July 30, 2024
By Evan Lepler

By the time Madison’s Gabe Vordick secured the game-winning goal in double overtime on Sunday evening, all four home teams had survived and advanced in the opening weekend of the UFA playoffs. The two seeds had vanquished the three seeds, taking care of business just like they planned, banishing the quartet of third-place finishers to an August devoid of further frisbee.

Sounds pretty simple and straightforward, right?

In reality, all four games this past weekend were emotional, heart-pounding roller-coasters that were anything but ordinary, jam packed with unpredictable twists and turns that often left us all feeling dizzy. Every break chance felt precious, and every multi-goal lead felt precarious. For those who had not tasted it before, they now have a much better appreciation for the different pressure of postseason ultimate. 

Hence, it makes sense that many of the heroes were individuals who’ve been there and done this before. There’s no substitute for experience, but previous success also gives no guarantee. Especially in a season with no single dominant squad, the playoff margins between winning and losing feel thinner than ever. 

It’s both captivating and agonizing, riveting and devastating, simultaneously fulfilling and crushing dreams. It’s what we love about all sports, and particularly our sport, where the whims of the frisbee can be an inexplicable combination of magical and cruel. 

It’s astonishing how players from New York and Chicago, two teams that both lost in bewildering and brutal ways, still commented afterwards how much fun they had competing to the brink. 

“I think that was one of the most exciting games I’ve ever played in,” said Empire handler Elliott Chartock, shortly after New York was beaten at the buzzer.

“Honestly, that game was a lot of fun,” said Union Captain Sam Kaminsky, following Chicago’s late collapse in Madison. “The crowd, the back-and-forth, the sudden downpour, the spikes in heart rate [...] the game really had it all.”

The pain and disappointment in defeat absolutely stings, but it’s powerful how players can also recognize and appreciate the magnitude of the moment. 

At the end of the first playoff weekend, we’re down to the final eight teams still in pursuit of a championship, and all four division title games coming up in 10 or 11 days are juicy matchups with so many tantalizing storylines. But before we dive wholeheartedly into what’s ahead, there’s obviously a plethora of perspectives to share about this past weekend, which began with the reigning champs facing their former star, forming an indescribable concoction of motivation, emotion, and suspense.

The Full Field Layout

I might be mistaken, but I think, deep down, Jeff Babbitt wishes the Empire had won on Saturday. 

Instead, he was the reason they didn’t win.

I think he would also prefer this wasn’t about him, or perhaps that the story would be about New York inching one step closer to a three-peat, with him leading the way. After all, Babbitt poured his heart and soul into building the Empire dynasty during his eight years with the organization. He had no desire to leave, but he also had a new contract to negotiate, and the two sides, with dueling perspectives that were simultaneously clashing and reasonable, were unable to compose. 

Babbitt’s personality, while fiercely competitive, has never struck me as vengeful. After Saturday’s game, he remarked about the challenge of battling against many of his best friends. 

“Weird seeing some of the guys that I played with for long look unhappy after a game that I’m a winner in,” said Babbitt. “Because usually I was with them.”

After all he had been through, winning three championships with New York, finding a new home in Boston, and helping the Glory earn home field advantage for this moment, it certainly felt somewhat preordained that the sport’s greatest buzzer-beating beast would be the guy that would decide the game.

“It’s gotta be scripted, right?” asked Empire cutter Charles Weinberg, rhetorically. “It did feel extremely scripted. We’ve seen this so many times on our side, and of course it happens again.”

This time, Babbitt’s go-ahead goal came with four seconds left on a blading 50-yard forehand from Tannor Johnson-Go, giving the Glory a 19-18 lead. But it wouldn’t have been possible without the defensive stand that came before it. 

New York had trailed 9-5 early, lacking energy and looking overmatched, before a 10-3 turnaround put the Empire in position to steal the game. Even when Boston battled back and tied the game again in the fourth, the reigning champs remained in control. With less than a minute left and the score tied at 18-all, the Empire had possession and the opportunity to end Boston’s season, but the Glory defense shut down every option. 

