April 30, 2024
By Evan Lepler

Tuesday Toss: Opening Weekend Recap 

1. The New-Look Boston Glory

For three quarters on Friday night, the Boston Glory appeared ready to be a significant factor in the East Division race. During the final 12 minutes, they regressed to many of their inconsistencies that have plagued them in the past. Of course, it’s better to be reminded of these difficult lessons in a win. 

“We came out with a win, but it wasn’t pretty,” said Glory Captain Brendan McCann. 

Despite Montreal’s 7-3 run down the stretch, including a 5-0 burst that brought the Royal within one, the Glory still hung on for a 19-17 victory in their 2024 season opener. While returning standouts like Ben Sadok, Simon Carapella, and Tyler Chan all had their strong moments, the story of the night was the team’s newcomers making immediate impacts; players like Tannor Johnson-Go, Luke Webb, Ben Katz, and, obviously, the reigning MVP Jeff Babbitt. 

“Regarding Jeff, he had a few pretty nice plays, but I think the most tangible impact I felt was having him at the end of quarter situations,” said McCann. “He’s a magnet to the disc on those plays, and he won everything thrown at him deep. Katz and I were laughing; Katz just looked at me and said ‘never in doubt, doesn’t even surprise me anymore’ after Jeff skied somebody in our end zone. But Jeff is a great player and has been awesome integrating into the team.”

Babbitt finished with five of Boston’s 16 blocks, the fourth highest total for the Glory in franchise history. Chris Bartoli added three blocks, while Webb and Gus Haflin tallied two apiece. 

Through three quarters, the Glory had stopped Montreal on nine of the Royal’s 10 break chances, but Boston stumbled early in the fourth, surrendering four consecutive breaks. Montreal had the disc with a chance to tie trailing 16-15, but an overthrow prevented the Royal from completing the comeback, enabling Boston to close it out. 

“Those reps were great for growth,” said McCann, reflecting on the team’s tough fourth quarter. “Higher pressure, bigger stakes. And we eventually got back on track. If there was ever a game to have a five-point slide, it would be the one you’re up six in.”

2. Royal On The Rise

For an organization that has not won a game in exactly 699 days, the Montreal Royal certainly displayed plenty of refreshing energy, firepower, and ability over the course of their pair of two-goal losses in Boston and New York.

“Coming away with one dub would have really validated a lot for us, but this team got a taste of success and what our potential is,” said Montreal veteran Kevin Quinlan. “I think it’s only fueling us even more knowing we can punch back and that we are never out of the game.”

The top headline for the Royal was Tobe Decraene’s scintillating debut, as the 20-year-old from Belgium became the early leader in the Rookie of the Year race. 

“Tobe definitely came to play,” said Quinlan. “Not only is he executing at a high level, but is bringing some juice and swagger to the Royal. Fun to be around! As crazy as it may seem, I am not that surprised. The guy puts in the work [...] I think he’ll be the first to say that the job isn’t done.”

Indeed, Decraene, which is pronounced “Deh-crah-nah,” believes there’s a lot of room for growth, even after producing 10 assists, five goals, five blocks, and over 1,200 yards across the two games. 

“I was not really satisfied with what I showed on the field,” said Decraene. “I know I can do better and I will definitely show that in the future.”

Asked what he was most proud of from his first UFA opportunity, he mentioned he was pleased with how he played while matched up against New York’s Antoine Davis, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, during the first half of Saturday’s game. But he felt he didn’t play as well in the second half. Decraene also mentioned that it’s an adjustment adapting to the professional game, but there’s no doubt he’s learning fast.

“I would say the biggest lesson I have learned is that you can be a lot more physical in the UFA than in Europe, which I like,” he said.

While the Royal are positioned to try and get their first win since June 1, 2022 when they retake the field in Toronto in Week 3, they will have to do so without one of their captains. Thomas Lalonde-Landry suffered a broken collarbone late in the New York game and will likely miss the rest of the season. 

“His presence on the field will be tough to replace,” said Quinlan.

