April 30, 2024
By Evan Lepler
It’s foolish to draw too many definitive conclusions from one weekend where only two-thirds of the league’s teams took the field, however there were some pretty clear takeaways.
The Carolina Flyers and Salt Lake Shred looked like bona fide title contenders. The Minnesota Wind Chill and Seattle Cascades earned respect by walloping their overmatched adversaries. The New York Empire made history by winning their 31st straight game, but also clearly performed below their typical standard, a reality that somewhat overshadows their record-breaking result.
We also experienced dazzling debuts, tantalizing turnarounds, and huge highlights throughout the first weekend of the new season, creating a fantastic foundation for the four months of frisbee that are ahead.
The Full Field Layout
The most anticipated Week 1 matchup transpired on the same site where Championship Weekend will be held this coming August. Zions Bank Stadium was packed on Saturday night, and the Salt Lake Shred gave their energetic and loyal fans plenty to celebrate.
Starting the game on D, Salt Lake earned its first break less than 30 seconds in, cashed in another about four minutes later, and never relinquished that lead thereafter in a 23-20 triumph over the DC Breeze. The visitors from the East had a great opportunity for a potential game-tying conversion late in the third, but as was too often the case, the Breeze’s D-line failed to seize its chances. DC finished a subpar 3-for-10 on break opportunities, and Salt Lake extended its advantage as wide as five in the final quarter, punctuating the Shred’s mighty impressive opening statement.
“We played pretty close to four good quarters against a good team,” said Grant Lindsley, who led the Shred with 45 completions on the night. “We also actually incorporated some of what we’ve discussed in preseason, and the mark of a good team is one that actually remembers to implement what we talk about.”
Offensively, Will Selfridge churned for a career-high 589 total yards while scoring six goals, twice as many as any other teammate. Defensively, Simon Dastrup and Joe Merrill each tallied two blocks, while Merrill also scored two goals and recorded three hockey assists against his former DC teammates.
“The game was awesome,” said Merrill. “It was fun to be with the DC team again. I think I gave everyone a hug! Had little moments where I was guarding Thomas Edmonds and we joked around a little, and then he totally owned me, foot blocking me and then scoring on me, but it’s fine.”
Merrill even acknowledged that he was a little surprised he was on the right side of the final score at the end of the night.
“I didn’t expect Salt Lake to win,” he admitted. “I really didn’t, so that was a very nice surprise, but I really want DC to go destroy the East Division now, have the best season they’ve had yet, and come back [to Utah] for Championship Weekend. I’d love for the Shred to be there too and to have a rematch. I think the strengths of each team offset each other. I think each team was challenged in their weaker areas of the game and that it provided a great learning experience for both teams on what we need to work on.”
If DC’s going to earn the franchise’s first ever trip to the UFA’s signature event, the Breeze will certainly need to be better with the long-ball. Sure, they pride themselves on their small-ball efficiency and have built a reputation on not hucking too frequently, but their 2-for-10 huck rate on Saturday, the organization’s worst huck percentage in a game since the league started tracking the stat in 2021, simply won’t get it done.
“We have to improve our end zone efficiency across the board,” said DC’s Jonny Malks, who led the Breeze with four goals, but also with four throwaways. “Our O-line needs to find our rhythm earlier in the game and play more consistently with our looks regardless of the score; we’re bad when we rush to catch up, [as] evidenced by my huck turns. Our D-line needs to make opposing O-lines work harder when they give us the disc.”
Despite the disappointing defeat, the Breeze still traveled home with tremendous gratitude for the experience, their first time battling the Shred and their loyal fans.
“The crowd and stadium vibe were awesome,” said Malks. “Honestly, felt the most like I was playing a professional sport than ever have before in the league. Very cool facility with the mountains right there. The fans showed up. It was all a very memorable experience.”
Neither the Breeze nor the Shred are close to being a finished product, obviously, but it was also clear which squad’s level was higher in Week 1. Both teams also have difficult roads ahead, considering that DC heads to Philly this Sunday, while the Shred have road doubleheaders two of the next three weekends, beginning this Friday and Saturday in SoCal.
But Salt Lake’s opening victory sent a powerful message across the league, both about the West Division’s ability to handle tough interdivisional tests, along with the Shred’s determination to get back to the biggest game, which this year will be played on their home field in Utah.
“I think we have high expectations, a good core of returning players, a solid balance of youth and experience, and one of the best and most prepared coaches in the league in Bryce [Merrill],” said Lindsley.
