USC Men's Ultimate

Sometimes when things aren’t going right, it helps to have a parent or two around to get things back on the right track.

That was the case on November 7, as the USC men’s ultimate team looked lost in two early defeats to San Diego State’s T and J teams. But during the bye game, Ethan Thompson’s parents came through in the clutch and delivered the motivation that the Ghettobirds lacked: orange slices and subway sandwiches.

It must have been the orange slices that helped USC refocus as it headed into the last two matches of the day against the two toughest teams. First up was Santa Barbara, which is a perennial powerhouse in USC’s section. USC came out early and attacked the Black Tide’s defense. But after a turnover near the end-zone, SB marched down the field for the first score of the game. Usually the Ghettobirds would’ve been deterred, but not this time. They fought back resiliently, always running hard and forcing the Black Tide into some poor throws. USC rallied to take half and didn’t let up. The Ghettobirds took the game 9-8 for the first win of the day.

USC used that momentum in its next game as it faced Irvine Nightlife in the finale. After coming out a little flat, USC rallied, behind some terrific rookie play from Chandler, Pops, Jaybird and Soren, and took half again. It came close at the end, but the Ghettobirds hung on for a tight 10-9 victory. It’s these last two victories that are promising for USC, as it has a trend to be on the other side of tight games in the past. But the Ghettobirds looked real strong in these last two games, and it’ll be exciting in the spring once we build off of this.