June 20, 2023
By Evan Lepler

I’m still digesting a wild Week 8, which included surprising and noteworthy developments across the slate. Here are just a few facts and figures that capture some of the chaos. 

• In the first seven weeks of the 2023 season, there were 11 games decided by one goal. In Week 8, there were five.
• The Colorado Summit hit the road with a record of 17-2 all-time against West Division opponents. In Week 8, they went 0-2.
• The Detroit Mechanix traveled to Indianapolis at 0-4 with a minus-40 goal differential. But they played the AlleyCats tight to the final buzzer, losing by just one. Only four times in their still-alive 67-game losing streak have the Mechanix lost by the slimmest of margins. 
• Austin shut out Houston 5-0 in the opener quarter, yet the Sol finished the night with 33 turnovers, the most miscues for any victorious team all season. 
• Madison’s Andrew Meshnick became just the second player in AUDL history to record multiple Callahans in a season, joining Pittsburgh’s Scott Trimble, who caught two Callahans for the Thunderbirds in 2017.

Beyond the madness, we’ve still got two undefeated teams, as the New York Empire and Salt Lake Shred both sit at 8-0 atop their respective divisions. The Empire and Shred are each off this weekend, with challenging contests against DC and Los Angeles, respectively, on tap for Friday, June 30. Beyond that, it’s hard not to circle three weeks from Saturday, July 15 in Salt Lake City, when the Empire and Shred will meet in one of the most fascinating regular season interdivisional matchups in AUDL history. 

The Full Field Layout

When the 2023 season began, young Salt Lake standout Everett Saunders knew his timeline would be different. A member of last year’s USA U-20 national team that won gold in Poland, Saunders was scheduled to depart on his two-year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in June, and everyone on the Shred knew that Friday’s battle with Colorado would likely be his final game with the team until 2026. 

With that backdrop, Saunders’ game-clinching interception as time expired was even more meaningful, as he caught Jay Froude’s last second backhand near the goal-line to secure the Shred’s second straight one-goal win over the Summit. 

“What a storybook sendoff!” said Salt Lake Coach Bryce Merrill. “There were about 50 friends and family in the crowd—all sporting his iconic pink trucker hat that he’s worn for the last several years—and what a final play he gave them! He was pretty pumped, to say the least, with that being his final ultimate memory for a couple years.” 

The closing sequence that capped Salt Lake’s 20-19 triumph was just another exhilarating moment in the Shred-Summit series, which has quickly become one of the most intriguing rivalries in the league, full of high-level athletes, strategy, and highlights. One week after going 9-for-9 on break chances, Salt Lake converted only 50 percent of their opportunities this past Friday night. But their 4-for-8 D-line conversions proved to be enough, as the Shred O-line only gave Colorado four break opportunities all night long, of which the Summit converted three. 

“Compared to our first matchup with the Shred, we felt that we had improved as a team despite ultimately losing the game,” said Colorado’s Matty Jackson.

The Summit trailed 18-16 early in the fourth, but broke with exactly six minutes left to tie it up, as Alex Atkins imitated Will Selfridge’s enthusiastic bus-driving celebration, prompting a chorus of boos from the lively Utah crowd. 

For what it’s worth, Selfridge was the opposite of offended. 

“Atkins doing the drive the bus celebration was actually really cool for me,” said Selfridge. “He is such an amazing player, and it made me really happy to see him do that. It’s nothing malicious or backhanded. It made me feel seen and recognized. I felt so alive, if that makes sense. I also thought it was hilarious when the crowd all booed him for it. I love to see the Utah community come together like that. We all come from a lot of different places, so it’s fun when we unite."

“But all love to Colorado," Selfridge continued. "We boo them because we want them to know we care and respect them.”

Of course, Selfridge and the Shred fans had the last laugh, as the 19-year-old ultimate wunderkind again launched into his gregarious goal-scoring routine after giving Salt Lake the lead with 1:18 left. On the final point, Colorado completed 22 consecutive throws and possessed the disc near the goal-line, but the Shred defense stood tall and denied the Summit’s attempt at the dramatic equalizer, with Saunders’ steal at the buzzer emphatically serving as the closing exclamation point.

After 11 assists, nine blocks, and four goals in eight games on the Shred’s D-line, Saunders will now be a spectator following Salt Lake’s title pursuit from afar, but Merrill is hoping that the team’s defense won’t miss a beat. It helps that Ben Hoffman, who tore his ACL last June against San Diego, might make his return to the lineup when the Shred re-take the field in Southern California in a couple weeks. 

