July 15, 2024
By Evan Lepler
Oliver Chartock, New York Empire (Pictured)
The roster keeps reshuffling, but the Empire keep winning big. On Saturday, Oliver Chartock caught a career-best six goals while adding one assist and a team-high 400 total yards in New York’s dominant 25-16 victory over Minnesota. The 25-year-old now has 25 goals on the season, second on the team behind only Ben Jagt. He’s snagged 11 of those goals, along with seven assists, in the Empire’s last three games, in which New York has outscored its overmatched opponents 79-48.
Quinn Finer, Colorado Summit
Summit supporters are probably wondering what could have been had Quinn Finer been healthy and available all season. The USA National Team talent probably won’t earn All-UFA honors this year, but it’ll mainly be because he only played in five games and was hampered by a hamstring injury through the first half of Colorado’s 2024 campaign. When he’s been on the field, he’s been fantastic, and never better than his seven-goal, two-assist, 646-total yard, zero-turnover performance that he put forth on Friday night against Los Angeles. The 26-year-old also went 4-for-4 on his hucks against the Aviators, making him 12-for-13 on hucks on the season. Amongst the 43 total players who’ve tossed at least 10 hucks this season, Finer’s completion percentage, 92.3 percent, ranks number one.
Anthony Gutowsky, Madison Radicals
His instincts, timing, and infectious energy are all big reasons why the Madison Radicals are one more home win away from a home playoff game. Anthony Gutowsky’s five-goal, one-assist stat line was relatively ordinary by his consistent 2024 standards—it was the ninth time in 11 games this year that he’s caught between four and seven goals—though it’s noteworthy that four of his six total scores came during the Radicals’ 7-1 second quarter on Friday night against Chicago. That was the key 12-minute period in terms of creating separation as the Rads rolled 21-13 to take over sole possession of second place in the Central. For the full season, Gutowsky has 49 goals, second most in the UFA. With a strong Week 13 performance in a must-win game against indy, he could become the first Radical in team history to lead the league in goals for a full season.
Brett Hulsmeyer, Atlanta Hustle
It should have never been quite that close against the winless Legion, but it did give Brett Hulsmeyer the chance to create another epic highlight for his 2024 season reel. And given the opportunity, the Hustle big man delivered in dramatic fashion, skying the crowd for a thrilling game-winning buzzer-beater to defeat Dallas 19-18 on Saturday night in Atlanta. By the way, Hulsmeyer also finished the night with 714 total yards, five scores, and 36 completions with no throwaways, as the Hustle improved to 9-2 heading into this weekend’s massive matchup with Carolina.
Levi Jacobs, Indianapolis AlleyCats
With his team’s playoff chances very much hanging in the balance, Levi Jacobs was one of several veteran AlleyCats who refused to let their team lose on Sunday afternoon in Pittsburgh, as Indianapolis overcame a three-goal deficit in the second half to prevail 21-20 over the Thunderbirds. Jacobs, who’s planning to retire from the UFA after an 11-year career at the end of his season, led the AlleyCats with seven scores and 562 total yards, while going 37-for-37 passing in the intense one-goal win.
Mike Kobyra, Atlanta Hustle
The Hustle were without a handful of key D-line playmakers on Saturday night against Dallas, but Mike Kobyra was there to pick up the slack. The 29-year-old speedster erupted for his second career four-block game, generating substantial pressure when his team desperately needed someone to step up. Kobyra also had four Ds in a game against Philly back in 2022, when he was a member of the New York Empire. In his fifth UFA season with his fourth different team, Kobyra’s four blocks on Saturday gave him 10 on the year, a new career-best.
Chad Yorgason, Salt Lake Shred
Playing more O-points than any other game in his three-year career so far, Chad Yorgason compiled arguably his biggest offensive performance to date, producing seven assists, one goal, and two blocks along with 440 yards on Saturday night in Portland. Astonishingly, he still played more D-points than O-points—13 to 12—but his plus-nine was the highest plus/minus he’s ever recorded in 39 career UFA games. He only participated in 38 O-points in his first 36 UFA contests, but he’s played offense on 27 different points over Salt Lake’s past three games. It’ll be interesting to see if the Shred keep mixing Chad into the O-line rotation as they head into their critical regular season finale this Friday night against Seattle.
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