Athletics
Jaguar Athletics
de Toledo Ultimate Frisbee Team Earns Program's First Win
de Toledo upends Santa Monica Riptide on a final push, 15-14
de Toledo 15 - Santa Monica 14
The de Toledo ultimate team continued its inaugural season with its first home game. Playing in front of a crowd, the Jaguars came out looking nervous and spotted Riptide an early 2-0 lead. Normally a defensive stalwart, Jonah Weisner stepped on to the offense and threw the game’s first assist to Ezra Krieger, who caught the first of his game leading 5 goals. Krieger found his name all over the stat sheet, adding 3 assists and 4 blocks as well. Once the offense got on the board, de Toledo kept rolling, scoring five straight to take a 5-2 lead. Junior Zane Levine led the defensive effort which earned the Jaguars the disc, taking Riptide’s toughest match-up and often running down quickly to cover the pull. Junior Carson Kirshbaum was instrumental for the de Toledo offense, hovering in the backfield as a reliable reset, and tallying 5 blocks over the course of the game to earn possession back after a turnover.
Santa Monica would not go away, though, going on a three-goal run of their own to tie the game at 6. After a timeout, Weisner hit junior Brennan Ratican for the goal that sent the game to halftime. The first half was wide-open, with each team making adjustments to aid their scoring runs.
After the break, the game turned into a cagey affair, with neither team again taking more than a one goal lead. de Toledo’s defense turned up its intensity, forcing at least a turnover (and often 5 or 6) on each Riptide offensive point. Elan Nadelman got the first block of the half, one of his team leading 6 blocks on the day. The Jaguars forced 7 turnovers on that first point, but Riptide scored to tie the game. Each time Riptide scored, de Toledo kept answering back with timely cutting from sophomore Daniel Klotz, who time and time again found space underneath the defense, and the occasional deep shot from Cooper Ratican, pushing the pace from the downfield set. Mirroring the back-and-forth play, the teams traded holds throughout the half, only scoring one break each after halftime.
With the game tied at 13 all and the point cap nearing, a huck was launched to Krieger downfield; surrounded by two defenders, he could only tip it a few yards away where Brennan Ratican made the highlight of the game, laying out to haul in the score to make it 14-13. A Riptide hold on the next point set up a winner-take-all double game point.
On double game point, de Toledo was set to receive and dropped the pull, giving the disc to Riptide just a few yards away from the goal line. The Jaguars immediately turned their attention to defense, forcing Riptide to reset the disc backwards before Nadelman came up with a clutch block in the end zone, saving the game for de Toledo. The Jaguars would not make another mistake, patiently working the disc the length of the field before Krieger hit Josh Freson for the game-clinching goal, the last of his team-leading 5 goals during this game.
After the game, players from both teams joined in a spirit circle, an ultimate tradition when captains from each team offer words of encouragement and a cheer to the other team, and a barbecue at the field, capping off a historic day for the de Toledo ultimate program. The win brings the team’s record to 1-1 ahead of the league playoff tournament next week.
Located in the San Fernando Valley portion of the City of Los Angeles in Northern Los Angeles County. de Toledo High School is accredited by the California Association of Independent Schools (CAIS), the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) and Builders of Jewish Education (BJE,) and financially supported by the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles and the Jim Joseph Foundation.
