Oakland, Carolina Endure Contender Checkpoints In Thrilling Weekend | Week 10 Recap


Photo by Roxanne Duennebeil

June 30, 2026
By Adam Ruffner

Editor's note: Evan Lepler is on a summer sabbatical this week, and the normal "Tuesday Toss" will return following Week 12 action.

Like most weekends during this 2026 regular season, Week 10 did not suffer from a lack of drama. Atlanta and Carolina went to extra time for the second time since the start of May, while the Shred were within mere seconds of a historic fourth quarter comeback against a championship contender. We’re averaging more than one overtime game per week, which feels like it might increase as July 24 and the start of the postseason draws nearer.

And yet, a bit of a stasis has taken hold throughout the association. Five playoff spots have been claimed for well over a week, while the remaining seven are still technically up for grabs with three weekends remaining on the schedule.

There’s still a lot of frisbee to be played before anything is determined. And given the results so far this season, nothing is a given.

But before jumping into playoff forecasting, it’s time to recap the weekend that was. 

The Week 10 Rundown

The Game: Atlanta at Carolina | Highlights
The Result: 21-20 (OT) Carolina (9-2) over Atlanta (5-5)
The Big Plays:

  • Tobias Brooks uncorked a 67-yard bomb to Zeke Thoreson in the first quarter, the first of a handful of scores between the two young superstars. Carolina’s deep passing efficiency has taken a bit of a nosedive since last season, especially with Allan Laviolette sidelined for seven of the Flyers’ 11 games so far. But the Brooks-Thoreson connection gives Carolina a game-changing uppercut on offense.

  • Double coverage couldn’t contain Will Selfridge in deep space for a key score near halftime to put Atlanta up two. Selfridge finished the night with season highs in scoring and yardage production, but also registered his fourth straight start with at least two throwaways.

  • Tied at 15 all to begin the fourth quarter, Cooper Williams and Hayden Austin-Knab traded layout blocks, which really signaled that this was going to be another epic finish in this South Division rivalry.

  • With under two minutes remaining in regulation, Atlanta had a chance to break to go up by two scores, but Jacob Fairfax simply wasn’t having any of that upline business. The Hustle have struggled this season to get the disc off the line and engage the width of the field with their attack, and it likely cost them the game here in transition. Brooks would find Thoreson in the red zone for the equalizer later on in this point.

  • In one of the best individual, hulk-smash moments in recent years, Drew Swanson took complete control of the game in overtime. His layout-block-to-sky-scraper-catch combo felt like a Mortal Kombat finisher, and the Flyers sidelined obliged with their eruption of energy.

The Star Performances:

  • Z. Thoreson (CAR): 3 assists, 5 goals, 2 blocks, 32/32, 740 total yards

  • T. Brooks (CAR): 6 assists, 1 goal, 1 block, 63/66, 468 passing yards

  • C. Williams (CAR): 1 assists, 1 goal, 3 blocks

  • A. Taylor (ATL) : 2 assists, 2 goals, 57/58, 432 passing yards

What It Means:

  • Carolina: Carolina already locked up a playoff spot, but the overtime win keeps the Flyers’ dreams of a one-seed and a first round bye still alive. The final game of their regular season is at home in their one-and-only matchup against the undefeated Austin Sol on July 1.

  • Atlanta: The loss didn’t just give archrival Carolina the season series, it also dropped the Hustle outside the playoff picture in the South. And with their two remaining games against Austin (July 11) and DC (July 18), there’s no guarantee that reigning divisional champs Atlanta will qualify for their fourth straight playoff appearance. In fact: All San Diego has to do is win two games against Vegas to keep Atlanta out of the postseason.

The Game: Oakland at Colorado | Highlights
The Result: 26-17 Oakland (8-1) over Colorado (3-7)
The Big Plays:

The Star Performances:

  • Boyd-Fliegel (OAK): 2 assists, 2 goals, 13/13, 347 total yards, 5 hockey assists

  • J. Vallee (OAK): 4 assists, 1 goal, 13/13, 254 total yards

What It Means:

  • Oakland: After the win over Colorado, Oakland needed just one more win to wrap up the one seed in the West.

  • Colorado: Somehow, this team is still mathematically alive for the playoffs. The catch is that they need to beat Seattle by 14 this Friday, and then have the Cascades lose their other three games on their schedule.

The Game: Oregon at Seattle | Highlights
The Result: 20-18 Seattle (5-3) over Oregon (1-9)
The Big Plays:

  • Seattle’s O-line chain attack is a primary reason they're in the driver’s seat for a home field playoff game, and this Zeppelin Raunig to Garrett Martin continuation score is a perfect distillation. This 2026 version of the Cascades is a little less volatile than in years past, but they still play with tempo and their eyes are always scanning downfield.

