May 19, 2025
By Evan Lepler
Jeff Babbitt, Boston Glory
The two-time reigning UFA MVP helped lead his team to two huge wins this past weekend, skying two defenders at the same time for important scores in both games. On Friday against New York, Jeff Babbitt perfectly read a deep shot and caught it in between a pair of young and athletic defenders in Tristan Yarter and Ben Simmons. Two days later against DC, Babbitt finished a similar score by beating AJ Merriman, a former UFA Defensive Player of the Year, and the trailing catch-up defender Miles Grovic. The basic message here is that Babbitt’s extraordinary value is, in part, his ability to still win matchups when going up against multiple high-level defenders. These were two of the nine goals he caught over the course of Boston’s two consequential Week 4 victories, which lifted the Glory to 4-0 atop the East Division.
Anthony Gutowsky, Madison Radicals
The third-year Radicals receiver matched his career high with seven goals and set a new career best with four blocks in Madison’s 20-14 triumph over Pittsburgh. “He was like Peter Graffy for us out there,” said Radicals Assistant Coach Tim DeByl, comparing Anthony Gutowsky to the former UFA champion who helped anchor Madison’s franchise between 2014 and 2019. “All of his plays were legit good plays. There were a couple of Ds that were insane.” A season ago, Gutowsky set the Radicals’ single-season record for goals with 53. Through three games this year, he’s on pace to break that mark again.
Brett Hulsmeyer, Atlanta Hustle
Across the two games against Atlanta’s fiercest rival, Brett Hulsmeyer combined for six goals, seven assists, one block, and only one turn, churning for big yardage and carrying the Hustle to a pair of significant results to create the most separation we’ve seen all decade between these two southeast powerhouse programs. Furthermore, it’s the first time ever that the Hustle are 5-0 and also the first time that the Flyers are 0-3.
Tannor Johnson-Go, Boston Glory
On Friday against Boston, his awesome pulls were a huge part of Boston building its lead. And on Sunday at DC, in the blustery conditions that helped the Glory befuddle the Breeze offense, Tannor Johnson-Go led all players at plus-seven, with two goals, two assists, three blocks, and a 20-for-20 passing day that sparkled on the stat sheet. In fact, every other player in the game who threw more passes than Johnson-Go had at least one throwaway. Coming into the season, the 28 year old had registered just seven blocks in 16 career regular season games in the UFA. He’s matched that total in just four games so far this season, which ranks him tied for second in the league in Ds through four weeks.
Xavier Payne, Chicago Union (Pictured)
It’s hard to isolate any one player from Chicago’s 16-11 dismantling of Minnesota, but choosing the guy who helped engineer many of the Union’s 11 breaks seems like the right choice. Xavier Payne finished with a game-high 41 completions in the very windy conditions, keeping the disc moving and limiting the Wind Chill O-line to just six holds across four quarters. The former AlleyCat also delivered a ridiculous toe-tap layout catch for a first half score—a play that will likely appear in the Week 4 Top 10—his lone goal to pair with two assists and two more hockey assists in his debut with the Union
Austin Taylor, Atlanta Hustle
The quarterback of Atlanta’s offense just keeps getting better. On Saturday night, in the second of the Hustle’s two wins over the Flyers, Austin Taylor tossed for 564 yards, making him one of three players this season to throw for over 550 yards in a game. He also distributed four assists and was credited with four more hockey assists. Overall, he’s second in the league in throwing yards and is one of the four players in the league with double-digit huck completions so far this season, with four of them coming against Carolina. At 33 years old, Taylor’s currently on pace for another 50-assist campaign. More importantly, his Hustle are the only 5-0 team in the league.
Christophe Tremblay-Joncas, Montreal Royal
He’s the guy Montreal wanted to have the disc with the game on the line, and you better believe Christophe Tremblay-Joncas delivered for the Royal in double OT against the Empire. On the climactic point, the 29-year-old caught a big gainer near the goal line, then launched a visionary cross-field game-winning assist to Jakob Brissette, clinching Montreal’s first victory over New York since 2018. This thrilling sequence capped arguably the best game of his entire UFA career, in which he produced nine scores, two blocks, and over 550 total yards. He also tallied four more hockey assists and completed two of his three hucks, leading the Royal to their most important win in years.
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