USC Men's Ultimate

It was a solid weekend for the Ghettobirds and we traveled down to Long Beach to play in Club Sectionals. Despite the fact that many of the players we played against were older, at the end of their season (read: in shape), and more experienced, we were able to move the disk and play some shutdown defense as we looked much better this weekend than we ever have at the start of a season.

The first game Saturday was a brutal one, as we drew the eventual champions, Strike Slip, which featured USC coach ATM- so they had some inside knowledge on how we run our team. It was a tough game, as Ghetto lost 11-1, but we did manage to put on an effective zone defense that even the most experienced players said they had trouble reading and breaking. Sophomore Alan Hsieh pulled down the lone score for Das Bird in the game.

But as the day wore on, the Ghettobirds looked more and more like the team that we were expecting. We went up 2-0 in the 2nd game against Las Vegas- the highlight of those two points being junior Kenny Legan’s toe-tapping catch in the back of the end zone. But Vegas battled back, tied the game at 3, and eventually went on to win handedly. But again, the Ghettobirds played some sick defense, as grad student Steven Newbold provided one of the most spectacular defensive highlights of the day as he laid-out from 2 feet behind his man to snag the disc. He then immediately got up and threw it to junior Kyle “Rocker” Obergfell, who made a nice catch of his own over his defender, for the score.

The third game against Claremont was by far and away our best game of the day. After going down 6-0 in a rather forgettable first half, the Ghettobirds swarmed back, but the rally fell just short as we lost 11-6. Sophomore Ryan Rysyk was the offensive star, as he threw two assists in the second half. The Birds moved the disc effectively all over the field, as they played their best half of Ultimate of the day. Sophomore K-Wu (Kevin Wu) had some sick catches all over the field as he skied multiple Claremont players.

The Ghettobirds played the Condors from Santa Barbara in their last game Saturday. It was a rough game, as it was Das Birds’ 4th game of the day and the Condors are one of the best clubs in the Southern California area. But on the first point, senior Mike “3-D” Albert got a D not once, not twice, but 3 times, as he had the Condors yelling at each other. Ghetto got some points on the board, but Condors proved to be too experienced for Das Bird.

Sunday was a better day for the Ghettobirds, as we continued to improve and show that we have the ability to be a major force come playoff time in April. Das Birds played their first game against Old Men from the Sea, and after going down 2-0 early, the Ghettobirds stormed back to be down 6-5 at halftime. Legan had a beautiful 30-yard backhand to junior Jas Smogorzewski who sprinted all the way from the other side of the field to catch the disc in the end zone. Smogorzewski also had a catch in the end zone off a full-field huck from super senior Dennis “D-Nutz” Casereza. Obergfell had four assits in the game, 2 to Legan, and junior David “V-Neck” Horrell pulled down some sweet grabs over defenders as he added a couple scores as well. On defense, the Ghettobirds put up some huge goal-line stands, one that resulted in a lay-out D from Obergfell and another one that lasted five minutes as the Old Men couldn’t break the Ghetto. Unfortunately, Das Birds lost the game 11-8.

The last game of the tournament came against another Santa Barbara team. After coming out flat, the Ghettobirds picked it up and played solid zone and man defense. D-Nutz had a nice D near the end-zone as did V-Neck. But Das Bird just couldn’t find a way through the zone defense that Santa Barbara threw every point. Sophomore Will Price did recorded his first assist of the season, as did Albert, but the Ghettobirds couldn’t pull through.

Overall, despite the 0-6 record, the Ghettobirds played much better than the scoreboard indicates. The disc was flowing and moving nicely and the defense was stout and strong. It a fine first tournament for the Ghettobirds, and Das Birds look forward to welcoming out new players at the next tournament next month.

Have good ultimate!