3. Seattle Storms Past San Diego

Rising expectations in Seattle were also affirmed by their opening weekend performance, a 28-14 demolition over San Diego at Memorial Stadium. Head Coach Jesse Bolton had shared how his goal for the season was to score at least five goals every quarter while holding the opponent under five, a feat the Cascades achieved in three of the four quarters on Saturday. 

“We went into halftime a little frustrated with a 5-5 second quarter because it failed to meet that goal,” said Seattle Captain Garrett Martin. “I’m so proud of the way we came out in the second half and absolutely dominated. We won the second half 16-7.”

The 14-goal margin of victory was the Cascades’ biggest win since a 31-10 romp of the now defunct Vancouver Riptide on June 30, 2017. 

“Our O was dominant, our D was just suffocating, and our hustle was unmatched,” said Martin.

Even San Diego agreed, in retrospect, that Seattle’s energy was overwhelming. 

“I don’t know if it was first game nerves, a long morning of travel, or just poor self-motivation, but we were nowhere near matching Seattle’s energy to start the game,” said Growlers veteran Travis Dunn. “Give them credit for coming out full speed right from the opening pull and playing hard for four quarters.”

The Cascades will put their early success to the test in Week 2 when they travel to Oakland and Colorado for a Friday/Saturday doubleheader.

“This is an awesome opportunity early in the year to really be tested, and I know everyone is looking forward to this weekend,” said Martin.

4. Oakland's Promising Start

Either the Seattle Cascades or Oakland Spiders will be 2-0 on the young season after this Friday’s game in the East Bay. Either way, it’ll be something that hasn’t happen in quite some time. 

The Cascades last started 2-0 in 2017, while the Spiders haven’t been 2-0 since 2015. 

But Oakland delivered one of the sneaky solid wins of the opening weekend, knocking off a Los Angeles Aviators team that made the West finals last season 20-17. Five different Spiders finished with multiple goals, led by Dylan Burns’ four, while six different Spiders recording multiple assists, led by Evan Magsig’s three. Eli Kerns contributed two assists and two blocks in his first UFA game since 2018.

LA’s Paweł Janas compiled 481 passing yards on 60 completions, but also had five throwaways and just one assist. It was just the second time in Janas’s last 36 games played that he didn’t record multiple assists. 

The Aviators will take on Salt Lake in LA’s home opener this Saturday.

5. San Diego’s Bounce Back Sunday

The Growlers did not have much time to regroup before their Sunday tilt in Portland, but they looked like a very different team against the Nitro. 

“After the [Seattle] game, the coaches and captains just made it clear that we needed to wipe that mentally and come back Sunday with energy and confidence,” said Dunn. “Thankfully, we responded accordingly.”

The Growlers and Nitro were tied 8-all midway through the second quarter, but San Diego scored the next five goals and led by as many as eight before prevailing 23-16. Dunn tossed seven assists and scored three goals, while the Growlers went 11-for-19 on break chances, one day after going just 2-for-6. 

“We were resilient and kept battling,” said Dunn. “We definitely have plenty of room to keep growing as a team, but the response from game one to game two was certainly encouraging.”

6. Wind Chill Unbroken In Pittsburgh

Thanks to a pair of first-half buzzer-beaters, an O-line that was never broken, and a defense that created 18 blocks, the Minnesota Wind Chill comfortably cruised to a Week 1 road win over the Pittsburgh Thunderbirds. It was Minnesota’s first win in the Steel City since 2018. 

“It was definitely the start we were looking for to begin the season,” said Wind Chill Captain Bryan Vohnoutka. “I think, as a whole, the offensive efficiency, with an 85 percent hold rate and allowing zero breaks, is impressive.”

The game could have potentially felt very different midway through the second quarter, when a late whistle for a travel negated what appeared to be a Max Sheppard score for a Pittsburgh break, which would have made it a one-goal game. Instead of being down 7-6, the Thunderbirds trailed 8-5, and Dylan DeClerck’s crazy buzzer-beating layout a couple minutes later made it 9-5. The deficit grew as wide as eight in the fourth quarter, as the Thunderbirds failed to re-recreate the same home opening heroics as last year, when Sheppard’s fourth-quarter buzzer-beater gave Pittsburgh a dramatic win against Madison.