  • NSFW layout catch from Quinn Buermeyer in response one point later showed the new toothiness this Steel team has in the closing part of their schedule.

  • Oregon got within two in the fourth quarter before a Kodi Smart hammer and Ricky McLeod’s bookends put coffin nails in the Steel’s comeback effort. 

The Star Performances:

  • C. Belfield (SEA): 3 assists, 1 goal, 30/32, 481 total yards

  • Z. Raunig (SEA): 2 assists, 4 goals, 15/16, 357 total yards

What It Means:

Seattle: The win solidifies the Cascades’ grip on second place, and sets them up to effectively clinch the two-seed in the West with a win this Saturday at Salt Lake; Seattle closes out their regular season schedule with two more matchups against Oregon on July 10 and July 18 following their July 4 meeting with the Shred. 

Oregon: The Steel are still searching for their first back-to-back wins in franchise history.

The Game: Houston at Vegas
The Result: 13-11 Houston (2-7) over Vegas (0-10)
The Big Plays:

  • Brycen Williams is a bright spot on offense for the Bighorns, especially in transition. His goal to tie the game at nines towards the end of the third quarter gave Vegas a glimmer of hope for their first win as a franchise.

  • With under three minutes to play in the third quarter, and facing a stiff headwind, the Houston defense punched in an upwind break score from Mitch Lutz to Mark Baldauf to effectively clinch the game.

The Star Performances:

  • S. Kelly (HTX): 1 assist, 1 goal, 1 block, 21/22, 249 total yards

  • B. Williams (LV): 1 assist, 2 goals, 2 block, 19/19, 268 total yards

What It Means:

This game was for pride, plain and simple. Houston avoid their first one-win campaign in franchise history, while Vegas will all but surely endure their second straight winless season. 

The Game: Madison at Indianapolis | Highlights
The Result: 21-17 Madison (5-3) over Indianapolis (2-5)
The Big Plays:

  • Even though the Indy offense still struggles with consistency, their deep strike potential is so potent that they still put a lot of fear into opposing defenses. Jake Felton’s 60-yard heat seeker to Sofiène Bontemps in the first quarter showed this team can score from anywhere on the field when the disc is in the hands of their shooters.

  • The AlleyCats had the disc at the 10-yard line with a chance to tie late in the third quarter, but an absolute pickpocket job by Madison’s Kelsen Alexander. The play rattled Indy’s offense, and the Radicals were able to capitalize on the confusion with a big huck from Mitchell McCarthy to Anthony Gutowsky in transition.

The Star Performances:

  • N. Ranabhat (MAD): 3 assists, 1 goal, 39/40, 341 total yards

  • G. Vordick (MAD): 1 goal, 34/35, 408 total yards, 4 hockey assists

What It Means:

  • Madison: The victory gives the Radicals the season series and a head-to-head tiebreaker against Indy. And while it’s not quite a mathematical certainty, Madison’s “magic number” for locking up a home field playoff game for the third straight season is now at two with four games (Indy, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Minnesota) remaining.

  • Indianapolis: Locked in a virtual tie for third place in the Central, the ‘Cats have two remaining games against Pittsburgh. Indy has looked like the better team for much of the season, but the T-Birds have had a pesky way of handing the AlleyCats some of their most humbling defeats.

The Game: Oakland at Salt Lake | Highlights
The Result: 20-19 Oakland (9-1) over Salt Lake (5-5)
The Big Plays:

  • Oakland’s big 6-2 first quarter was capped off by teenage rookie Mo Awais emphatically roofing a Shred defender on an errant pass, and the whole away sideline going bananas. It was an otherwise throwaway moment were it not so indicative of the Spiders’ dominance to start the game.

  • Another careless end-of-quarter mistake by the Shred allowed the Spiders to capitalize in transition for a buzzer-beating score to Dexter Clyburn. The score pushed Oakland’s lead to 12-6 heading into the halftime intermission.

  • The Spiders built their lead all the way to 17-8 with under five minutes left in the third quarter, and that’s when the Shred’s miraculous comeback began. A dropped pull by Oakland gave the home team seemingly their first good bounce of the game, and sparked what would transform into an 11-3 Shred run.

  • Through intensified defensive coverage and a few red zone stops, the Shred whittled the Spiders’ once mighty lead all the way down to three with just over three minutes remaining in regulation. And for the second time this season in the clutch, Alex Forsberg delivered a monumental block on a swing throw. Salt Lake would cash in the score on the opposite end; Forsberg now has 25 blocks in his last 21 regular season games.

