The Philadelphia Surge, the city’s women and gender-expansive pro ultimate frisbee team, came out of its first-ever season last year having checked off many of the staples that Philly sports fans have become accustomed to.
The talented team was dominant in the Premier Ultimate League. It drew large and imposing home crowds. And the players and fans had a chip etched into their shoulders when they missed out on the post-season due to a subjective league decision.
On April 14, Surge starts its sophomore season with some roster updates, far more prep time, and a revised league division and playoff format that should leave no doubt that it will deserve a spot in the playoffs if all goes as well as last year.
How did last season go?
In its first season, Surge won all but one of its regular season games. The team’s dominance on the field was paired with impressive home attendances at the South Philly Supersite, starting with around 800 showing up for its opener against New York Gridlock. The home games had food trucks, local vendors, and youth activities surrounding the main event.
Lily Ponitz, a member of the PUL board of directors and general manager of the Atlanta Soul, described the impact the Surge made in its rookie year as “huge”
“I think that the ways Surge came in and was organized and looking to learn from the league and understand the operations of the league just right away sets a great example for other expansion teams in the future,” Ponitz said. “Especially the way that they harnessed excitement about the PUL in their own city.”
When it came time to select the four teams from the league’s three divisions that would make the championship postseason, Surge was a contender for the wildcard spot, since it didn’t win its East Division. Selection was by a league committee vote and division rivals New York — which lost two of its games in the regular season, one of which was to the Surge — were given the final spot. The decision and its perceived subjectivity drew plenty of skepticism on ultimate socials. It was even compared with Florida State’s exclusion from the College Football Playoff when that happened six months later.
What’s new this season?
Preparations for the new season began late January with open tryouts at Carey Stadium at Germantown Academy. Over 100 players showed up to try out for the handful of spots left by Surge players who weren’t returning.
Head coach Bobby Roos said that the coaches had a better idea of what to look for this year to fit tactical gaps in the team that appeared during the inaugural season, rather than just trying to load the team with the best players available.
In addition to the Philly area, players traveled in from Baltimore, Washington, D.C., Pittsburgh, New York and even New Hampshire for the tryout.
Adilina Malavé, who came in from Baltimore and previously played professionally for DC Shadow said she was drawn to Philly’s balance of “good culture, good competition.”
“I think that Philly has really struck that,” Malavé said. “The interactions that I’ve had with the individuals in the Philly area has always been incredibly positive and has always been uplifting as well, and it makes me want to be a better athlete and always try my hardest when I play here.”
Malavé and ten other rookies made the roster from the tryouts, joining the 22 players who returned after the team’s first season.
Also among the newcomers was Grace Maroon, the youngest player on the team at 18 who was too young to legally compete in the league last season. She is part of a generation that started playing younger, have already competed at a high international level, and have been partially raised by the ultimate community even before Surge existed.
Now a freshman at Penn, Maroon said that becoming a member of Surge made her realize the impact she can have on the generations below her.
“I think I can understand sort of how empowering it is for younger girls to watch women athletes compete and succeed at really high levels in sports,” Maroon said. “Philly’s sort of lacking in that department and the highest level has been like mostly college sports. So, I think ideally, Surge in the future can be that outlet for youth within the ultimate community, and also even outside the ultimate community.”
Surge and its players have also had time to inspire and encourage the growth of girls and women interested in the sport in the Greater Philadelphia area through training clinics.
“We’re able to use the clout that Surge has as a professional sport to be able to have youth programming that is specifically revolved around girls playing sport,” said Jereme Mason, the youth director and operations officer at the Philadelphia Area Disc Alliance.
Philly’s ultimate scene got to where it is today through PADA’s programming and many Surge player’s efforts before Surge existed, through recreational teams like the mixed Philadelphia Amp and the gender-agnostic Philadelphia Flight and Zephyr. Gina Wherry, a team sponsor of Surge, said she has seen a big improvement in the level of play and opportunities compared to when she first joined Philly’s ultimate scene in 1990 at age 26-27.
“I think because there are more opportunities to play high school, college, when you get to that next level — that club level, that semi pro level, that pro level — you now have had people playing it longer or with more opportunity to do that,” Wherry said. “So the skills are there and the level of playing is much higher than when I played.”
This season, the PUL has revamped its division set-up from three to two, with Philly in the North Division along with Indy Red, the Milwaukee Monarchs, Minnesota Strike, Gridlock and Portland Rising. The top two teams in each division will qualify for the PUL Championship, with more clear-cut, objective tiebreakers. So Surge should have a less murky path to advance to the postseason, and expectations are high amongst the league before the first disc has even been thrown.
“My team doesn’t have to play them this year and I’m happy about that,” Ponitz said. “I bet at the very least they’re trying to make championship weekend … And at the most they’re probably trying to win championship weekend to really prove that they should have been there last year, that they are the top team.”
The extra comfort and confidence among the group has even led a couple of the returning players to contribute to the team’s social media outreach. Rachel Alfano and Jana Graham — with media director and team co-captain Lindsay McKenna behind the camera — take on challenges inspired by TikTok to help bring some smiles to the competitive and focused training sessions.
The videos try to incorporate as many members of the team as are willing. There is, of course, also a competitive aspect to it.
“I want our social media content to be better than everyone else’s,” Alfano said. ”I don’t think other people do this kind of stuff. So I think we have that over the other teams, too.”
How to watch the Surge?
Surge kicks off its season with a home opener against the Milwaukee Monarchs on April 14 at 4:45 p.m. Team sponsor More than Movement is hosting a tailgate from 3:30 p.m. at Vidas Field.
The team will be hosting a preseason party April 12 at Triple Bottom Brewery.
The other two home games are against Indianapolis Red at 6 p.m. on April 27 and Minnesota Strike at 7.pm. on June 1.
Before the game against the Strike, Philly’s men’s pro team, the Phoenix, will face the Toronto Rush at 3 p.m. and double-header tickets for both those June 1 games are available here, and as part of Surge’s season ticket package.
“It was great to see the attendance at our games last year and hopefully we build on that this year and can just keep growing opportunities for kids in Philly to see women and nonbinary athletes play at a really high level” said Caroline Weinberg, a rookie on the team who was on last season’s practice squad. “Philly doesn’t have many teams where that is showcased, so it’s nice to be an example of that.”
The team’s away games this season are against the Austin Torch on May 4, Gridlock on May 18 and Portland Rising on June 8 to close the regular season.
All of the PUL games can be streamed online at the league’s YouTube channel.
