May 22, 2025
By Alex Rubin
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When the Friday Night Frisbee schedule was first announced, the Week 5 matchup between the Seattle Cascades and the Salt Lake Shred surely caught most fans attention given that it will be these two teams first matchup since Seattle upset Salt Lake in the playoffs last season. Though the Cascades pulled off that shocking win in Salt Lake last August, this game became a lot more important for Seattle after their surprising loss to the Oregon Steel last week.
Now sitting at 1-3 in fifth place in the West Division, Seattle could use a bounceback win.
“The Oregon loss was tough,” Cascades handler Garrett Martin said. “There is no way around that. Definitely a gut punch for sure. I think this game against Salt Lake is just what we need to lock in after the losses and try to turn this season around. We know we’re going to have to bring our best to walk out of Salt Lake with a win and we’re starting to need wins. Losing three games right away puts us in a tough spot for sure, but we still feel like we control our own destiny. I wouldn’t say “It’s now or never” but it’s definitely getting close to that.”
For what it’s worth, Seattle is two points away from being 3-1 and tied for first place in the west. To climb back up to the top of the division, they’ll want to start by beating the team that has never missed the playoffs. “Salt Lake is always among the class of the West division,” Martin added. “You know you’re always going to get a good game when you suit up against Salt Lake. So playing them is always a good indicator of where we’re at as a team.”
Martin would know best given that he played a season for the Shred and grew up playing High School, College, and Club ultimate in the Utah community. “Personally, this is always the game I circle on the calendar,” Martin said. “This feels like my homecoming game every year [...] I’ve played with and against players on Shred as long as I’ve been playing. This year is actually the 10 year anniversary of my High School State Championship, where the Yorgason brothers and I beat Jordan Kerr and company in the state title in May 2015. All that to say, there is tons of history on the field for me and I love getting to go back to Utah at least once a year.”
As they’ve been since Martin was on the Shred in 2022, Salt Lake is playing like a championship contender. The Shred boast the second highest completion percentage in the league this season (94.96 percent), behind just the Atlanta Hustle who happen to have handed Salt Lake their only loss this year. To win this game, Seattle’s defense will need to improve on their middling performance this season. The Cascades allow the sixth most holds per game, and though they’re near the top of the block-per-game leaderboard, they are closer to the middle of the pack (11th) in breaks per game, indicating that their D-line offense might not be making the most of their opportunities.
Blocks and breaks will be hard to come by for both teams. The high-flying offenses lead the league in completion percentage on hucks; Salt Lake completes 92.31 percent of their throws that go 40-plus yards down the field, while Seattle clocks in at second place with 83.33 percent. No other team is above 77 percent so this game should be a deep throwing showcase like nothing else in the UFA.
In addition to the clear playoff implications of a matchup between two West Division contenders, this game adds extra meaning for Seattle as an opportunity to rebound after their tough loss to Oregon last week and get ready for another showdown with the Oakland Spiders on Saturday. Coming back from a 1-5 record to make the playoffs is a tall ask of any team, so the Cascades will certainly want to take at least one win from this challenging two-game road trip. Whether for Martin’s homecoming, for the quick-bounceback after a hard loss, or for the tone-setting nature of winning the first game of a two-game road trip, the Cascades will be motivated to bring their best against the Shred.