  • The final point needs to be seen to be believed. Out of a stoppage, the disc near midfield, and with just 49 seconds on the clock, the Spiders still clung to a one-goal lead and only needed to maintain possession to win the game. Yet Chad Yorgason had other plans, and the Second Team All-UFA selection inserted himself at the game’s most critical moment to make one of the best defensive plays of the season; the Shred dribbled all the way into the red zone and had a few looks at the end zone. But a bobbled pass on a reset accompanied by a Spiders punt sealed Salt Lake’s fate.

The Star Performances:

  • D. Clyburn (OAK): 4 assists, 2 goals, 1 block, 57/58, 590 total yards

  • Boyd-Fliegel (OAK): 4 assists, 4 goals, 1 block, 26/27, 389 total yards

  • C. Yorgason (SLC): 2 assists, 2 goals, 1 block, 23/24, 510 total yards

What It Means:

Oakland: The Spiders clinched their first regular season division title since 2015, and will now host the West Division title game in August. And funnily enough, the Spiders still have one remaining matchup at Salt Lake on July 17, which means we get (at least!) one more round of this intense rivalry. 

Salt Lake: The defeat dropped the Shred to .500 on the season, and now puts them a game and half back of Seattle for second place in the West Division. It’s a must-win for Salt Lake to avoid going on the road for the first round of the playoffs, something this franchise has never done; the Shred lost 20-19 at Seattle on June 13. 

The Game: Houston at San Diego | Highlights
The Result: 25-15 San Diego (5-5) over Houston (2-8)
The Big Plays:

  • One of the sneaky great leapers in the league Noah Furrh was a menace in the airways all game long, but his acrobatic adjustment sky and buzzer-beating assist at the end of the first quarter showed that Houston was bringing some heat to their second game in as many days.

  • Marcel Osborne started his first game since May 17 and had a perfect performance against Houston, highlighted by a full speed grab on the fastbreak. San Diego’s attack is at its best when Osborne is wheeling and dealing at the front.

  • San Diego was protecting a one-goal lead late in the first half when first-year Growler Max Combs swatted a deep pass and converted the bookends on the opposite end. The Growlers would not relinquish the lead again. Combs is one of the fastest players in the West, and his emergence as a playmaker for this San Diego team will be vital in a likely first-round playoff matchup against an athletic Austin team. 

The Star Performances:

  • El-Salaam (SD): 4 assists, 4 goals, 1 block, 17/19, 435 total yards

  • M. Osborne (SD): 3 assists, 2 goals, 17/17, 446 total yards

  • M. Combs (SD): 3 assists, 3 goals, 3 blocks, 15/15, 201 total yards

  • X. Fuzat (HTX): 7 assists, 2 goals, 1 block, 65/68, 500 passing yards

What It Means:

  • San Diego’s win coupled with Atlanta’s loss all but gifts the third and final playoff spot in the South Division to the Growlers. And it likely means another opening round showdown in Texas with the Sol. San Diego won last year’s playoff battle with ease 25-19 over Austin. 

Looking Ahead

Alright, so—where does all of that put us? Let’s start by highlighting some of the biggest upcoming matchups in the remaining three weeks of regular season play.

  • Week 11: Indianapolis at Madison (Friday Night Frisbee), Seattle at Salt Lake

  • Week 12: Austin at Carolina, Boston at Minnesota (Free On YouTube), Austin at Atlanta, New York at Toronto

  • Week 13: Indianapolis at Pittsburgh, Oakland at Salt Lake (Friday Night Frisbee), Indianapolis at Toronto, DC at Atlanta, Madison at Minnesota

DC, Madison, Salt Lake, and Seattle all have at least three losses and have not yet qualified for the postseason. But all four teams also enjoy relatively easy schedules between now and a possible ticket to the playoffs. 

The teams with some work to do (and possibly in need of outside help) are Indianapolis, Toronto, Pittsburgh, and most disconcertingly Atlanta; Carolina wasn’t just bidding adieu last Friday night, they were waving goodbye to the Hustle’s playoff chances; if Vegas can’t pull out a win against San Diego, Atlanta will miss the playoffs for the second time since 2022, and with the Flyers being the “cause of death” for the second time in three years. Indy has very “winnable” games given their ceiling, but they’ve still shown too much inconsistency for any game to be a “gimme”; the AlleyCats-Rush matchup in Week 13 figures to be a barnburner. 

And for all the importance of these future matchups with regards to playoff seeding, the real eye-catcher is the 2025 championship game rematch in Minnesota between the Glory and Wind Chill on July 11. Minnesota wants revenge and to keep their perfect season intact, and Boston will quasi-need the road win in order to avoid facing a possible road game in the gauntlet that is the East Division playoffs.

Three weeks. 33 games. Seven playoff spots still up for grabs. The finishing kick of the season never seems to disappoint.