Author: Ryan Baker
Photos: SEDIII Productions
The Indianapolis AlleyCats dropped to 1-4 on the season after a grueling one-point loss to the Madison Radicals on Sunday.
Coming into this one, Indy had newfound confidence after its first win and a good fight with Minnesota, but it struggled to execute in big moments against Madison. A combined 12 turnovers from the three players with the most offensive points wasn’t a great recipe for success.
Indy wanted to come out of the gates strong and instill worry in Madison, and getting two breaks right away accomplished that. William Wettengel’s return to the field after missing last week was immediately impactful, going full extension for a layout block that led to the first break of the game.
However, that feeling didn’t last long as the two teams played a sloppy first quarter. Five of the six scoring points lasted longer than two minutes apiece. Two drops and a couple of hucks that were a bit too long allowed Madison to creep back in and tie it before the first 12 minutes ended.
The wind was unusually gusty at Breese Stevens Field, causing the disc to hang up or drop at times, and both teams struggled to handle it. Despite that, Jake Felton and Elliot Hawkins still connected on multiple deep shots. Their second of the night came from a 56-yard Felton bomb, prompting a three-point run to put Indy up 6-4.
A big theme in the first half for Indy was getting into position to take deep shots. It was one or two throws to the break side, then ripping it deep, but it didn’t pan out in some of those situations. One of those came from Hawkins, and the disc was blocked by a Madison defender, leading to a Madison break that tied the game right before halftime.
The AlleyCats got one more punch in before the break, with Cameron Brock assisting to Sofiène Bontemps, who now has 6 goals, 3 blocks, and over 700 total yards in his first two career games with Indy.
“It’s a great feeling,” Bontemps said about being on Indy and only meeting the guys for the first time on the bus ride to Minnesota last week. “The boys made sure that I felt comfortable from day one. They directly involved me on the team, in the O-line, and explained every play, taking time on the line to show me how they wanted me to cut. They just trusted me from day one.”
The third quarter is where Indy started to pull away. Another three-point run ensued, starting with a Bontemps 71-yard huck to Hawkins that was punched in on the next throw. Then a block by Wettengel and a forced turnover gave Kai Creed two assists, expanding the Indy lead to three.
“It's a lot different of a play style,” Creed said on adapting to the UFA. “I'm still trying to learn from a lot of the better players on our team. A guy like Will [Wettengel], who's getting massive blocks in the space consistently at a high rate.”
The lead didn’t last long after Felton's red-zone turnover, which gave the Radicals the opportunity to pull within one before the end of the third quarter. The final 12 minutes were the roughest for Indy. Two throwaways on the first two points Madison cashed in on put Indy down for the first time all night.
They bounced back and stayed methodical, trading shots with the Radicals over the next few points. Their 56 completions on the four points scored by the O-line in the final quarter showed their patience, but going down right away put them in a bad spot.
Then one of the weirdest points happened. Indy’s D-line took the field, and as Hawkins began his pull, they were called for a delay of the game. After that, Madison marched up the field without throwing a single pass because of four straight fouls called on the AlleyCats. That put Madison in the red zone, and the team scored the game's final goal with just over a minute left.
Indy’s final chance came after Hawkins attempted a cross-field hammer throw that hit the ground, and the Radicals held the disc for the remainder of the time.
The AlleyCats opted for roller pulls for most of the game, but multiple times the pull went out before midfield, giving Madison the disc in the middle of the field, or the Radicals were able to get their first throw off the sideline right away.
The numbers weren’t all that far off from each other. The AlleyCats were a bit below in huck percentage, had one fewer hold, one fewer block, and three more turnovers. In a close game like this, those small numbers made a huge difference.
Conversely, in the Chicago game a couple of weeks back, Indy came up big in the moments it needed most. This weekend, they struggled in the crucial moments, but with plenty of season left, there is still room for improvement.
“We're looking at like 1,000 people on a field right now who are just enjoying ultimate and enjoying the sport,” Creed reflected while he looked out onto Breese Stevens after the game. All of us want to enjoy the sport and win together. I'm not even upset with where we're going as a team. I think that there are a lot of good things in our future. It's just a matter of clicking and finding what works for us in these moments.”
The mentality remains strong despite the loss, and moving on is easy, according to Bussberg. He is confident in the team and has his guys right in line with him. The team will look to bounce back and start gaining momentum with another date with the Union ahead.
