Article by Garrett Pog
For the majority of the 48 minutes, it was a dogfight in Lansing, MI, between the Madison Radicals and the Detroit Mechanix. The 31-20 score doesn’t reflect the fluidity and chemistry that this team had as compared to the last 3 games.
That’s not to take away from this Radicals team, who were playing their 2nd night of a doubleheader weekend. Their team looked polished, including many players who stepped on the field for the first time this season.
The offense started out hot, with Jake Felton scoring 5 of the team’s 7 points in the 1st Quarter, 4 of those off the pass. They exercised a lot of patience through those possessions, scoring 3 without turning the disc over. On the possessions where they did turn, the McLaren line was able to get it right back just moments later.
Davenport was represented very well, as Connor Concannon, nicknamed CC, and Colin Hill were able to join in on the scoring fun. On the Lambo line, they forced a throwaway early before Trey Koch caught one in the endzone.
In the 2nd Quarter, Chris Walsh put a stamp on his 2025 debut with a southbound huck to Jake Felton, who laid out and used all five fingertips to corral the frisbee to earn the score. Superman would’ve been jealous. Walsh finished with 3 Assists and a Block on the afternoon.
Despite that impressive grab, that was only Detroit’s 2nd point of the quarter after giving up 5 of the last 6. This team would tussle back and forth after that, including a Koch Block and Goal to keep the deficit to 4, trailing 15-11 going into halftime.
In the 3rd Quarter, this team caught the throwaway disease, allowing Madison to form a break chain for 10 straight minutes before Detroit scored. A 2-and-a-half minute point finally cured them, as Joe Cubitt found David Cox deep to bring the score to 21-12, Radicals lead.
Lambo forced a turn on the very next play, and Greg Moreno found Nathan Ploeger all alone for another score. Since coming back from a shoulder injury, Moreno has scored 3 Assists, 1 Goal, and 3 Blocks in 34 Points Played. The best defensive handler from 2024 has certainly put himself in that same conversation for the 2025 squad.
Down 9 heading into the 4th, the Mechanix would have to play near-perfect to swing the momentum in Detroit’s favor. They got off to a good start, with CC scoring on a long throw followed by David Cox scoring the Break. After giving up a point, they scored two more, this time finding Felton for his 9th score, followed by another Moreno-Ploeger connection on the Break. Felton finished with 3 Goals and 8 Assists, ending with his highest single-game plus/minus of his career at +6, which led the team.
Unfortunately, that lead became too much to overcome for the Mechanix, as they would only score 3 more points in the last 7 minutes of the game. The effort and intensity were there until the final buzzer, but this Madison team proved to be one of the best coached teams in the UFA.
Hucks have typically been Detroit’s downfall, but they completed them at a 60% rate, which did fall shy of the Radicals 89%, but it was an improvement from previous matches. Many players remarked at the 91% Completion rate following the game as a positive.
It came down to Madison scoring at will on offense, while Detroit struggled to score on their offensive points, only converting 48% of their holds. The Lambo line does well with the disc in their hands, but have struggled to keep it out of the hands of their opponent.
Detroit begins an onslaught of 4 games in 8 days, beginning first with their home matchup against the Chicago Union at Hope Sports Complex. That Opening Pull takes place Saturday, June 21st, at 5pm, and you can get tickets right here for that exciting matchup. Additionally, you can tune in to WatchUFA.TV for that game as well.
To buy Mechanix tickets, click here