*****
Last August, the New York Empire ruthlessly stomped on both DC and Salt Lake’s championship aspirations, beating the Breeze and Shred by a combined 12 goals en route to their second consecutive title. On Saturday in New Rochelle, the Empire began their 2024 journey with a much narrower 18-16 win over Montreal, earning the franchise a UFA record-breaking 31st consecutive win. It’s an astonishing streak that’s worthy of celebration, but no one on New York was too eager to harp on that now.
“We talked after the Montreal game that while this was technically a historic win, we did not play up to our standards or expectations,” said New York’s Ethan Fortin, the only member of the Empire to play in all 31 games during the streak.
Indeed, while New York crushed Montreal by a combined 24 goals in their last two home games against the Royal over the past two seasons, Saturday’s margin was just two against a team that was playing its second game in as many days and mired in its own 18-game losing streak. Although the Empire never once trailed and led by as many as six, the final margin speaks to the different feel around this year’s New York team after having more significant roster turnover than they’ve experienced at other times during their unprecedented dynastic run.
“It’s always a challenge to rebuild lines and rosters after the departure of such impactful players,” said Fortin. “It was a gift to have such consistency between the 2022 and 2023 seasons, but this year we don’t have that luxury.”
The sky is far from falling in New York, but the Empire’s deep passes against Montreal were concerning. They finished a DC-esque 3-for-11, a 27-percent clip that ranks as the second worst single-game rate in recent franchise history (since 2021). It is a tad jarring to see New York and DC, often considered the two strongest overall teams in the league the past couple seasons, at the bottom of the league’s hucking stats after the opening games.
Of course, it’s just one week, and a strong showing on the road this weekend could flip the narrative back to New York being an overwhelming favorite. Or it could perpetuate some of the more ominous signs.
We shall all see together when the Empire will put their 31-game streak on the line this Saturday in Atlanta, the site of their last regular season loss. But suffice to say, no one on the team will be too focused on number 32.
“We are focused on a different streak,” said Empire Coach Anthony Nuñez. “Another championship.”
*****
As for New York’s next opponent, the Hustle are a team that only lost twice during the regular season a year ago, but Atlanta is in danger of matching that total through just two weeks in 2024.
The Hustle jumped in front of Carolina 3-1 over the first six minutes on Saturday, but the Flyers seized control shortly thereafter, outscoring Atlanta 23-13 the rest of the way. Carolina’s 24-16 victory matched the Flyers’ largest margin of victory ever against the Hustle, equalling the 27-19 win in the 2017 season opener.
Two extended onslaughts were crucial for Carolina, as the Flyers soared on a 7-1 run to close the first half and utilized another 5-1 spurt in the third quarter to completely break the game wide open.
“Carolina may know us better than any other team,” said Hustle Captain Bradley Seuntjens. “Combine that with us working on some team-specific things and those runs Carolina had were a possibility.”
Atlanta’s Brett Hulsmeyer accumulated a whopping 766 total yards, along with five goals, two assists, and two blocks, however the Hustle struggled to dispossess the Flyers overall, creating just 12 turns in the game. Carolina’s completion percentage, red-zone conversion rate, and D-line conversion rate all ranked tops in the league through one week.
Allan Laviolette paced the Flyers with six assists, adding a couple goals and a block in his first appearance for the organization since the 2021 title game victory over New York.
“Honestly, it felt like I never left,” said Laviolette. “Some of the systems got a makeover and there are new pieces or players [who] have grown and are now even more dominant than they were before. But it has just been simple to slot back in with the cutting core.”
Defensively, eight different Flyers produced a block, and the D-line went 11-for-13 on break chances, a nearly 85-percent clip. Never in franchise history have the Flyers previously been north of 80 percent for a game while also delivering double-digit breaks.
“Thing I was most pleased with from the weekend was the defensive pressure from the first pull till the buzzer sounded in the fourth,” added Laviolette. “I feel like this era of Flyers has always been good when we get the disc in our hands, but the ability of this year’s team to generate blocks and coverage sacks is on another level.”
While the Flyers get to enjoy a week off before hosting Atlanta again, the Hustle are now preparing for their home opener against a team riding a 31-game winning streak. Atlanta has not started a season 0-2 since 2019.
“As competitors, we want to win them all,” said Seuntjens. “However, we have our heads held high going into our Week 2 matchup…As [Coach] Tuba [Benson-Jaja] would say, you can’t have growth without friction. We see that friction as a positive.”
Coming up later today in "Seven On The Line", Jeff Babbitt’s Boston debut, Seattle’s splendid start, and the rest of the Week 1 stories across the UFA.
