April 15, 2025
By Evan Lepler

Midway through the present decade, there are clearly six franchises who have steadily resided amongst the league’s most consistent contenders. While 16 different teams have participated in at least one game-to-advance to Championship Weekend over the past four seasons, there’s an elite half-dozen organizations that have been involved in the UFA’s de facto quarterfinals at least three times since 2021.

The superb six starts with DC and Minnesota, the only two teams in the league who’ve been in the final eight each of the past four years. Then there’s Atlanta, Carolina, New York, and Salt Lake, each of whom has been playing for a chance to make Champ Weekend three times this decade.

That’s the list. Breeze, Wind Chill, Hustle. Flyers, Empire, Shred.

Outside of these six teams, Chicago is the only other squad in the entire league that has won a game at Championship Weekend over the past four seasons. The Union own one victory at the league’s marquee event during this stretch, same as the Shred. Then there’s the Wind Chill with two, the Flyers with three, and the Empire leading the way with five Championship Weekend wins over the past four seasons.

It gives me no pleasure to point this out so coldly, but that leaves the Breeze and the Hustle, two franchises with undeniable moxie, smarts, and skills, as the two teams both still searching for their true breakthrough moment.

The Breeze thought they had it last year, and there’s no doubt that their first East Division title merited euphoric celebration, particularly in the wake of losing three straight quarterfinal games to the eventual champion the previous three seasons. Heading into Championship Weekend in Salt Lake City last August, the Breeze were considered the favorites to take the title, but circumstances conspired to deal DC a stunning semifinal setback against Minnesota, an excruciating result that will linger as a painful part of the narrative until the Breeze ultimately do reach the top of the mountain.

Similarly, the Hustle have seemingly been so close to their cathartic South Division crown, only to have it repeatedly snatched away in exceptionally cruel fashion. Atlanta’s dropped three different quarterfinals in the past four years, against three different opponents, all by razor thin margins. In 2021, they blew a five-goal lead in New York before falling at the overtime buzzer. The past two seasons, they’ve endured another pair of devastating home defeats: double overtime vs. Austin in 2023, another agonizing missed opportunity vs. rival Carolina in 2024.

Despite all this real scar tissue, DC and Atlanta, by any reasonable measure, evaluation, and expectation, are absolutely two of the premier contenders heading into the 2025 season. They both have clinical offenses, imposing defenses, and fiercely determined leaders who are more than ready to rewrite history. Both teams have veteran stars still pushing relentlessly for the missing championship, along with young MVP candidates poised to take matters into their own hands.

Aside from the fact that the Breeze got the division title monkey off their back last season, the symmetry between these two programs is pretty striking, even in the way they each embraced some potentially tricky coaching transitions, with Lauren Boyle and Tuba Benson-Jaja replacing Darryl Stanley and Miranda Roth-Knowles, respectively. With Boyle entering her second season at the helm in DC and Benson-Jaja beginning his third as the head coach in Atlanta, confidence remains high in both locales.

But the big question still remains, can one of these teams actually win the whole thing?

Pushing Through the Pain

When Boyle took over prior to the 2024 season, she certainly did not shy away from the Breeze’s primary goal.

“When you put yourself out there saying you wanna be a champion and it doesn’t go [your way], it’s heartbreaking,” said Boyle, reflecting on last year’s disappointing finish.

Undone by the vicious and powerful Utah wind—not to mention the determined and adaptable Minnesota Wind Chill—the Breeze were outscored 5-2 in the fourth quarter of their 16-13 semifinal loss. It was disorienting as it happened, but DC has digested the experience and turned the page.

The 2025 roster loses Jonny Malks and Elliot Bonnet, two huge O-line playmakers from last year’s East Division title team, but the Breeze bring back the exceptional Christian Boxley, who stepped away from the team in 2024. DC also re-adds standout defenders Alexandre Fall and Moussa Dia, picks up the reigning Callahan winner and former Hustle hybrid Aidan Downey, and returns the vast majority of the most talented and deep core in the league.

“The thing that is most exciting for me about DC this year,” said Boyle, “is it’s kind of wild how much everyone got better from the top to bottom of our roster.”

Like most teams, the Breeze have spent the preseason tinkering. Two returning anchors, Jacques Nissen and Cole Jurek, each spent more time playing both ways last year, contributing to the O-line and D-line throughout important games. Boyle expects this trend to continue, and she also said that Thomas Edmonds, who played over 90 percent of his regular season points on D in 2024, could be another guy that flexes across lines this coming season.

