July 16, 2024
By Evan Lepler
With only eight games on the Week 12 schedule—many of which looked lopsided on paper—it felt like it could be a relatively forgettable penultimate weekend of the regular season. Of course, whenever you let your guard down, that’s when the madness usually strikes.
Four Friday night games were decided by margins of 8, 9, 10, and 13, but Saturday and Sunday sure brought the spice, with Brett Hulsmeyer enhancing his MVP candidacy, the Shred enduring another brutal season-ending injury, and the Indianapolis AlleyCats transforming second-half deficits into critical victories two days in a row.
But before we delve into all the details, a quick update on the playoff races in every division.
For an elementary reminder of the rules, the top three in every division advance to the dance, with the two-seeds hosting the three-seeds in round one for the right to face the regular season champ on the road, with the survivor in each quadrant earning the division’s coveted berth to Championship Weekend.
Central Division
- Minnesota Wind Chill (8-3)
- Madison Radicals (7-4)
- Chicago Union (6-5)
- Indianapolis AlleyCats (6-5)
Relevant Week 13 games:
Indianapolis at Madison, Friday, July 19 - 8:00 PM/ET
Detroit at Chicago, Sunday, July 21 - 6:00 PM/ET
Skinny: Minnesota has already clinched the top seed. The winner of the Indy-Madison contest will be the two-seed, and the loser will be out of the playoffs unless Detroit stuns Chicago. But since the Mechanix have lost 83 of their last 84 games, I’m penciling in the Union for the three-seed, meaning that Friday’s battle at Breese will truly be the first game of the 2024 playoffs, with the victor hosting Chicago and the loser wondering what could have been.
East Division
- DC Breeze (9-2)
- Boston Glory (8-2)
- New York Empire (8-3)
Relevant Week 13 games:
DC at New York, Saturday, July 20 - 6:00 PM/ET(in Hartford)
Boston at Toronto, Saturday, July 20 - 7:00 PM/ET
Boston at Montreal, Sunday, July 21 - 1:00 PM/ET
Skinny: There are still so many possibilities in the East, as all three contenders could finish first, second, or third. Heading into the weekend, however, the simplest reality is that winning will likely earn a home game either in round one or round two. It’s very possible that “Adjusted Division Point Differential” will become a necessary tiebreaker between two or maybe even all three teams.
South Division
- Carolina Flyers (9-2)
- Atlanta Hustle (9-2)
- Austin Sol (6-5)
Relevant Week 13 game:
Carolina at Atlanta, Saturday, July 20 - 7:30 PM/ET
Skinny: The fourth meeting of the season between the Flyers and Hustle obviously carries significant weight, with the winner earning the top seed in the South and the right to host the Division title game in mid-August, while the loser gets to host Austin in the opening round of the playoffs next week.
West Division
- Salt Lake Shred (9-2)
- Seattle Cascades (8-2)
- Oakland Spiders (6-4)
Relevant Week 13 games:
Seattle at Salt Lake, Friday, July 19 - 9:00 PM/ET
Oakland at San Diego, Saturday, July 20 - 9:30 PM/ET
Oakland at Los Angeles, Sunday, July 21 - 4:00 PM/ET
Portland at Seattle, Sunday, July 21 - 6:00 PM/ET
Skinny: Whoever prevails Friday night in Utah claims the top seed in the West. If Seattle wins on Friday, Oakland will be the three-seed and traveling to Salt Lake for the first round. But if the Shred defeat the Cascades, there’s still the unlikely possibility that the Spiders could overtake the Cascades for the two seed. In order for this to happen, Oakland would need to win both games in SoCal, Seattle would need to lose at home to Portland, and the Spiders would need to create massive margins to win the “Adjusted Division Point Differential Tiebreaker,” which currently heavily favors Seattle. Though it’s not mathematically impossible, it feels VERY unrealistic to contemplate a scenario where the Spiders do not finish as the three seed.
The Full Field Layout
Tuning into the Indy-Pittsburgh game for the first time early in the second half, I saw the Thunderbirds had a 13-10 lead and quickly began to process all the potential implications. A Pittsburgh victory would have clinched the two-seed for Madison and left both the AlleyCats and Thunderbirds needing Detroit to beat Chicago, a circumstance akin to hoping for a weeklong monsoon in the Sahara.
But Indy quickly roared back, tying the score at 14-all late in the third and taking the lead with a break at 18-17 midway through the fourth. Another break with two minutes left gave the Cats a 21-19 advantage, and 24 short completions spanning the final 71 seconds helped Indianapolis escape the Steel City with a narrow 21-20 comeback victory. It was the second straight week Pittsburgh fell by this exact score, eliminating the Thunderbirds while lifting the AlleyCats into a do-or-die contest against Madison this Friday night.
