June 16, 2026
By Evan Lepler
When Minnesota and Boston hit the road for Week 8 doubleheaders, most expected they would each experience at least one loss.
The Wind Chill were definitely underdogs at 7-0 Oakland, who sported the largest goal differential in the league entering the weekend. And the Glory, just one week removed from an uncharacteristically poor performance at home against New York, were shorthanded and trending downward entering their daunting doubleheader gauntlet against the Empire and Breeze. Most anticipated—reasonably—that New York and DC would roll, and Boston would descend into third place.
Of course, these presumptions forgot one key factor. The Wind Chill and Glory are the last two UFA champions, and while both have plenty of new faces, these are two franchises that are still packed with championship DNA.
The great NBA coach Rudy Tomjanovich famously said, “Don’t ever underestimate the heart of a champion,” and in the aftermath of a wild Week 8 in the UFA, I think that’s exactly what many of us did.
We looked at Oakland’s dominance—seven wins by 78 goals—and thought that the Spiders would keep cruising against Minnesota. We witnessed Boston’s home clunker in Week 7 and surmised that this team could not beat the best without Jeff Babbitt.
Well, Minnesota and Boston combined to go 4-0 over the weekend, winning with a delicate mix of skill, strategy, intensity, and relentlessness that underscores their collective championship mettle. Their smarts, instincts, and depth all shined in the biggest moments, reshaping perceptions of their stature at the top of the UFA pyramid.
It’s amazing how quickly the championship picture can shift, and the recent results also add even more fuel and anticipation for the championship rematch that the Glory and Wind Chill will have in Minnesota on July 11.
Elsewhere around the Association, Week 8 showcased fierce competition between teams that were determined and desperate. Friday night began with a stunning overtime in New York, and Sunday concluded with another one-goal barn burner between Indy and Madison. Altogether, five of the 13 games were decided by a single score, and that doesn’t even include Boston’s dramatic 17-15 OT victory.
Furthermore, Atlanta’s Alec Wilson Holliday scored more goals in a game than anyone else this decade, Philly nearly squandered a seven-goal lead before hanging on by a thread for their first win of the season, and Pittsburgh lost by 22 before winning by four less than 20 hours later, a wild dichotomy of results that unexpectedly surged the Thunderbirds into sole possession of the final playoff position in the Central.
Suffice to say, it was another chaotic, exhilarating, and surprising weekend across the UFA. It’s truly anyone’s guess about what happens next.
The Full Field Layout
With all due respect to Minnesota’s marquee win in Oakland and the four other matchups that were ultimately decided by a single score, Boston’s remarkable road trip deserves top billing here in the Layout. Despite an awful start in New York and a travel nightmare en route to DC, the Glory still emerged with two huge statement wins over the teams they are most likely to see again in the East Division playoffs.
“Everyone gives everything, we all put it all out on the field every point, and everyone’s grinding,” said Thomas Edmonds, the first-year Glory handler, after Friday’s overtime victory. “We’ve been understaffed all year, and we’re growing as a unit. It’s sweet to see.”
The sweetness continued on Saturday as Edmonds, who played the previous three seasons for DC, went 50-for-50 in his homecoming game against the Breeze. But the Glory’s two-win weekend started slowly in New York, as Boston only scored once in the game’s first 11 minutes in the rematch against the Empire.
“We still [were horrible] in the first quarter, just not quite as bad [as the week before],” said Glory Coach Sam Rosenthal. “And that was the difference.”
Instead of an eight-goal deficit, the Glory kept it within two throughout the final three quarters, using a slew of defensive adjustments to stymie New York’s high-powered offense.
“We knew that if we could force long, grinding points that they would eventually get impatient with their decision-making,” said Boston Captain Brendan McCann, who spent much of the night chasing around Daan De Marrée. “We trusted that game plan, and you saw the fruits of that in the fourth and overtime. There is a point in the fourth when [Alex] Atkins calls a timeout on their own goal-line during an O-point and has a full crash out on the [Empire] O-line. Seeing that gave us tremendous energy.”
Along with the renewed focus on being relentless defensively, the Glory offense also found a way to overcome their own mistakes. They also integrated in some new impact additions like Roan Dunkerley and Cam Levine—the latter was just signed with the Glory four days prior—and both University of Massachusetts standouts came up huge in big moments.
With Boston trailing by one and the final seconds of the fourth quarter ticking away, Edmonds launched a final cross-field prayer. New York’s Sam Jonas soared as high as he could and nicked it with his fingertip, but Levine still snagged the deflected disc at the buzzer, tying the score at 14-all to send the game to overtime.
But Boston would not have had a chance to get this equalizer if not for a throwaway from New York’s typically reliable Jack Williams in the final minute of regulation. And the Empire errors continued in overtime. Boston opened the five-minute period with back-to-back breaks, capitalizing on a throwaway from De Marree and a stall call where Atkins had nowhere to go. New York finally converted its third overtime chance, but the Empire still trailed by one with less than a minute remaining.
