July 11, 2025
By Alex Rubin
In a rematch of last week’s Salt Lake Shred win and as a potential playoff preview, the Colorado Summit travels to Utah for a showdown with the West Division leaders.
The Shred have been on an absolute tear this season. After losing to the Atlanta Hustle in a marquee Week 1 matchup, Salt Lake has won nine straight games. Along the way, their offense has looked nigh unstoppable. The Shred lead the league in scores per game, hold rate, and both O-line and D-line conversion percentage. In short, when Salt Lake gets the disc in their hands, they’re more likely than any other team to score.
Colorado, meanwhile, has more or less kept pace in the West. Their two out-of-division losses to Houston and Austin are setting them back in the standings, but within the division, Colorado has only lost to Salt Lake (in last week’s game). After surviving closer-than-expected games against Oregon and Seattle, Colorado is gearing up to peak in the postseason as the regular season nears its finale.
In last week’s matchup, the polished Salt Lake offense took center stage. The Shred limited themselves to just nine turnovers as they converted 85 percent of their huck attempts and allowed just a single Colorado break on three chances. Defensively, Sam Pew led the way with three blocks, two of which directly led to breaks to help Salt Lake build their lead.
Less heralded stars like Pew will need to step up again this time around. This week’s showcase will be played without a few stars. Salt Lake’s Will Selfridge is not on the roster this week, while Colorado’s Alex Atkins is out with an injury. In their place, two rookies who just finished their first year of college are stepping up. The Shred’s Nate De Morgan threw two assists and a goal in last week’s game against Colorado. Although his 57 percent completion percentage leaves something to be desired, De Morgan’s penchant for shot-taking and long throwing range opens up more opportunities for the Shred counterattack and forces defenders to guard the entire length of the field.
On the other side of the field, Elliot Hawkins found a home on the Colorado offense. A similarly prolific thrower, Hawkins has a plus/minus over five in three out of the four games he’s played so far this season. As he gains comfort in a new league (so far he has played in D-I college and for the U20 National Team, but not in the UFA) and settles in with his new team, he’s sure to raise his impact even higher.
Especially as Colorado reshuffles its lineup to account for Atkins’s absence, the ability of players like Nanda Min-Fink (2A/3G last week), Seth Faris (3A/6G), and Zeke Thoreson (1A/4G) to step into larger roles and keep the offense moving around Quinn Finer is keeping the Summit on the right trail. With a little Tobias Brooks magic sprinkled in, Colorado has all the tools they need to succeed.
A win in this game locks up the division for Salt Lake, which would give them a bye to the divisional final which would be played in their home stadium. The Shred are preparing for the playoffs with a challenging end to the season. Both Colorado and Minnesota are recent Championship Weekend attendees, and both will provide a playoff-like atmosphere; the Shred-Wind Chill game next week will also be featured on "Friday Night Frisbee".
