By Noam Gumerman

After last week’s heartbreaking loss to Atlanta, the Carolina Flyers return home for a second shot at their divisional rivals as they take on the Hustle in a critical second game of three in a row (and four total) against them.

There are some big differences in the dynamics between last week’s game and this week’s, however. The biggest being that the Flyers will serve as host. But it’s also USA Ultimate DI College Nationals this weekend, meaning the Flyers will be down a couple of players who would otherwise take the field (it’ll be one last week before Tobias Brooks and Zeke Thoreson suit up), and so will the Hustle, for playing and coaching duties in Rockford (most importantly, Adam Miller and Brett Hulsmeyer). The lines that each coach leaned on to push each other to the absolute brink will be different, and both teams will look to their depth to make some big-time plays. 

For Carolina, inefficiency in the clutch hurt them last week. Failing to convert with the O-line subbed out onto the field at 22-20 in overtime and turning it over on the goal line in double overtime are the two moments that jump out. But there were a couple of little things they didn’t do quite as well as they did in their first three wins of the season. The biggest one being they couldn’t turn Atlanta over. Across four quarters and two overtime periods, the Flyers generated just 11 blocks, second-lowest on the season. The only game they generated fewer in was the hyper-efficient offensive clinic Carolina and San Diego put on in week one. With Atlanta being down two of their key cogs, the Flyers' ability to force the Hustle into more turnovers this week will be a critical marker for success. 

A win for the Flyers would set them up nicely to take control of the South Division with just one more win over Atlanta in the last two games of the season. A loss for Atlanta could push them to the bottom of the four-team race for three playoff spots in the South alongside Austin and San Diego. A win for the Hustle puts exponentially more pressure on the Flyers to take the following week’s game against Atlanta, and would start to make any tie-break scenarios get complicated once playoff time rolls around. 

Catch all the action this Saturday night at Durham County Memorial Stadium at 7pm.