The Breeze won’t add Downey until after the college season ends, but Boyle’s familiarity with the University of Georgia product—she coached him on the U-24 USA National Team—gives her confidence that Downey can also be a difference-maker down the stretch.

“I feel like I have a really great working knowledge of how he thrives; the little things you learn as a coach when you get into the weeds with someone,” she said. “One of the things Jonny adds, Jonny exudes joy. And Aidan does that as well."

While no one is expecting Downey to make a midseason jump onto the O-line as a direct replacement for the departed Malks, he will provide additional versatility for the whole team, perhaps giving a guy like Edmonds the chance to chip in on O. Along with Andrew Roy, Rowan McDonnell, and Gus Norrbom, the Breeze still have plenty of disc movers and initiators to fill Malks’ shoes. Boxley, Nissen, Jurek, and Tyler Monroe also can change the shape of the their offensive looks by making things happen downfield.

“I think Jonny had a lot of gravitational pull for defenders,” said Boyle. “Having Box definitely helps us because then we have an ability where we’re not needing all our tempo to come from the backfield to solve problems. Because that’s what Jonny does; when you’re in a hard spot, Jonny solves the problem. And now we have Box that does that. And Cole is pushing to do that even more. The problem solving that Jonny [provided in the past] comes from other places now.”

Expectations remain sky-high in DC, with the understanding that the journey through the East Division won’t be easy. The schedule is daunting, but Boyle said she prefers the early-season dynamics of this year’s slate compared to last year when the Breeze opened with an interdivisional trip to Salt Lake.

“It’s really great to have our first game be Philly, being a competitor that has challenged us in the past but doesn’t involve huge travel,” she said. “I look back at last year, and for my first game to be Salt Lake, to be a team we didn’t know and an air that we didn’t know with a new disc, like everything was new. It’s really nice to settle into your first game against a known opponent that you know is gonna be a good game. We’re not looking past anyone, but it’s definitely really nice to have that at the beginning of our schedule and especially for that to be at home. I felt like last year I didn’t have a home game for a minute, and that was hard.

“And then for Toronto to come to us, and it’s gonna be really fun to see how all their pickups fit in…Having to play defense in a UFA game just hits different, so to see how these guys are gonna do, just as a fan of the sport, it’s gonna be really interesting. And to see how they evolve when we see them later in the season because the team we’re gonna get for our Week 2 matchup, I think it’s their first game, it’s not gonna be the same team that we’ll see later.”

Matchups against Philly and Toronto could help set the tone, but deep down everyone knows the contests against Boston and New York will very likely determine the Breeze’s eventual divisional fate.

“The fact that we get to play Boston three times, that’s great,” said Boyle. “They are a great contender, and we’re a great contender, and we get to go [head-to-head] three times, and it gets decided by the two of us…And the fact that New York has [Max Sheppard] is really fun. I coached Shep [in Pittsburgh] and so that’s someone that’s a known talent. I’m really excited to see what he can do because I did have a really positive experience coaching him, but I’ll be able to maybe give some defenders a couple inside notes.”

DC also has an interdivisional game at Carolina, a matchup that pits the two teams with the longest current postseason streaks. The Flyers have made the playoffs every year since 2015, while the Breeze have been a part of the tournament every year since 2016.

Of course, no team is more familiar with the Flyers than the Atlanta Hustle, who are scheduled to meet Carolina four times in the regular season after battling against them five times, including the heartbreaking one-goal loss in the postseason, a year ago. The Hustle were 8-0 against every other opponent they faced last year, but went just 2-3 against the Flyers.

“The mental side is where we need growth,” said Benson-Jaja.

Like the Breeze, the Hustle also lost a pair of O-line mainstays in Bobby Ley and Matt Smith, but they are replacing them with some other established playmakers from around the league. All-time UFA goal-scoring king Cameron Brock decided to join the Hustle after more than a decade with the AlleyCats, and he’ll now team up with last year’s leading goal-scorer, Alec Wilson Holliday, who comes over from Dallas. Atlanta also signed two players from their opening night opponent, Salt Lake, bringing in Sean Connole and former Hustle cutter Elijah Jaime.

Between these new additions and all the other elite talent returning, Atlanta has engineered a very intense preseason process to try and test everyone’s collective mettle.