While the Shred spent their Saturday relaxing and enjoying their perfect 8-0 record, the Summit were up early to catch a flight to Oakland, where the young and hungry Spiders were waiting, fresh and focused. The Summit came out sharp, produced the game’s first break, and maintained a lead for most of the first three quarters. But up 17-13 in the third, a combination of Colorado fatigue and Oakland exuberance began to shift the narrative. By the 7:26 mark of the fourth, the Spiders had tied the game at 20. By the 3:08 mark, Oakland had its first lead of the second half, surging ahead 22-21. Shortly thereafter, they broke again on a breathtaking Dylan Nice sky over Colorado star Quinn Finer, taking a 23-21 advantage with less than two minutes left.

“After an entire weekend of give-and-gos, ultimately fatigue set in,” acknowledged Jackson. “We were gassed by the end of the weekend. There’s obvious room for improvement with our fitness, but I also trust the leadership will devise more ways to attack the junk sets that teams have been throwing at us.”

The Summit did break one more time to tie the Spiders at 23-all with 17 seconds left, but Oakland’s Dexter Clyburn launched a majestic backhand for the towering Keenan Laurence to snag with just three ticks remaining, lifting the Spiders to a thrilling 24-23 victory. 

The Oakland triumph was even more impressive considering the Spiders were missing key distributors Mac Hecht and Chris Lung, but Clyburn, Lawrence, Evan Magsig, and Walker Frankenberg all had big games for the O-line, while Robin Vickers Batzdorf produced four blocks on the D-line.

By the end of the weekend, the Summit, Spiders, and Los Angeles Aviators were all tied-for-second at 5-3 in the West Division standings. All three teams each have four games remaining, understanding that there are only two playoff spots available for this talented triumvirate. 

“No one here is pressing the panic button,” said Finer, following the Summit’s winless road trip. “With that being said, we got humbled this weekend. I think we’ve gone into this season with a certain sense of entitlement because of our results last year. We clearly need to work harder and show up for every game we play. We can’t go into games expecting to win just cause we’re the Colorado Summit. We have to earn everything.”

*****

The Summit don’t have to wait long for another enticing challenge. Colorado will host the Central Division leading Minnesota Wind Chill this Saturday night in the Week 9 Game of the Week, and as the Summit look to snap their three-game losing streak, the Wind Chill arrive on a three-game heater, including their 24-19 victory over the Radicals in Madison this past Saturday night. 

For the second straight week, Minnesota led Madison 12-8 at half and surrendered a deja vu comeback, as the Radicals tied the game at 13-all after a 5-1 burst to begin the third. But Madison could not maintain the momentum, as the Wind Chill stabilized quickly and used a 10-4 run to seize control from there. 

“For better or for worse, we were in this position last week,” said Minnesota’s Dylan DeClerck, who led the Wind Chill D-line with six goals. “We’ve got a lot of great experience on this team. That experience helped us out [...] We couldn’t win [in Madison] for years and years and years, and it feels great to have flipped that script over the past couple of years.”

Indeed, Saturday was the Wind Chill’s fourth win in their last six trips to Breese Stevens Field; previously, Minnesota had prevailed exactly zero times in 10 trips to Madison. 

The 6-1 Wind Chill now embark on a brand new test, as they aim to reset their status as a national contender against Colorado. Throughout the 2023 season, the Central Division has generally been perceived as the weakest of the four quadrants, particularly in terms of the strength at the top, but Minnesota can shift that narrative considerably with another brilliant defensive performance against the Summit.

“It’ll be a tough one,” said DeClerck. “They’ve had [three] really close games in a row that they haven’t been able to pull out. We know they’re a good team, we know they’re hungry, we know they’re not gonna want to lose [four] in a row. We’re gonna have to bring it. We’re gonna bring a strong squad out there, and we’ll bring the energy just like we brought it [in Madison], and hopefully we can string together four solid quarters and get a big W on the road.” 

It sure will be very interesting to see how Minnesota’s deep pulls in the Colorado altitude can impact the Summit’s offense, which will be getting Jonathan Nethercutt back this week after he missed both games of the team’s weekend road trip. 

“Getting Nutt back will be huge,” said Jackson. “His impact extends beyond being a game-changing thrower. He’s a great communicator and field general. He absolutely provides a stabilizing presence to the offense, especially in high pressure situations. Additionally, having Nutt allows Atkins to operate downfield more, which unlocks a lot of options for our offense.” 

