Cate Ultimate Takes Down Dunn in Dominant 15-8 Win

September 25, 2024

Led by Ashiku’s 6 Goals, Rams Secure First Victory Over Dunn in Years

Josh Ludviksen ’25

Your Cate Ultimate Frisbee team played a solid game from start to finish today and beat the visiting Dunn Earwigs for the first time in a few years. The Rams came out of the gates hot and held a 7-1 lead early in the first half, but lost focus a little and let Dunn back into the game a bit, entering halftime leading 8 to 4. Coming out of the break, the Rams were rested and found their composure again, going on a run to start the second half and building a lead that held up in the final score of 15 to 8.

This was a good team win. Our captain trio of seniors Nyle Ahmad (2 assists), Josh Ludviksen (2 goals, 1 assist), and Harry Su (2 assists) set the tone early with sharp cuts, good defense, and solid throws, and kept that going all game. Their leadership both in word and by example have been instrumental this year, and we will go as far as they can take us. Also in the starting lineup for Rams were freshman Kendrick Suen (2 assists) and sophomores James He (2 goals, 3 assists) and Karry Tan, who all played well. Suen, in his Cate debut, was fundamentally solid in both throws and cuts, made some excellent catches (including one that bounced off a defender’s back) and played excellent defense. James punctuated the end of the game with a walk-off hammer throw to freshman Ryan Feng (1 goal) who came off the bench and impressed in his debut. Karry played well and battled through some numbness in his leg. The star of the game, however, was undoubtedly the seventh and final starter, junior Luke Ashiku (6 goals), who accounted for more than a third of the Rams’ points, and made some excellent deep cuts and clutch catches, including some diving, sprawling efforts in traffic. Another highlight of the game was Ahmad’s excellent deep forehand throws, including one that curved to the back corner of the end zone into space ahead of a speeding Ludviksen that deserves to be in a museum, and another beautiful deep shot to senior Christopher Soto that ended up incomplete (we don’t talk about why).

Also playing significant minutes for the Rams were senior Chris Soto (2 goals), who was a consistent deep threat with his intelligent cuts, freshman Joel Oke (2 goals, 1 assist), who impressed with his athleticism and speed, and freshman Griffin Gruber (2 assists), who stepped up into the handler role in his first year and played a great game. Returners Alex Ke, Ian Duterte, and Henry Chen led the way when our starters needed a break and all played excellent; they’re part of the backbone of this team and set a great example in how to get open, which cuts to make, and how to play smart defense. Senior Colby Roof (1 assist) played lockdown defense off the bench and displayed excellent speed and a knack for getting open. Sophomores Kenneth Wang and Ryder Wei and junior Alex Choi played valuable minutes, good defense, and will have an important role in our future games. All of our freshmen played well in their first game wearing the blue and white and learned a lot, including Gurnoop Singh (1 assist), Alejandro Sandoval, Shirdon Nouh, Jin Sun, Seth Lee, Michael Mumbo, Brooke Ashiku, Frank Ye, and the aforementioned Ryan Fang.

Again, this was a big team win. We have a young team that is improving rapidly, and I look forward to seeing what they can achieve this year and beyond. Thank you to all the fans who came out to support us!

The Rams are back in action next week on the road on Wednesday, October 2nd, against an excellent Santa Barbara Youth Ultimate team that was among the top ten teams in the state during at least one tournament last spring. That will be a good benchmark for us to see where we’re at. Our next home contest is Thursday, October 17th against that same SBYU team. We hope to see you there.