Boys’ ultimate, recently established as an official sport, fell 15-6 to St. John’s Prep at home Wednesday, March 26. Despite the loss, the team presented strong chemistry, energy, and clean play throughout the Tigers’ first appearance in North’s official athletics department. After a resilient fight for recognition, the Tigers were proud of their efforts according to senior Ben Newman, a captain along with senior Andres Granofsky and juniors Miles Scheifer and Max Preston.
“I was happy with the team’s performance,” said Newman. “Our team is very new and can benefit from more experience, so although we didn’t win, I was happy to see newer players getting playing time.”
St. John’s came out strong, taking a 5-0 lead before North found its rhythm. Newman found junior James Sloan for the team’s first point of the season, bringing energy back to the Tigers. “Even though it was a tough start, everyone kept a good attitude and stayed positive,” said Newman. “That stood out to me more than anything.”
St. John’s extended its lead to 7-1 before Newman again stepped up, this time connecting with junior Miles Schiefer for North’s second point. A few possessions later, Preston found Granofsky in the end zone to result in a 7-3 score.
“We have been working with limited practice time, so this first game kind of snuck up on us,” said Granofsky. “Even with that, I saw stretches of clean gameplay, which was great to see.”
St. John’s responded with three quick scores, pulling forward to a 10-3 score before North answered again. Granofsky threw a smooth assist to Schiefer, cutting the lead to 10-4. North’s momentum continued as Granofsky executed another assist, this time to Preston, bringing the score to 11-5.
“The team’s biggest strength is that it has really strong returning players willing to teach the many new players,” said Sloan. “The new players have been able to learn a lot in the short amount of time they have been playing.”
As the scoreboard reached 15 points for St. John’s, North managed to score one more goal, which was Schiefer returning the favor with a pass to Granofsky, bringing the Tigers’ total to six.
“I see lots of potential with this team,” said Granofsky. “Our chemistry is already looking good, and everyone’s been working hard to improve. I have high hopes for the season.”
Though the scoreboard was not in their favor, the team left the field feeling motivated according to Sloan. “We definitely were more focused on getting that experience in for all the new players than on winning,” he added. “At the end of the day, we improved our sense as a team.”
With new players stepping up, returning players leading by example, and captains focused on building a strong and inclusive culture, the boys’ ultimate team set the tone for the rest of the season.
“There are people who wouldn’t know each other without ultimate,” said Sloan. “We can all come together over this sport.”
The Tigers crushed Phillips Andover 11-8 at home Wednesday, April 2 and pulled off a clutch win against Needham 8-7 at the Defazio Complex Tuesday, April 8. North, 2-1, will face Lincoln-Sudbury Thursday, April 10.
