or give Heald and Nuetzel a lane down the center of the field. New York tried to counter Heald’s playmaking last summer by leaving her unmarked off the ball but having the keeper step up to meet her when she had the ball. Expect them to do that again this summer.
That strategy leaves the hoops totally open for cutters, if any can create space. This is where Washington again should have its beaters focus on trying to create space for their chasers over getting sucked into exchanges with New York’s. Of course that’s easier said than done - ignore Kay and he’ll either attack you as you’re trying to take out chasers, or just rush your ballhandler and create a turnover. If New York can consistently turn Washington over, they have the series in hand - their chasers are too good in transition, even for Washington’s army of tacklers. Washington needs to control the pace of the game, hold dodgeball control, and use it judiciously to create some openings on offense without losing control or overextending and giving up transition. It’s a tough balancing act to strike, especially for a team still sorting out its rotation in the first series of the year.
There’s a lot to like about Washington in this series. The new coaching staff should have them well prepared for this matchup. They have the best seeker in the matchup in Generette, although New York’s Fried and Vinnie Iannucci are to be feared in the seeking game. The absence of Ayella-Silver and Marella is massive for the Titans. Washington has home field advantage, and they want this series very badly.
But New York won the matchup last summer primarily on the back of dominance in the beating game, and they were without Ayella-Silver then as well - and without Kay, who completely changes the feel of their team. Washington has enough talent at chaser and beater to win matchups even if they don’t have dodgeball control for large portions of the series. But it’s early in the season, and old habits die hard, especially in the face of constant beater pressure. The prediction here: a back and forth series with multiple close games, but with New York having more dodgeball control and forcing more turnovers, and riding that to another close series win.
Prediction: New York 2-1
