May 1, 2025
By Sam Weiger
Games are listed in chronological order.
Madison Radicals at Houston Havoc | Friday Night Frisbee (Free on YouTube)
Friday, May 2 - 8:30 PM/ET - Watch link
Embarking on their first Texas trip, the Madison Radicals will kick off a doubleheader with their first game against a rising Houston Havoc team.
Despite losing a significant veteran presence for the upcoming season (Pat Shriwise, Andrew Meshnick, Avery Johnson, Victor Luo, and Brian Hart), Madison can look forward to 2025 with almost all of their key impact players slated to return.
Their player to watch under the Friday night lights will be Anthony Gutowsky, the face of the franchise. Gutowsky's ascent last year was nothing short of meteoric, going from a promising talent to a league star. His blistering speed was a major weapon, propelling him to second in the league in goals (53) while also contributing 15 blocks. He was one of only two Radicals to reach the 20-goal, 10-block threshold.
The other member of this exclusive club, Pieran Robert, operated primarily as a playmaker. Despite not racking up significant yardage or completions, Robert’s red-zone efficiency was a major contributor to Madison's D-line leading the league in break percentage. Alongside Robert, the underrated Mitchell McCarthy was another key D-line force, leading the team with 17 blocks and the D-line with 19 hucks. McCarthy completed an impressive 73.08 percent of his deep throws.
These three standouts should be licking their chops after seeing Houston's continued defensive struggles in Week 1, an issue that has plagued them since the start of last season. Houston's defense has most notably struggled against playoff-caliber teams during that time frame, conceding an average of almost 26 goals per game. Their 30-23 loss to Austin last week suggests that their offseason adjustments haven't yet resolved those issues.
Houston's susceptibility to deep throws was glaring against Austin, who completed 81 percent of their hucks, a continuation of their poor huck defense from last season. The Havoc must buck this trend when they face Madison, especially when Kai Marcus is on the field. Marcus attacked deep at a very high rate last year, but his inconsistency has had game-changing consequences. If Houston can disrupt Marcus's hucks, it could be a difference-maker for them.
Havoc standouts Ben Lewis and Kyle Kolafa have proven they can be defensive game-changers against any team, so keep an eye on their defensive efficacy in this game.
One Big Number:
5.2 - Marcus averaged a whopping 5.2 huck attempts per game in 2024.
70.55 - Last season, no team in the UFA allowed a higher huck completion percentage than Houston (70.55 percent).
Toronto Rush at DC Breeze
Saturday, May 3 - 7:00 PM/ET - Watch link
Chicago, Boston, and Toronto stood out in offseason evaluations, each receiving at least an A-. The consensus is that both Chicago and Boston will be UFA powerhouses, but Toronto’s situation is less clear. Their challenging opening game against a hungry DC squad is generating considerable anticipation.
Each of the three teams lauded for their offseason moves brought in European talent, but Toronto's haul was the most extensive.
We’ll have eyes on their five big European additions, as well as some returning standouts this Saturday:
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Ultiworld's 2024 Runner-Up European Player of the Year, Connor McHale
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Offensive European Player of the Year, Arvīds Kārkliņš
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Runner-Up European Defensive Player of the Year, Tom Blasman
As for DC, well, they just got stunned by Philly. You can bet the Breeze will be tweaking the O-line after they looked pretty out of sorts last week, though the wind didn't help. But there’s a deeper concern for DC: their shockingly low red zone conversion rate in Week 1.
Their season opener highlighted the significant void left by Jonny Malks, particularly his red zone ability to create space and elude defenders. Will DC discover a winning formula in his absence, or will they be lost in a prolonged search for their offensive identity?
One Big Number:
65 - DC punched in just 65 percent of their red zone chances against Philly last week.
2 - Tobe Decreane and Elliot Bonnet, the two latest European UFA rookies to earn Ultiworld's European Players of the Year honors, each had remarkably successful debut seasons in 2024.
Oakland Spiders at Seattle Cascades
Saturday, May 3 - 7:00 PM/ET - Watch link
Riding high after taking down New York nine days ago, the Oakland Spiders are looking to really make waves with a win against Seattle on Saturday night. Their Week 1 showing indicated a clear evolution from last season, featuring greater defensive intensity and improved offensive flow.
While Walker Frankenberg impressed as anticipated, Robin Vickers Batzdorf's disruptive defensive pressure and Leo Gordon's dynamic offensive playmaking against the Empire were the real signs of Oakland's progress. Can these two continue their game-changing play against Seattle?
For the Cascades, all eyes turn to Lukas Ambrose, especially in what's anticipated to be a close contest. Last year's Defensive Player of the Year led the league with seven games of at least three blocks, one of which occurred during Seattle's postseason home win over the Spiders.
Seattle consistently built early leads of at least four goals in all three games against Oakland last year, fueled by a Cascades defense that generated clusters of turnovers through intense pressure and athletic layout blocks.
We're watching the start closely to see if Seattle, who went 2-1 against Oakland last year, can continue their trend of quickly establishing a winning position.
One Big Number:
22.3 - Last season, Seattle forced the most turnovers per game (22.3) against Oakland compared to all other Spiders opponents.
74 - Oakland scored on 74 percent of their O-line points against the Empire, a mark they didn't reach against any playoff team last year (highest was 61 percent).
Carolina Flyers at Atlanta Hustle | Game of the Week
Saturday, May 3 - 7:30 PM/ET - Watch link
Atlanta, coming off an elite Week 1 win over Salt Lake, now faces a Carolina Flyers team entering their season with a host of unanswered questions. The Flyers lost key contributors, including three of their top seven plus/minus leaders from last season – Anders Jeungst, Tobias Brooks, and Henry Fisher.
With a divisional opponent like Atlanta making their strongest push ever for Championship Weekend, the impact of these losses cannot be overstated. Jeungst has been a fulcrum piece of Carolina's offense for three of the past four seasons, Brooks was the most promising rising star in the UFA, and Fisher has consistently been a game-altering presence on the field.
Further complicating matters, Jacob Fairfax, Elijah Long, Alexander Wilcox, Matt Tucker, Seth Weaver, Ethan Bloodworth, Christian Belus, and Clint McSherry are currently inactive. While losing O-liners Fairfax and Long would be a major blow, the potential absence of numerous D-line starters is particularly alarming. The matchup between Carolina's potentially thin D-line and Atlanta's overpowering O-line stands out as the critical point of focus on Saturday.
Atlanta's ruthless offensive efficiency last week was a direct result of their improved depth. Their improved ability to spread things around contributed to a perfect 14-for-14 red zone conversion rate.
Atlanta boasts a fearsome collection of red zone targets in Brett Hulsmeyer, Jeremy Langdon, Cameron Brock, Alec Wilson Holliday, and Karl Ekwurtzel, a group that threatens to overwhelm Carolina's weakened D-line and create significant coverage problems.
Will Carolina's historically deep roster continue to serve them in the face of player absences?
One Big Number:
4 - The Flyers have lost their last four regular season games at Silverbacks Park in Atlanta.
10 - The Hustle had 10 different players log at least 10 offensive points played in Week 1, a level of offensive participation they didn't reach in any game last year.
