Day 1

Game 1: Santa Barbara L, 7-13

There was a lot of tension and excitement going into the first game but the nerves also ran high as this was the first ICE tournament for many new members of the team. Many different expectations were going in, ranging from dominating to not knowing what to expect. The stoke was low after we lost the first few points and it was hard to get the vibes back up at first. Santa Barbara out-hustled us and both our offense and defense were sloppy. There was more negativity on the sidelines than encouragement. It was not until a certain pause in play, when the team started to find a collective mindset focused on unity and improvement that we managed to bring out our strengths again. Looking back, we started the tournament with not much in terms of offensive coordination or defensive strategy. However, we can derive a sense of accomplishment from the contrast between this first game and the very last, in which we had a rematch against SB. But more on that later…

Game 2: Utah L 7-13

Against the Utah Zion Curtain, the energy was feeling better than in game 1. Our defense was unfortunately slaughtered in the air by a barrage of hucks we couldn’t seem to counter, and our offense stalled in the face of their poachy sets. Our offense at times was frantic, and it seemed as though we allowed the music we played on the sidelines to distract us, instead of letting it inspire us. Even after some strong deep throws in return from Walla and Zeta, Utah was too far ahead and our Squids fell again.

Game 3: Cal L 8-12

The squad had warmed up properly by this game, so now it was time to take on our toughest opponent yet. Although the result wasn’t ideal there was much more positive energy on the sidelines combined with increased desire on the field. Agapito matching up against his brother was a sight to be seen and was very entertaining to watch. Our dump set defense, however,  certainly could’ve used improvement, it felt as though they could swing the disc at will, a theme that would continue in our future game vs Cal. Our offense however connected much better through the air than previously. While we lost, there was a lot to feel proud of after leaving this game.

Day 2

Game 1: SLO L 9-13

Although the score wasn’t on our side, we competed with some serious energy. Our vibes faltered slightly out of the gate, but after cashing in a break, our sideline was consistently more active and more invigorated than our opposition’s. We, for the most part, did a good job of exploiting what the defense was giving us, that being free resets and lateral movement from our backfield. Our O-Lines were patient after the pull, waiting for the defense to reveal itself or lock into a man. However, their defensive intensity was greater than ours, and a couple of ill-advised turnovers put us in a hole we couldn’t climb out of. A close loss to a very strong team to start the day would set the stage for a great comeback on day 2.

Game 2: Cal L 6-10

Seeing this Cal team again left our team amped up to get revenge. We had real defensive grit and motivation in this game. One weakness that Cal exploited against our defense was up-line cuts, which they beat us on to score multiple points. On the other hand, some inspiring points were played including an extremely long point with the Cal guys claiming a violation on Cass’s stall counting. Shoutout to Nefty’s defensive grit in getting revenge after a mistake. Also props to Soma for continued defensive strength and being so close to many D’s. Our dump defense again faltered, and our own dump sets certainly could’ve used improvement, but our fight and vigor were admirable. We narrowed the margin between this game and our last game against Cal, and this improvement was something that the team was proud of.

Game 3: Santa Barbara W 11-7

As our final game of the day, we needed to get ourselves a win and continue to feel the music and the energy. This game was the culmination of all of our hard work throughout the weekend. The first half of the game went in our favor, the cuts were well timed, and the defensive intensity was awesome. Cruising through the first half, positivity and stoke was high. After an inspiring halftime talk, we pushed into the second half, giving it all we had. Bino had a great bid for a disc barely out of bounds. In the final points of the game, Goomba’s line took the field after a heated game of rock-paper-scissors (Goomba used his fire), and off of a huge huck from Cass, Dumpty was able to cash in a sick layout score for the win. Your Air Squids got the win to cap off an eventful and fun Sean Ryan.