“Our regular season ended in Colorado,” said AlleyCats Coach Drew Shepherd. “For Indy, it’s been the playoffs ever since. Without a doubt, Indy-Madison is a get-your-popcorn-ready kind of evening.”
In each of their last three Central Division contests, the AlleyCats have been down in the second half, and they trailed in the four quarter in two out of three, but a season spent honing their focused possession-preservation mentality has paid off late in games. On Sunday against Pittsburgh, the Cats only had one turn in the fourth.
“I think this marked the best our offense has looked in terms of movement the entire year,” said Indy’s Cameron Brock. “We’ve had games with fewer turnovers and execution errors, but in terms of pure movement, the O felt good. As has been noted, this isn’t the same AlleyCats system that was in place for seven or so years leading up to 2024. There’s been a lot of learning, adjusting, and readjusting as we’ve gone through our season, but I think we’re finally at a place where we’re starting to feel comfortable.”
Levi Jacobs led the AlleyCats’ offense with seven scores, 562 total yards, and 37 completions with no throwaways, though he was eager to shower the team’s defense with praise, as the Indy D-line went 2-for-2 on break chances in the fourth quarter on Sunday to help secure the victory.
“We cannot thank our D-line group of guys enough,” said Jacobs. “They continually pick up the O-line when we mess up or make mistakes [...] Everyone knew that it was win or get knocked out of the playoffs, and it showed with how everyone played with or without the disc. I was most pleased with our drive and want to win, whether that be winning the energy battle on the sideline, picking each other up, or just grinding on the field to make sure we locked up the dub.”
The AlleyCats are now 3-0 this season in games decided by one goal, earning narrow triumphs against Chicago, Madison, and Pittsburgh for half of their overall wins.
“The mental game is just like the physical—it requires practice; it doesn’t happen on its own,” said Shepherd. “The Pittsburgh comeback is further evidence that we are retraining our mental reflexes for the better. Tight games are not a question of if, but how.”
Incredibly, the AlleyCats have actually been on the right side in each of their last seven one-goal games, a pattern that dates back to last season. This stretch also includes three one-goal victories over the Madison Radicals, whom are now the last obstacle standing in between Indy and an unlikely two-seed in the Central for the upcoming playoffs.
“I don’t think it’s hyperbolic at all to say that this next game is our biggest since 2019, [when we advanced to Championship Weekend],” said Brock. “Whenever this season ends, it will certainly be the end of an era. We have no intention of letting that be Friday night. Madison is coming off one of their best games of the season. We know we’re going to have our hands full, but we all believe in each other and the work we’ve put in. I’m sure the Madison crowd will be absolutely rabid, and the Radicals have really put together a good season. It’s a shame that we both can’t make the playoffs, but that’s sports.”
*****
As for the Madison Radicals, they had to be hoping Pittsburgh would hang on against Indy on Sunday. That would have not only guaranteed the Radicals a playoff berth, but it would have also meant a home game in the opening round. Instead, the line between the regular season and postseason has been blurred, with Friday’s contest morphing into a de facto elimination game that will virtually define the team’s entire season.
Of course, the Radicals are feeling as confident as they’ve been all season long after their excellent performance this past Friday night against Chicago, in which they matched a franchise record with just eight total turnovers in 48 minutes vs. the Union in a convincing 21-13 victory. The Rads outscored Chicago 7-1 in a dominant second quarter to create separation and led by as many as nine in their satisfying win.
“Our general game plan was to more actively control the pace of the game, which we are looking to continue when facing Indy,” said Madison’s Victor Luo. “On offense, that meant keeping the disc moving and hitting open hands to avoid letting the Chicago D get comfortable. We’ve definitely had some nervous energy on the field in previous games, causing unforced errors or miscues between the thrower and cutter. We felt really relaxed and confident in each other playing boring offense, knowing an open look would appear for the person with the disc.”
Chicago only produced two breaks for the game, while the Radicals D-line racked up 11 breaks in 13 chances. Madison has now created at least nine breaks on seven different occasions this season, most in the league.
“On defense, I think it was really awesome seeing our zone get back to what it did in years past,” said Luo. “Seeing them make the Chicago O spend a minute-plus to score or eventually turn the disc felt very nostalgic. For man defense, I could see us dictating the flow of the game more properly and funneling their players in to more uncomfortable situations.”
It was a true team effort defensively, with seven different Radicals registering at least one block. For the season, the Radicals have six different players who have at least 10 Ds, most in the league. Only four other teams—Atlanta, Carolina, Colorado, and Seattle—have four players with double-digit blocks, and two-thirds of the teams in the league have just two players or fewer with double digit blocks heading into the final weekend of the season.
