Photo Credit: David Kocherhans
July 19, 2024
By, Quincey McKeen
The highly anticipated divisional matchup between the Seattle Cascades and the Salt Lake Shred took place this weekend, under some Friday night lights. A potential preview of the playoffs, the Shred needed to win this game to lock in the #1 seed in the West Division. The Shred fans showed up en masse and were a major boost to the players.
Tony Mounga started the game ready to rumble, playing with high defensive pressure. Unfortunately, both of his Ds were ruled fouls and Seattle worked it in for a goal. The Shred scored their point with a Will Selfridge huck to Jace Duennebeil. Selfridge was back on the field after several weeks resting a tweaked knee. He made his presence known, with two assists in the first quarter. The Shred broke away in the latter half of the quarter, with three breaks in a row. The Cascades must have been feeling the nerves, overthrowing a huck and dropping a swing pass. For the third break, Chad Yorgason got the D, almost on the Cascades’ goal line. Gene L’Heureux hucked it deep for Chad, who took off after his D and then finished with the assist to Zach Burnside. Burnside and John Hanni were later additions to this game’s roster after a couple of Shred players were unable to play due to injury and illness. The Shred ended the quarter up 5-2.
The Shred kept the pressure on during the second quarter. They opened with a hold and then made Seattle work for their point. Jonny Hoffman got the D on a big undercut, but the Shred threw it away a couple of throws later. A big Cascades’ huck that would have been a goal was called back for a travel. Finally, Seattle was able to work it down the field and score. Seattle player Lukas Ambrose had a very strong game, with one assist, three goals, and five blocks. His first block came in this quarter, but Ben Ashton responded with his own big D to get it back for the Shred and a hold. Salt Lake broke for the next point, after an overthrown Seattle huck. Grant Lindsley floated a lovely one out to space for Ben Field, who made a big play to snag it inbounds for the goal. The Shred broke again after a Seattle bobble, working it patiently down the field for the goal. The Shred looked dominant in the first half, closing it out 10-5.
The third quarter opened with two more Shred breaks. In the first, Hoffman picked off a Seattle upline and then caught the hammer from Mounga for the goal. For the second break, Salt Lake capitalized on an overthrown Seattle huck. The teams traded holds before Seattle got on the break train. A misthrown swing pass led to the first Seattle break. Then a short throw in the Shred end zone allowed Seattle to work it down the field and score with a cheeky scoober. The Shred fought back on the next point, getting the frisbee back after a turn with a D from Elijah Jaime. In the final point of the quarter, Seattle got another break, after an overthrow to a bidding Lindsley. Ambrose had an amazing grab just inbounds for the final seconds score. The quarter went 14-11 to the Shred, with Seattle clawing their way back into the game.
The teams traded holds for the first few points of the fourth quarter. The Shred continued playing with three lines, with all lines playing offensive and defensive points, a tactic that has worked for them for the past few games. The Shred got a couple breaks in a row. A big Seattle hammer throw was D’d up by the Shred. Hoffman hucked it to Burnside, who had an amazing grab under lots of defensive pressure and then lofted it to Mounga for the goal. In the next point, another Cascades’ hammer pass went awry and Matt Russnogle reeled in a big Shred huck and dished it to Simon Dastrup for the goal. The Shred had an 18-12 lead and were feeling confident. But Seattle was not finished. They finally got a hold after a few points of no scoring, with quick, decisive movement. Then they got a break - Kerr couldn’t quite reel in a pass (he is still in a brace with a broken hand) and Ambrose put a big trust throw to Khalif El-Salaam. Chad Yorgason made up some distance and had a huge layout D, but El-Salaam kept his eye on the frisbee and was able to reel it in on the second attempt, scoring for Seattle. In the next point, a great pull from Seattle has the Shred starting from the back of the end zone, leading to a Callahan from Ambrose as he picked off an upline pass. Seattle gets one more break after a D’d Shred huck, bringing the score to 18-16, the closest score since the first quarter. The Shred get the frisbee with just under two minutes left on the clock. They work it patiently and maintain possession until the clock runs out, winning the game and securing that #1 seed.
The Shred crowd was definitely showing why they deserve Best in the West - the stands were packed and the crowd was invested. There was much dancing, singing, shredding, and cheering from the Shred Heads. The Shred now gets a break after five grueling weeks in a row of games and travel. They will play the winner of the Oakland Spider vs Seattle Cascades matchup on August 10th at 7 pm at Zions Bank Stadium. The winner of that game will advance to Championship Weekend, which will be held in Herriman at Zions Bank Stadium on August 23-24.