“We’ve had our most competitive training camp that I’ve ever been a part of anywhere I’ve ever coached,” said Benson-Jaja. “We really done some things to force more growth and cause more friction on purpose. We’ve had some heated times. Some of the training camps felt like we were in a game to go to Championship Weekend. Really what we’ve been trying to do is do as much as possible to recreate some of the issues we’ve had in the playoffs and get those out early…I told the coaches this year, we’re kinda able to have the gloves fully off and do all the things to push the guys and grow in all the ways we know we need to grow.”

As for the key areas that the Hustle are honed in on, Benson-Jaja knows that his team has been a really good frontrunner, but has also sometimes struggled to adjust in the biggest moments when they’ve encountered adversity.

“I’ve been really focusing on our defensive productivity in championship games,” he said. “Defensively, we did not get the blocks we should be getting in those last two playoff games. I think Austin played a lot freer [than us]. I think Carolina went out there and executed as a playoff-experienced team…This is the best team I have ever had my hands on. I’m pouring it in in different ways. I’m a lot more vocal than I’ve ever been. I’m a lot more direct. We’re asking for even higher standards than we’ve ever asked for before.”

Another thing the Hustle might ask of their top players is to play both ways a little bit more, especially in big games. Brett Hulsmeyer became an MVP candidate largely due to his dominance on the O-line, but he broke into the league as a brilliant D-liner, producing 53 blocks in his first three seasons.

“This year, especially with the way we’re gonna use him, will show how dynamic he is,” said Benson-Jaja. “I think [Hulsmeyer’s] the most dominant player in the sport that we have right now. He’s untouchable.”

Another interesting personnel shift will likely see Adam Miller contributing to the Hustle O-line more frequently this season, collaborating with fellow returners Austin Taylor, Christian Olsen, and Hayden Austin-Knab.

When asked about the Hustle’s daunting schedule, Benson-Jaja said he actually didn’t find it as scary as last season’s gauntlet, which began with six straight games against teams that had made the playoffs in 2023. The Hustle open with a pair of home games against Salt Lake and Carolina, then travel to California for a doubleheader weekend against their realigned cross-coast partners, San Diego and Los Angeles. The Hustle also has a notable late-May interdivisional doubleheader weekend at Minnesota and Chicago, the two teams that are heavily favored to finish atop the Central.

Despite all the difficult matchups on the calendar, the Hustle are still fully expecting to be in the playoffs and equally determined to deliver in the biggest moments when the time comes. As a team, they are reading “Inner Excellence,” the same book that Philadelphia Eagles receiver A.J. Brown was spotted studying on the NFL sidelines during Philly’s recent Super Bowl run.

“At this point, we have all the physical pieces,” said Benson Jaja. “We have all the physical skills. Our X’s and O’s are right there…We’ve been focusing on the right things, trying to work on redefining what [our past losses] mean, looking at parallels where teams [in other sports] grew in certain ways and made certain moves that got them to [ultimately winning a championship.] If we use those same things, we should end up at the same place.”

It’s easy to think of teams like New York and Carolina, who happen to be the Breeze and Hustle’s two most prominent rivals, as consistent winners, but it’s also amazing how experiencing a championship victory can reshape the long-term story. Remember, from 2013 to 2018, the Empire were basically in the midst of the exact same arc that the Breeze have endured since 2021, perennially competitive but falling just short year after year. Then, when the Empire finally claimed the title in 2019, it was the beginning of the greatest dynasty the UFA has ever seen.

Similarly, the Flyers suffered through several tormenting playoff heartbreakers between 2015 and 2019 before the puzzle pieces all fell into place in the 2021 playoffs. During that remarkable run, their collective luck changed and the stars seemingly aligned in their favor. With a return trip to the championship game in 2024, Carolina joins New York as the only team to participate in multiple title games in this decade.

But the larger point is that New York and Carolina were two franchises that, for the longest time, did not get the benefit of the doubt. Sure, they were very good teams that won more than they lost, but they were annually marred by late-season disappointment. Undoubtedly, it’s a mighty familiar storyline for the Breeze and Hustle.

Heading into 2025, though, DC and Atlanta are perfectly positioned to follow in the footsteps of their closest rivals, fully capable of replacing the painful past with a new and glorious present. Arguably, across the entire UFA, there is no more compelling current storyline than whether the Breeze or the Hustle, or both, can finally dispatch their haunted history and create a fresh new legacy.

Salvation—or more frustration—awaits. That’s the beauty of sports, particularly on the eve of a new season.