“It is always great to see how you measure up to some of the best teams in the league, and Minnesota definitely let us know where we stand and the amount of work we have to do in order to be considered one of the best in the league as well,” said Pittsburgh Coach Max Barowski, via the Thunderbirds Twitter. “Hopefully this serves as a catalyst for our coaches and players to show up even hungrier at the next practice to get to that elevated level of play.”

7. Ben Lewis Carries Houston Over Dallas

The Houston Havoc are above .500 for the first time ever, 1-0 following their 26-21 victory over Dallas on Friday evening. Defensively, the Havoc’s 18 blocks matched the highest number in the franchise’s brief history and tied Minnesota for the most in the league in Week 1. Offensively, Ben Lewis put together an epic effort, producing nine goals and four assists along with three blocks and 670 total yards.

“Last year, we could never put together a full game and that cost us games,” said Lewis. “I won’t say we put together four full quarters [in our 2024 opener], but it was the most complete game in Havoc history. Our team was flying around all night and never let the moment get too big. We responded every time Dallas made a run, and I think this just goes to show how much growth we have experienced as a team compared to last year.”

After getting broken on the opening point thanks to Joseph Welkener’s speedy bookends for Dallas, the Havoc responded immediately with a Callahan from Connor Ughetta. That sparked a 4-0 run, and Houston held the lead the rest of the night. Dane Bossert scored the Havoc’s second Callahan of the night late in the third quarter, giving Houston twice as many Callahans in year two than the team recorded in year one. 

The Callahan count is not the only thing that’s improved. 

“You could see the increased confidence in the team,” said Lewis. “We were able to return the core of the team and have added some great players. Last year, it was the first time a majority of the team had ever played frisbee at an elite level, and I think it was a humbling but much needed learning experience. Players grew throughout the year as they learned what it takes to compete in the UFA and play for Coach Bex [Forth]. Now in year two, the practices have been ultra-competitive and productive since we all know what Coach Bex is expecting out of the team [...] I feel like the rookies were able to sense the confidence from the rest of the team and used that energy to put up some stellar performances.”

After 13 UFA games, the Havoc are 3-2 vs. Dallas and 0-8 against everyone else, a fact they’ll aim to change when they travel to Austin this Friday night. 

The Hammer

A brief history lesson prior to this Saturday’s New York-Atlanta game. 

While the Empire are a ridiculous 58-3 since the start of the 2019 season, they are just 2-1 against the Hustle in that time span. And honestly, they could very easily be 1-2.

Back in 2021, when New York and Atlanta were both members of the short-lived Atlantic Division, the Hustle edged the Empire 22-21 in the team’s lone regular season matchup, a great game where veteran defender Kelvin Williams swatted away the potential tying score away from John Lithio at the buzzer. 

The rematch in the 2021 playoffs turned into another absolute epic. Atlanta excelled early, energized by Matt Smith’s spectacular full-extension score for his 300th career goal, and led 11-6 late in the first half. But New York rampaged back, fueled by Jack Williams’ skill and will, along with a pair of season-saving plays from Ben Jagt. 

In overtime, each team scored three times in the first four and a half minutes, with Austin Taylor’s seventh assist if the night tying the game at 21 with 35 seconds left. Way too much time, it turned out to be, as the Empire delivered a miraculous walk-off buzzer-beating score, Ryan Osgar coming down with Williams’ half-field prayer as time expired on one of the wildest games in UFA history. 

The two teams also met last year in New York, an interdivisional game won by the Empire, 20-17. Since then, Atlanta’s been antsy to get another crack at the champs, especially on their own Georgia turf. Clearly, neither side played its best game in Week 1, and urgency will be of the essence as the two march into May, the Empire seeking their 32nd consecutive win, and the Hustle desperate to avoid starting the season 0-2. 

Should be a super evening of ultimate in the ATL, and I’m fired up for the chance to be there alongside Bryan Jones to broadcast this week’s Super Series showdown. 

Saturday, 7:30 PM, live on the UFA YouTube page.

Talk to you then.