“That was incredible team defense,” said Babbitt. “We all talked before the point and after the timeout, we’re not poaching, we’re not doing anything crazy. They don’t wanna huck it right now cause the game’s on the line if they turn it, so we need to hunt on under and play really tight defense, and seven guys across the board did that, and they had to throw a bail-out.”

Indeed, from his own end zone, Elliott Chartock scanned all his options for nearly seven seconds before launching a desperation forehand that sailed across the sideline near midfield, giving Boston possession again with 14 seconds left. 

“I think we got tight,” said Chartock, reflecting on the sequence. “People were making short cuts. The main one I looked off was [Weinberg], which I should’ve hit. I think Oliver [Chartock] was open, but Babbitt was on him, and I just know that Babbitt hunts and tries to make those look like they’re open, so I looked off that. [Matt] Labar was back in the handler spot, which he isn’t normally. And then, I knew it was a high stall count. I didn’t hear five or anything, but I just put it up. Honestly, the main things I’ll kick myself on are looking off [Weinberg], but then also I gotta give the team a chance and just keep it in bounds. I actually think it could’ve been completed to Oliver if I just keep it in bounds.”

Boston immediately took its final timeout, and upon the restart, the disc found Johnson-Go in the middle of the field. 

“Orion [Cable] and Jeff are probably the best jumpers in the league,” he said. “I gave us at least a chance.”

Bizarrely, after being very physical with Babbitt in earlier buzzer-beating situations, the Empire seemed to gather around Cable near the front of the end zone, and the reigning MVP started deeper, able to charge toward pack without anyone attempting to box him out. 

“The disc sort of flared up, it was sort of an odd edge forehand, and I sort of read that all the defenders were stepping backwards and I got to come forward onto the disc,” said Babbitt. “I knew that I could clap catch it to make sure I could secure it and attack forward while a lot of people were coming backwards. It was just making sure I didn’t bowl into anyone and kept my footing and got a decent jump, and other than that, it wasn’t the most difficult [buzzer-beater I’ve ever caught,] but a lot of pressure.” 

Somehow, Babbitt navigated the traffic and instinctively found the frisbee, emerging from the crowd with the game-sealing score. When Jack Williams’ last-second prayer was intercepted by Cable shy of the end zone, the Empire had officially been eliminated at the hands of their old teammate and friend. 

“[Babbitt’s] just a winner,” remarked Chartock. “Happy for Jeff. The dude’s a beast.” 

The thrilling finish capped a pretty crazy comeback too, considering the Glory were down 15-12 with less than a minute left in the third. But Babbitt scored at the buzzer of that quarter too, and Boston held on its opening O-point in the fourth. Suddenly, it was back to being a one-goal game. 

“Our defense was playing really great all game,” said Babbitt, who finished the day with four goals, one assist, and one block. “We just had to get them on the field. We knew if we scored the last one to end the third, we’d be coming out in the fourth receiving again. Three seems like a lot sometimes, but in this league you can cut that really quick.” 

Overall, Boston went 7-for-8 converting breaks, while New York went 6-for-10. The Glory also went 9-for-13 on their hucks, far superior to the Empire’s 3-for-9.

And for the first time in the UFA, the Boston Glory tasted victory in the postseason, advancing to face the DC Breeze for the East Division title on Saturday, August 10. 

“I feel confident about where we’re at,” said Babbitt. “We had the best practice of the season this past week. We had a great one coming into this game. I think we showed a lot of promise on a fair number of points [against the Empire], especially on the defensive side of the ball, and that’s where we’re gonna need to be good against DC, because they’re such an offensively sound team.”

Obviously, the Empire were disappointed, recognizing that they let a winnable game slip away. 

“In the end,” said New York Coach Anthony Nuñez. “it came down to Jeff is a fantastic player, and he knows how to win.”

******

The other three games were all compelling in their own ways, but only the Central soiree between Chicago and Madison matched the East action in terms of the outcome remaining completely in doubt until the final buzzer. 

In fact, the Union and Radicals went beyond the buzzer. 

Both sides had countless opportunities to win or lose in regulation, but neither could fully seize control. Madison was plagued by drops, preventing the Radicals from increasing their early lead, while Chicago somehow transformed a three-goal deficit into their own three-goal advantage when they broke with 5:55 left to go ahead 14-11. 

