Scobel Wiggins Photography

Riot is undoubtedly still a powerhouse team. With injuries to Miranda Roth, Liz Duffy, Loriana Berman and several others, they are housing an elite club team worth of talent on their sidelines in street clothes, so this weekend probably does not represent their full potential, assuming some of those players make it back by Regionals.

Offensively, Riot is extremely disciplined in their cutting. Downfielders know when and to where they are supposed to cut, and they initiate these movements quickly; they have obviously ingrained their patterns well and drilled them thoroughly. Few players on the team are willing/allowed to throw deep, and there are usually not more than two of these players on the field at once, so if you front every player, you can increase the pressure and know that even if you are beaten badly deep, it is likely that the player with the disc is unwilling to take advantage of the opportunity.

Riot sets up in a split stack, with two players on each sideline. When the disc is in the middle of the field, their strong throwers make it tough to guard all of these players to each side, and they rarely have to go sideways or backwards off of the first throw with their O team. From the sideline, however, all of the motion comes from the far side of the field...the near sideline players are clearing space 100% of the time. This creates sweeping cuts across the field, which is great for yardage and thrower position. Near sideline defenders might start turning with their heads up, knowing that another cutter is coming from far away to the live side and working with far sideline defenders.

Riot runs a very good 4-person cup, with the goal of keeping the other team out of the middle of the field. I think that beating this cup means going sideline to sideline, as they are disciplined enough in defensive spacing to prevent cup-hole throws.