Seattle Cascades Lose Second Game in a Row to Oakland Spiders 26-21
By Becca Weinberg, edited by Charles Hamaker
Oakland, CA - In their second matchup in a row against the Oakland Spiders, the Seattle Cascades put up another strong fight but still find themselves in the loss column to begin the 2025 season. The Spiders now sit firmly in first place in the West Division with a 4-0 record after their 26-21 win over Seattle. With the Cascades unable to contain Oakland’s downfield cutting and tallying multiple unfortunate turnovers, the team wasn’t able to come back from another early deficit. Impact players in this game included hybrid player Zeppelin Raunig with four goals and three assists, handler Aaron Wolf with three goals and three assists, and hybrid player Derek Mourad with three goals and three assists.
Pre-match scene ahead of the Seattle Cascades’ 26-21 defeat at the hands of the Oakland Spiders. (Photo by Aidan Rael, provided by the Seattle Cascades)
First quarter: 8-7
The game started in a very similar fashion to the Cascades’ first meeting with the Spiders last weekend, as a number of clean offensive points led to the first turnover coming halfway through the quarter. With another display of quick-moving offense and lockdown defense, Seattle stepped up early to lead at the end of the first quarter. With three goals from Raunig and one each from Wolf, Mourad, handler Tommy Li, hybrid player Garret Martin, and handler Marc Munoz, the Cascades utilized a variety of different playmakers to lead their offensive charge. Important assists came from handler Christian Foster and cutter Gavin Leahy to set the tone early and keep Seattle in the game. Just like their first matchup, however, Oakland had a response to every Cascades point, which led to only a one goal lead to end the quarter.
Second quarter: 12-15
The turnovers multiplied in the second quarter, as Oakland scored three goals off of Cascades miscommunications and drops. The first Cascades goal came from a strong upline connection from Munoz to Wolf after two points by the Spiders in a row. Their most efficient offensive point of the game came minutes later with a long throw from Foster to Wolf who scored in exactly one pass. The Spiders continued to respond by utilizing their quick deep looks, but the Cascades scored the last goal of the half with speedy movement in the handler space from handler Tony Goss to Mourad.
(Photo by Aidan Rael, provided by the Seattle Cascades)
Third quarter: 16-21
The second half started again with two Oakland goals in a row, with Seattle’s response coming towards the middle of the quarter through a Raunig and Goss connection. The quarter continued in back-and-forth fashion, with Lee, Raunig, and cutter Jack Brown all scoring important goals. Assists from Mourad, Martin, and Munoz created the scoring chances, yet the deficit continued to widen as the quarter ended.
Fourth quarter: 21-26
The Cascades’ best offensive catches came in the fourth quarter with very impressive, highlight-reel plays from Li, Brown, Foster, cutter Alex Kabat, and cutter Lukas Ambrose. Continuing to step up in big moments, with assists from Mourad, Martin, Wolf, and handler Louie Bertoncin, the Cascades put up another late-game comeback attempt. However, with multiple Seattle turnovers and clean Oakland offensive points, the biggest lead of the night came towards the end of the fourth quarter with a six-point difference. Although the Cascades were able to cut it down to five, the game ended with another Spiders goal and the Cascades facing an 0-2 start to their season.
Post-match scene following the Seattle Cascades’ 26-21 defeat at the hands of the Oakland Spiders. (Photo by Aidan Rael, provided by the Seattle Cascades)
Stat of the game:
In their second game of the season, the Cascades recorded a 100% huck percentage, with 10 out of their 10 deep passes completed. In the game overall, the Cascades recorded a 91% completion percentage, with 151 out of their 165 total passes completed.
What’s next?
Following this road loss, our Seattle Cascades will travel to Las Vegas to take on the Bighorns tomorrow, May 10th, at 7PM PDT. Both teams are still looking to get their first win of the season, with this matchup bringing heavy importance to the West Division standings. Fans looking to catch the action can stream Saturday’s game on Watch UFA TV.
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Instagram: @CirclingSeattleSports Twitter: @CirclingSports Threads: @CirclingSeattleSports Tiktok: @CirclingSeattleSports Facebook: Circling Seattle Sports BlueSky: @circlingseasports.bsky.social 〰️
Check out our previous Seattle Cascades articles here.
Check out our previous articles with writing for CSS by Becca Weinberg here, and her work with Lookout Landing here.
Cover photo by Aidan Rael, provided by the Seattle Cascades.
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