Boston did not need to score, but Dunkerley saw Peter Boerth open deep and launched a majestic missile toward the end zone. De Marree skied to him, but Boerth ripped it down with just 22 seconds left, securing the Glory’s exhilarating 17-15 overtime victory.
“[Dunkerley] had an ice cold huck to [Boerth] to tie the game,” said McCann. “And [Levine] had the catch to tie it in the fourth, but also played a connector role in the offense seamlessly. They just stepped in like veterans. Immensely proud of them.”
Overall, it was jarring to watch the Empire offense, which had been surgical and clutch with its execution in the game in Boston, completely lose its rhythm down the stretch, leading to a slew of uncharacteristic turnovers.
“Off games happen, and we know there are adjustments we need to make to be successful against Boston if we see them again,” said Empire Co-Coach Anthony Nuñez. “The Glory did a great job of putting us on the sideline and forcing us into tough situations all game long. That pressure led to a few missed throws and mistakes that we don’t typically make.”
While one coach was looking for answers, the other was thrilled with his team’s performance.
“Honestly, the D executed the game plan as well as they’ve done all season, and the O made better choices and ground out some possessions,” said Rosenthal.
Boston also overcame a handful of red zone errors from the reigning UFA MVP, Tobe Decraene—decisions that the Glory coach was clearly irked by during a halftime interview—but Decraene still finished the night with eight scores and a game-high 536 yards. The Glory offense also managed to survive without Ben Sadok and Ned Dick, who usually handle the majority of the touches in the backfield. In their stead, Edmonds and Ryan Dinger went 95-for-96 passing against the Empire.
That insane efficiency ramped up even more on Saturday in DC. After some travel issues prevented the Glory from arriving to the venue in time for a full warm-up, Boston still unleashed a masterful performance against the Breeze. Edmonds and Dinger combined to go 84-for-84, while Decraene dominated to the tune of 12 scores and almost 800 total yards. Defensively, Lander Decraene, Gus Halfin, and Oscar Graff all had two blocks apiece, and the Glory finished their decisive 27-18 victory with just eight total turnovers.
“We match up well against DC,” said McCann. “We had a couple long grinding points in the first quarter and kept their O-line on the field. We had contributions top to bottom, and everyone did their part. We played possession ball on defense—11-of-14 on D-line conversions. There came a point where their O-line was just jogging on a turn, and as a D-line that just fires you up even more.”
McCann also noted that the Breeze were missing a slew of their top contributors. DC had made an identity around its depth and overcoming early deficits throughout its 6-2 start, but it felt like the attrition and mediocre first quarter tendencies combined to finally catch up to the Breeze on Saturday night.
“It was painful to lose that Boston game because it felt largely self-inflicted,” said DC’s Andrew Roy. “It was a totally winnable game—at home, they’re on the second game of a back-to-back with a lineup missing many of their great players, and we just gave the ball away on unforced turns and bad decisions when we were able to work it effectively when patient. Especially given their lineup and their own grueling schedule, their offensive efficiency certainly is commendable and impressive. I expect playoff games to look very different for both teams when they’re closer to 100 percent in lineups and health, but there’s no doubt we need to be able to more consistently work the ball up the field from the first pull.”
The Breeze are also hopeful that they can get their full team on the field together at some point in the final month. Standouts like Aidan Downey, Cole Jurek, and Jasper Tom haven’t played all season, while AJ Merriman, Charlie McCutcheon, and others missed Saturday’s action with various injuries. Miles Grovic was also under the weather against the Glory, scoring just two goals in a season-low 12 points played.
“Every team is dealing with injuries, but I don’t think many other teams have five-plus worlds level players on their sideline,” said DC’s Christian Boxley. “Boston played well. They deserve a lot of credit for going 2-0 last weekend against two teams with championship expectations—particularly after their travel woes getting down to DC [...] We’re a younger team whose play can often ebb and flow. Our biggest growth area right now is learning how to be more consistent.”
Whereas it felt like the Glory were in severe danger of losing both of their Week 8 battles and slipping into third place in the East, the powerful pair of road wins shifted the landscape considerably. Boston’s back in first place, one game ahead of New York and two clear of DC. Instead of potentially having to trek on the road for a pair of playoff tests just to make it back to Championship Weekend, the Glory certainly have the inside track to once again host the East Division final.
There’s still a long way to go—and Boston will likely need to win at Minnesota, no small feat, in order to maintain its top seed—but earning back-to-back wins at New York and DC was a truly magnificent weekend for the reigning champs.
“The word of the weekend was resilience,” said McCann. “I am proud of our team, and this is a weekend we may be looking back on as defining the whole season.”
*****
While Boston crafted the story of the weekend, the game of the weekend was still probably Friday night’s down-to-the-wire battle of unbeatens by the Bay. Like the Glory, Minnesota fell behind by three early against Oakland—trailing 5-2 after 11 minutes—but the Wind Chill quickly recalibrated and played their brand of competitive frisbee over the final three quarters.
