Boston Siege

Siege is a competitive women’s ultimate frisbee team based in the Boston area. Learn more about the team here.

Siege’s jerseys this year are an amazing example of classic design. What was the inspiration?

Siege has stuck to the same color scheme since its inception (red, blue, white, and a little bit of chartreuse). We tend to like the simple, classic jersey look, with some smaller hidden surprises for those paying close attention. Past jerseys have had a small Paul Revere riding in one of the letters, Siege mantras, etc.

Our inspiration for uniforms is often the USWNT soccer uniforms. This year, their navy and red zigzag jerseys were a little too busy so we went with a subtler version.

Your team motto is “One if by land. Two if by Siege.”, which is a punned version of the quote from poet Henry W. Longfellow’s poem Paul Revere’s Ride, referencing the secret signal used to alert patriots about the route being taken by British troops.

What does the quote mean to your team? Is there a story behind picking the team’s name?

From the get-go, the goal was to make Siege a Boston team. It was important to the founders that the team name reflect something about the city of Boston and the strength of the ultimate scene there at the youth, college, and club levels.

The Boston area is home to over 60 colleges and universities, and many of the players on Siege's inaugural season had played each other on rival college teams from around the city. The goal was to form a club team that could take advantage of the existing camaraderie between these players, and the founders felt that the best way to do this was to unite all of the talent around the city itself and its rich history.

The "Siege of Boston" was a real event that occurred at the beginning of the American Revolutionary War (on April 19, 1775) and marked the first time that the Americans successfully held off the British. So "Boston Siege" was a natural choice to reflect the strength of the city.

Coincidently, Siege's very first event occurred exactly 240 years after the original Siege of Boston, on April 19, 2015.

The quote/motto emerged over the course of Siege's first season, as we continued to embrace our connection to Boston's first Siege. "One if by land, two if by sea" famously refers to a lantern signal used by Paul Revere to indicate the path of the British troops.

To make reference to our Boston connection and also embrace the teams playful attitude, we quickly adopted the modified famous quote as a cheer. We love a good pun, and the word sea sounds suspiciously like the beginning of the word Siege. We tend to Siege-ify a lot of words throughout the season. Regionals become Siegionals.

Tis the Season becomes Tis the Siegon.

Aside from the punniness, we usually chant "One if by land, two if by Siege" after breaking a team. It's a mantra of getting another break.

Boston is such a hub of amazing ultimate. What’s your team’s origin story?

Siege was formed to create more playing opportunities for women-matching players in the Boston area. Because only two women's teams (Brute Squad and Vice - both still in existence today) existed in the area at the time, many players wanting to play in the division found themselves playing mixed instead, or playing on a women's division team that didn't meet their goals at the time.

Siege was the brainchild of Northeastern's coach Jason Adams and former player Lizzie Jones, who teamed up with Shirlee Wohl to recruit college and other local players and form the first generation of Siege!

Today, Siege is one of four flourishing women's division teams in the area.

What has you most excited to either be back on the field, or looking ahead to the future?

Our teammates. We had such an incredible breakout season in 2019, that not having a 2020 season was heartbreaking. A lot of teammates from that roster ended up moving out of the state, others retired, and others chose to prioritize other aspects of their lives.

Getting back on the field as Siege, a new Siege, was so exciting. It's been a weird and shortened season, but we're really happy with the community we've built and the effort we have put in, and we're REALLY EXCITED to see where our hard work is going to take us.

Siege has qualified for the 2021 USA Ultimate National Championships in San Diego, CA. Follow along on the team's Twitter account (@SiegeUltimate) and pick up some great fan apparel today!