The Radicals were also buoyed by the exciting return of Kevin Pettit-Scantling, who made his first appearance since the end of the 2022 season on Friday night against Chicago. The team’s emotional leader suffered an injury during preseason practice last year and has spent nearly 18 months battling back.
“I felt like a rookie again, preparing for my first game back,” said Pettit-Scantling. “When I hit the field though, the nerves disappeared, and I was myself again [...] The reception of my return has been powerful for me emotionally. It felt like my birthday. I got so many texts from people; even a lot of my Chicago opponents welcomed me back. I love this sport.”
Even though KPS endured a minor shoulder injury while throwing his body in pursuit of a reset late in the first half on Friday, he still expects to practice tomorrow and be back on the field for this week’s huge game against the AlleyCats.
“I may need two knee sleeves to feel comfortable playing right now, but I’m as fast as I’ve ever been, blessedly wiser, and more humbled and appreciative of this thing I’ve been doing now for over a decade," said Pettit-Scantling. "It’s really special to play when, at various points in a year and a half, I wondered if I’d ever get the chance again.”
*****
No one anticipated that Dallas-Atlanta, with the Legion on the second day of a super challenging back-to-back, would become the game of the weekend. But with the Hustle shorthanded and the winless Legion fearlessly bringing their all, Saturday’s second half turned into a wildly riveting competition.
“It was a bit of a surprise how fiery they came out, but in general Dallas just played clean solid offense,” said Atlanta’s Mike Kobyra. “Maybe we were a bit less effective in baiting them into our traps than normal, but they really played up to the moment [...] By midway through the second, it was obvious that even though they were on day two of a back-to-back, there is no way they were going to crumble late in the game. We were going to have to go out and take it from them.”
In terms of South Division playoff seeding, this game may have been meaningless for the Hustle, who had a handful of active players who were suiting up for their first game of the season. But this was not the bare bones version of Atlanta that suffered a costly loss to Tampa Bay back in 2021. The Hustle still had several stars on the field and struggled to create separation against the Legion.
“I think we definitely played a little lower than we normally do, but honestly it wasn’t much lower,” said Atlanta’s Brett Hulsmeyer. “I think Dallas certainly played an amazing game and overall a very clean game.”
Indeed, the Legion endured just 15 turnovers, five fewer than their nest lowest total in any game this season. But the Hustle also had just 15 turns, and Atlanta had the disc with the game tied at 18-all in the final seconds of regulation.
Bobby Ley unleashed a majestic full-field backhand with less than 10 seconds left, and Hulsmeyer skied one teammate and four Legon defenders for the dramatic game-winning goal as time expired, lifting the Hustle to the 19-18 win.
“I definitely remember bobbling it a little,” recalled Hulsmeyer. “I still feel like I got away with it that I didn’t catch it on the first effort, but it still counts the same. I knew Bobby would throw a backhand if he got it and I was able to turn my head before he released it and see that he would be the one throwing it. With how far he had to throw, I assumed it would end on an inside-out angle, so I immediately went left, knowing that’s where the disc would fade. At that point, it’s just about hanging out of the pack until the perfect moment so you can actually get a good jump off.
“It meant a lot to win that game for us as a franchise. There were visions of the 2021 season where we lost the game to Tampa that would have secured a home playoff game.”
The Legion, despite a valiant effort led by Alec Wilson Holliday, Jason Hustad, and Daniel Welkener, dropped to 0-11, with one more game against Austin to try and earn their first victory.
“As far as the end result, I can’t do anything but give credit where it’s due,” said Wilson Holliday. “Bobby had a great throw that stayed in bounds and Brett read it best. In the moment, I was extremely disappointed, but after gathering back with my team I had nothing but positive things to say. The entire team played their butts off and went toe-to-toe with a championship contending team and didn’t back down.”
The Hustle now turn their attention to Saturday’s contest against Carolina, with first place in the South Division set to be determined by the result.
Could Atlanta actually benefit from playing a tight game against the Legion this past weekend? Only time will tell.
“At the end of the day, we knuckled down, exorcised a couple demons, and proved we could win in crunch time,” said Kobyra, who led the Hustle with four blocks. “It’s all about doing whatever it takes to reach the next step. For Atlanta, that’s getting that playoff win and punching a ticket to Salt Lake.”
Coming up later today in “Seven On The Line", New York smothers Minnesota with another masterful performance, Salt Lake’s road win marred by an unfortunate injury, and all the rest of the Week 12 news and notes in advance of arguably the biggest final regular-season weekend in UFA history.
