Seattle Tempest 2026 Western Ultimate League Schedule Breakdown
By Becca Weinberg
Seattle, WA - The Seattle Tempest season begins in just a few short weeks, so it’s time to break down the team’s 2026 Western Ultimate League (WUL) schedule. With a third-place finish in last year’s WUL Championship Weekend, the Tempest continue their quest for their first WUL title since 2023. An exciting new roster of returners and rookies will hope to propel the team back to the championship.
New this year in the WUL is the league’s longest season ever, spanning 12 regular-season weeks, and the addition of a new team. The Los Angeles Astra returns to the WUL this season after moving to the Premier Ultimate League (PUL) last season, the East Coast-based women’s ultimate frisbee league.
Week 0: Seattle vs Oregon Northwest Cup
The second annual Northwest Cup, a unique matchup between Seattle and Oregon's professional ultimate frisbee teams, provides an important preseason tune-up for all. You can read up on the event by clicking here! This time hosted in Seattle at Interbay Stadium, the Seattle Tempest and Cascades defeated the Oregon Soar and Steel for the second year in a row. It was a first look at each team's new rosters heading into their regular seasons, and the Tempest combined veteran leadership with rookie development to preview their 2026 identity.
Week 1: BYE
Week 2: Colorado Alpenglow at Seattle Tempest
The Tempest will immediately be faced with a challenge as their first opponent of the 2026 season will be one of the league’s top teams, Colorado Alpenglow, on March 22nd at 1 PM in Seattle. With some roster turnover, yet the returns of the reigning Offensive Player of the Year (Ari Nelson) and Breakout Player of the Year finalist (Rena Kawabata), Colorado is looking for another top finish this season. The undefeated Alpenglow team from 2025 did not face the Tempest at all en route to a fairly dominant regular season, but lost to Seattle in the third-place game of WUL Championship Weekend. Without Sadie Jezierski this year, the Tempest handler powerhouse and reigning WUL Defensive Player of the Year, Seattle will need a big game from its new roster to keep up with Colorado this season.
Week 3: BYE
Week 4: Utah Wild at Seattle Tempest
After a week off, the Tempest will host the Utah Wild on April 3rd at 7:30 PM. After a dominant 2024 season, Utah finished the 2025 regular season with only one win and missed out on WUL Championship Weekend. They feature some of the most roster turnover of any team this season, looking to improve after some disappointing losses, with about 64% of their roster being first-year players. WUL 2024 Breakout Player of the Year Abbie Davis returns, along with defensive powerhouses Liz Bunderson and Kari Shelkey. Whether this is a rebuilding year for the Wild or not, the Tempest will need to use this matchup as a temperature check after coming off a bye and facing one of the league’s top teams the week before.
Week 5: Seattle Tempest at Utah Wild, Seattle Tempest at Colorado Alpenglow
The Tempest will embark on a double header in Week 5 with their first two away games of the season. They will travel to Utah to face the Wild on April 10th at 6 PM, and match up against the Alpenglow in Colorado on April 11th at 3 PM. Both of these games will be a rematch from previous weeks, and after feeling out both styles of play, the Tempest will look to use what they learned in the games before to build on their plan of attack.
Week 6: Oregon Soar at Seattle Tempest
Seattle will return home to host Oregon Soar on April 18th, with the game time yet to be announced. The Soar had a difficult, winless 2025 season, but had the roster talent to do much more. It was Oregon's first WUL season after switching ownership groups, and the team continued to build chemistry as the season went on. The downfield threats of Zoe Luke and Mariel Hammond, combined with the impressive handler movement of Geli Boyden and Noelle Takahashi, will all be returning this season, so the Tempest will need to be intentional about their defensive coverage this game. With an expanded roster of mostly new faces and some changes to their coaching staff, the new-look Soar will be another exciting matchup for the Tempest midway through the regular season.
Week 7: BYE
Week 8: BYE
Week 9: San Diego Super Bloom at Seattle Tempest
After two weeks off, the Tempest will host San Diego Super Bloom on May 9th, with the game time yet to be announced. San Diego was one of the league’s most exciting teams last season and is the reigning WUL Champion. Their only regular-season loss in 2025 was to Colorado in the very last game of the season, and they have only continued to improve each year. San Diego is facing the departure of the WUL’s all-time leader in both blocks and receiving yards, Dena Elimelech, but has also added two exciting additions and has minimal roster turnover otherwise. Kyra Khoroujnikova of the Utah Wild and Megan Maxfield of the Colorado Alpenglow, both stars on their previous teams, will add an additional boost to the defending champions’ roster. This will be Seattle’s toughest matchup of the regular season and will be important in determining if the Tempest can hang with the league’s top teams.
Week 10: Seattle Tempest at Oregon Soar
The Tempest will travel to Oregon for their second regular-season matchup against the Soar on May 16th at 2 PM. Both teams will have faced off about a month beforehand, and will look to build on their strengths from the previous game to win this one.
Week 11: BYE
Week 12: Seattle Tempest at Los Angeles Astra
The final game of the regular season for the Tempest will be against the league’s newest team, the Los Angeles Astra, on May 30th at 4 PM. The Astra competed in the Premier Ultimate League (PUL) last season, the East Coast equivalent of the WUL, and finished towards the bottom of their division. A quick, creative offense powered by veterans Maggie O’Connor, Stephanie Pritchard, and Amy Lee lead the charge for LA. Although a bit of a mystery as to how they will fare in the WUL this season, they bring a fast-paced roster with mostly returners and will look to make a name for themselves in 2026. This game could host important playoff implications, and the Tempest will hope to finish the regular season strong with a win.
Instagram: @CirclingSeattleSports Twitter: @CirclingSports Threads: @CirclingSeattleSports Tiktok: @CirclingSeattleSports Facebook: Circling Seattle Sports BlueSky: @circlingseasports.bsky.social
〰️
Instagram: @CirclingSeattleSports Twitter: @CirclingSports Threads: @CirclingSeattleSports Tiktok: @CirclingSeattleSports Facebook: Circling Seattle Sports BlueSky: @circlingseasports.bsky.social 〰️
Check out our previous Seattle Tempest articles here.
Check out our previous articles with writing for CSS by Becca Weinberg here, and her work with Lookout Landing here.
Cover photo and photos in this article by Jammie Phea, provided by the Seattle Tempest.
Support the work of Circling Seattle Sports by checking out our merchandise!