To add even more firepower to the matchup, the Wind Chill are expecting Abe Coffin to return to the field this Saturday following a five-game absence. The Minnesota standout has been out since suffering a hip flexor injury against Pittsburgh on May 20.

*****

As the Wind Chill were busy finishing off the Radicals in Madison, many AUDL fans might have shifted their attention to the surprising late-game drama between Detroit and Indianapolis, where the Mechanix were attempting to earn their first victory in 2,240 days. 

To their credit, the Mechanix showed up with belief and confidence, focused on the more manageable task of simply winning the day rather than the Godzilla-sized challenge of snapping their incomprehensible 66-game losing streak. With the game tied at 17 early in the fourth, Detroit had the disc and a chance to take their first fourth quarter lead since July 6, 2019. But the AlleyCats defense came through when it counted, and the Indy O-line calmly executed in the waning moments. 

Not including rain-shortened contests, Detroit’s 12 total turnovers were the fewest in the franchise’s 142-game history, yet the Mechanix still finished the day on the wrong side of a 20-19 score, enduring their 67th consecutive loss. 

“I’m sure most people saw the score and thought, ‘wow, Indy must really be playing terribly,’” said Cameron Brock. “I wouldn’t blame them. I’d probably think the same thing. But just look at the stats. We had 10 turnovers. They only had 12.”

The Mechanix also set franchise single-game records for completion percentage (95.9), huck percentage (8-for-8), and O-line conversation rate (16-for-26). Defensively, however, they only created four blocks and three breaks. Still, it looked like a very different Detroit team than the league has been accustomed to seeing. 

“This was, and mark my words, the third-best team we played this year behind Minnesota and Atlanta,” said Brock. “And I feel like I can say that pretty convincingly. They were extremely patient on offense, something they have not been known for. They waited for their shots and forced almost nothing the entire game. If they play like that with any level of consistency, we won’t be talking about them just breaking the streak. They’ll win multiple games moving forward. It’ll come down to roster consistency and maintaining that level of focus and precision. I think they have a real shot to win next weekend if they can field that same roster.”

Keegan North led the AlleyCats with seven assists, two goals, and one block, while Joe Cubitt, Jake Kenniv, Jack Havey, and Nick Betsch all recorded at least six scores for the Mechanix.

“I’m sad from the loss, of course, but very proud of how the team came out swinging,” said Cubitt, who finished with 71 completions and over 700 total yards. “We strongly believe that we have a chance to really lock it in here down the stretch of the season as we continue to focus on becoming a winning organization.”

Mechanix Coach Brent Steepe has emphasized that the team is not aiming solely to break the streak, but trying to develop habits, systems, and talent to become a consistent winner. In terms of judging success based upon growth, the Detroit leader was very pleased with the team’s performance, even in defeat. 

“Our rookies are growing up, and our vets are filling out into the roles that they were built for, so that we can deliver a complete game as universal athletes on both sides of the disc,” said Steepe. “Yes, I hate to lose, but growth is a win for DMX, until the final score reflects it for everyone else. My feelings: Proud that they can show what I have known to be true and what I fight each day for others to see. The organization is both talented and enduring. Our time will come when we will look upon this streak as the greatest test of physical, mental, and emotional endurance and tenacity in the story of the AUDL, perhaps even all of professional sports, and for those of us who lived it, every ache and pain will be more than worth it.”

The AlleyCats improved to 5-2, sticking in second place and keeping pace with Minnesota near the top of the Central. Their offensive confidence never wavered in the closer-than-expected fourth quarter, but they did offer a warning to the rest of Detroit’s upcoming opponents.

“I know it’s hard for people to separate this performance from the streak,” said Brock, “but this group of 20 isn’t responsible for everything that’s happened the last five years. They should be judged on their own merit, difficult as that may be.” 

Added Indy Coach, Drew Shepard: “Their m.o. has historically been, start falling behind in the second half and say ‘to hell with it, if we’re going down, we’re going down swinging.’ [Saturday] felt like an evolution. This could very well be DMX rounding the corner, shedding that ‘second half learned helplessness.’ If they can repeat that, their remaining opponents should be nervous.”

Next up for the Mechanix, two games on consecutive days against the Chicago Union, who are the foe that Detroit last defeated on April 29, 2017.

Oh, what a Week 9 story it could be.

Coming up later today in "Seven on the Line", New York wins its 23rd straight, the rest of the East jostles for playoff positioning, Seattle takes San Diego to overtime, new faces emerge in Atlanta, and much more!