USA women

Profile

Team USA is represented by Fury, of San Francisco, California. Fury has again peaked at the right time, qualifying for the WUC with a dominating performance at the UPA Championships this past October. Their 1st-place finish at the 1999 UPA Championships earned them the right to represent the USA at the 2000 WUC in Heilbronn, Germany, where they finished 4th.

Along with their male American counterparts, Team USA has the talent and depth to take home a medal, quite possibly the gold. They will look to avenge their 2000 WUC semi-final loss to North American rival, Canada, represented this year by Vancouver’s Prime.

With some notable veterans (Nicole Beck, Amy Little, among others) unable to make the trip to Turku, Team USA will rely on many fresh faces to carry the team.  Less than half of Fury’s 2000 WUC team remains, but most of those who are ‘rookies’ to Worlds competition are no strangers to pressure having competed in the upper echelon of US collegiate ultimate.

San Francisco Fury took home 1st place at the World Disc Games in 2003, held in Santa Cruz, California.  Fury also won the Cal States tournament in May 2004, where they beat rivals Prime and Riot (2002 World Ultimate Club Champion).

USA on Defense

Fury is known for their crippling zone defense. They are masters of the 4-person cup, using their speed and unrelenting marks to force turnovers. “Offense wins games, defense wins championships” states Fury coach Bob Pallares. Fury boasts over 15 different team defensive sets and will always keep the opponent guessing as to what is coming next.

Look for these players when the opponent has the disc:

Stacey Schoemehl #22 -  A threat on both sides of the disc, Schoemehl is almost guaranteed the defensive award for every tournament.  Fury looks to her for multiple blocks a game, if not more than one per point.

Kirstin Unfried #3 – One of the fresher faces on Fury, Kirstin boasts a resume of team names that any opponent should fear – Psychos, Fury and Safari. Look for her to stalk her mark on every point.

USA on Offense

No pain, no gain.  Fury sought out the windiest field in San Francisco for practice, and it definitely shows.  Despite the patience and confidence to slice their way through opponents’ defensive sets, Fury will stretch it out on O.  You will see many teams burned after fronting receivers Alicia Barr or Karli Sager.

Look for these players when Fury has the disc:

Jody Dozono (#24) and Jennifer Donnelly (#00) are primaries on offense, leading the pack against zone and clam sets with Schoenmehl.

Julie Baker (#11) and Gwen Ambler (#5) are favorites for precision deep throws, sending it mostly for Karli Sager (#32) and Alicia Barr (#8), who will spend time after the game pondering how to remove the grass stains from her repeated layout grabs.

Team Colors
Red, White and Black

Roster
21 + coach

Captains / Coach
Stacey Schoemehl & Gwen Ambler / Bob Pallares

Website
http://www.furyultimate.org