The SLUH Ultimate frisbee team faced its most jam-packed weekend with three JV games and one varsity game last weekend. The JV took a win by forfeit to Kirkwood, and lost in a tight 13-12 contest to Edwardsville on Saturday. Then, to wrap up the weekend, both the varsity and junior varsity teams played De Smet and Cor Jesu at home. 

SLUH’s JV team led the charge into the weekend with a game against Kirkwood on Friday April 30, as they took a free victory via forfeit because Kirkwood didn’t have enough players. The game was still played, but was considered an exhibition match. The Jr. Bills faced hard deep throws from the Kirkwood offense and a zone defense format. These factors played a big part in the exhibition match being so close and a halftime score of 8-7 with the Jr. Bills up by just one point.

“They had got some quick points in the first half but with the wind on our side we made some great defensive plays,” said freshman Nicholas Sanders. 

The second half of the game saw an increased focus on defense for the Jr. Bills as the team utilized the “monster” position, whose purpose is solely to counter deep throws and knocking down passes. This change cut Kirkwood’s main scoring method down drastically and allowed the Jr. Bills to outscore Kirkwood in the second half 5-4. The team’s defense was a key component to the Jr. Bills 13-11 win. 

The JV kept its focus on defense in the next game against Edwardsville on Saturday, May 1. The game was hard fought, with the Jr. Bills going point-for-point throughout the first half with Edwardsville. Then, Edwardsville offense saw huge success with a focus on deep cuts paired with deep throws. The Jr. Bills were often caught a few steps behind the deep cuts, leading to Edwardsville taking the first half 8-6. 

Heading into the second half the Jr. Bills needed to lock down the deep cuts and prevent scoring options. 

“We were determined to make it a close fight,” said handler Ardian Hoxaj. “Our defense was a tremendous reason why we stayed in that game.” 

The team, alongside Hoxhaj, brought a tight defense to the second half with an emphasis on end zone blocks to stop the Edwardsville momentum. This mindset was key to allowing the Jr. Bills to outscore Edwardsville 6-5 in the second half. The Jr. Bills were able to force turnovers through the stronger emphasis on defense and get more scoring opportunities on offense. Sophomore Tommy Favazza utilized the opportunities masterfully, putting up six points for the Jr. Bills throughout the game. The Jr. Bills unfortunately came up short in the end with a last-second end zone catch by Edwardsville. The game ended with a score of 13-12 in favor of the Tigers. 

Sunday, May 2 brought both varsity and JV back to SLUH for games against De Smet B and Cor Jesu. The varsity team saw a dominating performance against the Spartans, starting the game with a two-point drive. The varsity game was played on the SLUH football field and faced an impressive contrast of downwinds and upwinds going each way on the field. The Jr. Bills, however, were able to cash in on the downwind offensive drives. Handler Cam Freeman dished out 30-yard deep throws on a consistant basis and found a perfect pairing with cutter Anthony Solari in the end zone for four of the eight points scored in the first half. The Jr. Bills dominated the first half through downwind deep throws leading to a favorable score of 8-3 at halftime. 

“The offensive line had a lot of downwind opportunities and we capitalized. The defense really clutched up and allowed the offense to keep the pressure on De Smet’s defense with a downwind playstyle,” said Freeman.

The second half saw the continuation of the momentum in the first half but saw a slighter focus on shorter throws to gain yardage with a 20-yard throw to the end zone for points. The Jr. Bills kept the momentum going on offense, leading to a 15-9 win; Freeman finished with 11 assists. 

Sunday’s games rounded out with JV playing Cor Jesu on the soccer field. The game faced the same problem as the Kirwood game with player numbers. Cor Jesu was forced to forfeit and the game was played like an exhibition match with teams consisting of a mix of Jr. Bills and Cor Jesu players. 

With the busy weekend over, both teams are looking to keep improving for upcoming games. Varsity is looking to keep the offensive formation strong and improve on defense in games against Edwardsville White May 4, Parkway United May 5, and in the double header against Edwardsville Orange and Chaminade on May 8. JV is also looking to build upon the defense from the Kirkwood and Edwardsville game in their next games against CBC JV on May 7 and Clayton May 8. The team’s records now stand 2-2 for varsity and 3-2 for JV.