A huge part of that was controlling the end of quarters, and once again, there’s a strong parallel between Boston and Minnesota. On Friday night against New York, the Glory scored the final goal in all five periods, including overtime. Later that same evening, the Wind Chill arguably also went 4-for-4 in these critical end-of-quarter situations.
Will Brandt even earned "Honor Roll" acclaim for his buzzer beating brilliance, as he caught goals with no time left in the first and less than two seconds remaining in the second. In the third, Oakland did score the final goal of the period, tying the game at 14-apiece, but the Spiders came up one yard shy of the end zone on their buzzer-beating attempt after a Wind Chill turnover. So while the Spiders technically won the end of the third, it still felt like a stinging missed opportunity, particularly considering how that was the closest Oakland came to breaking Minnesota the entire second half.
And in the final quarter, with the score tied 18-all with 22 seconds left, Brandt capped a five-throw possession by lofting a 29-yard backhand toward Paul Krenik for the go-ahead goal.
“I saw my guy, [Krenik], high-school buddy,” said Brandt, explaining the sequence in a postgame interview after his four-goal, four-assist performance. “I’ve been throwing that throw for like 10 years, so that was going up the whole time.”
The Spiders failed to respond in the final four seconds, perpetuating the trend of Minnesota’s situational success.
“I was most pleased with our execution down the stretch,” said Wind Chill Captain Bryan Vohnoutka, who snagged four goals with two assists in Friday’s 19-18 victory over the Spiders. “Our O-line continued to problem solve and keep the disc alive with mounting pressure from Oakland. Some fantastic release valve throws that don’t show up on the stats, but kept things moving.”
Indeed, the Wind Chill showed an uncanny ability to preserve possession against the Spiders’ intense defense. There were several key throws between Brandt and his former college teammate, Gordon Larson, who led Minnesota with 51 completions.
“He’s learned how to throw,” said Brandt about Larson. “Back when I used to play with him back in college, he couldn’t even throw a flick. He’s come a long way. Props to Oakland for shutting down the first look, and [Larson] had to throw the crazy scoober and inside-out backhand. That’s chemistry, I guess.”
It’s worth mentioning that even with all these end-of-quarter sequences going Minnesota’s way and with the Oakland Spiders playing without their star O-line handler Daniel Ritthaler, who was a late scratch due to a hamstring issue, the Wind Chill still only prevailed by a single goal. Though technically a last-second loss, it would be foolish to judge the Spiders too detrimentally after this back-and-forth battle that genuinely could have gone either way.
Leo Gordon was exceptional, finishing with 62 completions and 765 total yards, both game-highs. Jason Vallee also went 39-for-39 with five assists, shifting onto O-line in Ritthaler’s spot. The Spiders remain the heavy favorite to advance out of the West, though special team situations, which largely led to the team’s pre-Championship Weekend demise last August, are still a lingering concern.
“While I’m frustrated that we lost, I’m feeling even more motivated because I know that if a few things had gone differently, we could have won,” remarked Oakland Head Coach Liam Kreiss. “Definitely still learning a lot, and glad we have more season ahead.”
After the Wind Chill prevailed by one in cool, temperate Bay Area conditions on Friday, Minnesota completed its 2-0 weekend by surviving a stifling triple-digit degree warmup in Las Vegas, battering the Bighorns 34-12.
“The temperature change was definitely a shock,” said Vohnoutka. “We abbreviated our warmups to help mitigate that, but it was nice once the sun went down. I think [Josh] Klane getting two Callahans was probably the biggest shock of the night.”
Indeed, the 34-year-old Klane, who had never previously caught a Callahan in his 120-game UFA career, became the first player in the history of the league to catch two defensive scores in the same game.
“Klane has really been working on his defensive game,” commented Wind Chill Head Coach Ben Feldman. “So it’s not all that surprising for him to break this UFA record. In all seriousness, no one could ever expect to get multiple Callahans in a game, but Klane is truly making strides defensively. His hard work is paying off.”
Noah Hanson also caught a Callahan for the Wind Chill on Saturday night, making Minnesota just the second team in league history to have three Callahans in a game. Hanson also had five assists to lead the Wind Chill in that category. Adding to the historical significance of the evening, Wind Chill veteran Dylan DeClerck delivered three blocks to match Madison legend Kevin Pettit-Scantling for seventh on the all-time blocks chart, with 164.
Overall, the Wind Chill, like the Glory, showed oodles of championship heart across their respective two-win weekend. Both of these title contenders still have challenging roads ahead in their quests to return to Breese Stevens Field this August, but their Week 8 energy definitely suggested that they are on the right track.
Coming up later today in “Seven On The Line”, dramatic one-goal finishes in Philly, Colorado, and Madison, along with Pittsburgh’s perplexing pair of results and all the rest of the Week 8 excitement.
