August 9, 2023
By Sam Weiger

South Division Championship: Austin Sol at Atlanta Hustle
Friday, July 11 - 8:00 PM/ET - Watch link

History will be made in this game. With Carolina and Dallas out of the picture, the South Division will have a new champion. 

Austin booked their ticket to Atlanta with a win over Carolina, their first win of the year against a team with a winning record and their first postseason win in franchise history. However, Austin appeared anxious early on and had trouble pulling away from a Carolina team who was missing several key players. There will be less margin for error against a fully healthy Atlanta team that has started several games strong this season, including their Week 3 win against the Sol.

Atlanta finished the regular season strong, going undefeated at home and winning back-to-back games against the Flyers. Brett Hulsmeyer, Liam Haberfield, and Austin Taylor had standout performances in those two end-of-season wins against the Flyers. These three players are worth watching in the divisional championship, and one thing to keep an eye on is how big of a role Taylor plays. In his last playoff game in 2021 with the Hustle, Taylor had seven assists and 58 completions in an epic game against the Empire. 

Austin has struggled to get blocks against good teams all year. They have not had double-digit blocks against a team with a winning record, and a continuation of that trend could be problematic against a Hustle team that does not turn the disc often in home games against tough opponents. The only two teams that defeated Atlanta this year tallied at least 10 blocks in those games.

The Sol will struggle to keep up with Atlanta unless someone like Joey Wylie or Mick Walter has an outstanding defensive performance. Put your money on the Hustle, who always get an extra jolt of energy from the electric crowd at Silverbacks Park.

One Big Number:
6 - Austin is averaging just six blocks per game this year against teams with winning records.
11.25 - The Hustle are averaging just 11.25 turnovers per game at home against teams that qualified for the 2023 postseason.

West Division Championship: LA Aviators at Salt Lake Shred | Game of the Week
Friday, August 11 - 9:00 PM/ET - Watch link

The Aviators were dead in the water just a few weeks ago, but now they’re one win away from Championship Weekend. Can they keep their Cinderella story going?

Their hopes of victory rest on Pawel Janas’ shoulders. He has a stellar track record in the postseason, and he has been more aggressive in the fourth quarter lately. Janas has averaged 29 combined throws and catches in his last two fourth quarters, a significant increase from the 15.5 combined throws and catches he averaged in the fourth quarters of LA’s two losses to Salt Lake this season. His recent uptick in fourth quarter activity has resulted in some important late-game assists.

Janas and the Aviators got a little help from the Summit, who looked lost in crunch time without Jonathan Nethercutt. LA’s defensive pressure was the difference against Colorado, but the D-line is in for a much different challenge against Salt Lake’s fully healthy O-line. 

Salt Lake’s O-line has more players with a plus/minus of 30 or higher than any other team still in the playoff hunt. Even in their recent loss to the top-ranked Empire, the O-line was still very efficient as a whole. Jordan Kerr, Salt Lake’s superstar, had a quiet outing against New York but will likely bounce back against LA. He averaged 7.5 total scores per game in two games against LA this season, and he averaged seven total scores per game in his two postseason games last year. 

With Janas at his peak right now and Kerr’s track record in games like these, this game should include some entertaining and high-quality points.

One Big Number:
2.5 - Janas is averaging 2.5 assists per game in his last two fourth quarters. He averaged just 0.5 assists per game in the fourth quarters of LA’s two losses to Salt Lake this season.
6 - Salt Lake has six players with a plus/minus of 30 or higher: Kerr, Jace Duennebeil, Jacob Miller, Sean Connole, Elijah Jaime, and Will Selfridge. 

East Division Championship: DC Breeze at New York Empire
Saturday, August 12 - 7:00 PM/ET - Watch link

The Empire are the heavy favorites to defend their crown in the 2023 postseason, but they have had some close calls this year. Since the beginning of the 2022 season, no team has come closer to upsetting the Empire than the DC Breeze. They lost by just one goal to New York in Week 3 of this season and in last year’s East Division Championship, so another neck-and-neck battle could be on the horizon.

Former AUDL MVP Rowan McDonnell, who was hardly noticeable for more than half of the season, was one of the biggest question marks heading into the playoffs. However, the Breeze team captain has begun to show flashes of his former self since returning to a full-time O-line position. 

There is more good news for the Breeze. AJ Merriman and Joe Merrill, who missed DC’s last game against New York, will be active for this game. The Breeze have had trouble recording blocks against New York this year, so Merriman and Merrill are important for this matchup. Benjamin Oort also missed Week 10 against the Empire, but he will be back in the lineup for this game and gives DC another offensive weapon.

Which Empire offensive weapon will lead the way against DC? Jeff Babbitt might be the 2023 MVP frontrunner, but Ryan Osgar will likely make the biggest impact for the Empire this week. His best games of the season came against DC, Salt Lake, and Atlanta, so he clearly saves his best play for the biggest games. Osgar was a scoring machine against these teams, and he is the player to watch in the East Division Championship.

The Breeze have the ability to keep the score close even if Oscar has a big game. However, it remains to be seen if they can reach the next level that the Empire always seems to find in the final minutes.

One Big Number:
10 - Osgar averaged 10 scores per game in his two games against the Breeze this season.
4.5 - The Breeze are averaging a disappointing 4.5 blocks per game against the Empire this year.

Central Division Championship: Indianapolis AlleyCats at Minnesota Wind Chill 
Saturday, August 12 - 7:00 PM/ET - Watch link

The Wind Chill are on the verge of something special. If they can win the Central Division Championship Game, they will play in their first-ever Championship Weekend on home turf.

Indy’s veterans have more experience winning divisional championship games than Minnesota. Cameron Brock and Travis Carpenter have each qualified for two Championship Weekends with the AlleyCats, and seven other active players qualified for Championship Weekend in 2019. Abe Coffin is the only Wind Chill player to have qualified for the event, but he did so with Dallas. 

Indy is also coming off one of their best performances of the year in their first round blowout win against Chicago. Xavier Payne and Jeremy Keusch looked great against Chicago and in their matchup against the Wind Chill in the first round of last year’s playoffs, so keep an eye on these two this week. 

It will be interesting to see if Minnesota’s goal of making their first Championship Weekend appearance invigorates them or overwhelms them. Watch out for Bryan Vohnoutka and Dylan DeClerck, who were impactful in their Week 11 win against the ‘Cats and their first round playoff game against Indy last year. 

The ‘Cats have not had a signature win yet this year, but the Sol were in the same boat before knocking out the Flyers a couple of weeks ago. The ‘Cats have reduced their turnovers since committing 28 of them against the Wind Chill in Week 11, but Minnesota has not been able to reduce their turnovers. 

It is safe to assume that this game will be closer than Minnesota’s five-goal win in Week 11.

One Big Number:
0 - The ‘Cats have not won any games this year against a team that finished the regular season with a winning record.
22.29 - Minnesota is averaging a concerning 22.29 turnovers per game in their last seven games.