“A three-point lead with six minutes left should be enough to get a win,” said Union Captain Sam Kaminsky, “but it wasn’t for us on Sunday. Whether the story is they clawed back or we let them back, it doesn’t matter. The score was tied at the end of regulation, and we have to live with that.” 

In his first career playoff game, Madison’s Mitchell McCarthy produced three blocks, including a crucial one on the mark with less than five minutes left that initiated the Radicals comeback.

“Once we got the first break back and we were only down one, then we had a chance,” said Radicals Coach Tim DeByl.

But it appeared that they gave their chance away when they missed an opportunity to score at the regulation buzzer. Then, in overtime, amidst a sudden and massive monsoon, Madison threw away a reset pass while trailing by one with just over a minute remaining. Chicago had excellent field position, with the choice to try and double their lead or simply burn off the remaining time and move on to the Central final in Minnesota. 

“For a brief moment, my heart stopped,” said Madison’s Sterling Knoche. “Realizing that there was a very good chance we were about to go down two and lose the game. But there was an injury call right after our turnover, and in the moment I had a chance to gather myself and I remember thinking, ‘this is why you’re out here, this is why Tim put you on, to get the disc back right now.’”

Truthfully, Knoche would not have been in the game in that situation if not for multiple injuries to Radicals O-liners. Having not practiced with the Madison offense all season, he was scrambling to fit in and somehow make something happen defensively with the season on the line.

“I was hunting for a D,” continued Knoche. “But just needed an opportunity, and it came when that swing pass floated. As soon as it started to float, I knew I had a shot because I got to attack it going forward whereas the Chicago player was kind of back-pedaling and had to jump flat-footed. When I ripped down the disc and heard the crowd explode, I was not feeling that downpour anymore.” 

With new life, the Radicals tied it at 17-all, as Knoche completed the bookends with 23 seconds left. 

Watching it live, I asked myself, is another former member of the Empire about to win a playoff game at the buzzer? 

The answer was no, as neither John Lithio nor his Chicago teammates could haul in Dex Demann’s backhand prayer, which angled toward the receivers in an eerily similar fashion as Johnson-Go’s at the end in the Boston game. 

Double overtime beckoned, and the Radicals would be starting on offense. Although clean holds were not a frequent thing for Madison over the course of the night, they trusted their O-line to calmly convert. And on the 12th throw of the possession, Max Sample broke Lithio’s backhand mark with a floaty forehand to the end zone, finding an open Gabe Vordick to finish off the exhilarating double overtime victory, 18-17. 

“The throw felt automatic, but there was definitely a moment where I wasn’t sure if I threw it low enough or crisply enough,” said Sample. “That corner of Breese is always tough to throw into—the wind swirls and pops up discs all the time. We had a lot of trouble throughout the game reading discs on that side. Gabe was so open it didn’t really matter. He’s been one of the MVPs on O-line, and he has the legs to beat any matchup, especially later in a game, so I had full faith he would catch it if I put it out there.”

Somehow, some way, the Radicals had snatched victory from the jaws of defeat in their first playoff game in six years. 

“It was wild,” added DeByl. “The crowd was so into it, so loud. Definitely felt like 2018 again [...] It was one of the best games I’ve been involved in in the league. I know it didn’t look that pretty, but I think a lot of people in the game felt that way. Overall, a really good spirited game.” 

As the Radicals celebrated with their fans, the Union were forced to confront the fact that they had fallen just short.

“I’m really proud of how we, Chicago, fought,” said Kaminsky. “You can’t practice for a game like that, you can only ever experience it. Our roster just got that much more experienced with a really intense game. Every inch mattered, and we were an inch short [...] It’s the beauty and pain of sports. Someone has to lose. I wish it wasn’t us, and I think we had plenty of chances to win, but that didn’t pan out.”

Coming up later today in “Seven On The Line”, satisfying victories for Seattle and Carolina, perspective from the Spiders and Sol sidelines, and an early glimpse at the elite eight matchups that will decide who makes it to Championship Weekend.