BY: Alex “Shaggy” Shragis
PHOTO BY: Don Mennig
Philadelphia (1-7) exits their bye week refreshed and ready to face the New York Empire (6-2) for a mid-week game this Wednesday July 1 at Neumann University for the first of two matchups this week. The Phoenix are coming off a dispiriting weekend on the road, getting blown out by both Montreal and Boston. New York has not played a game since June 12 — three weeks without frisbee for Empire fans — and last lost in overtime to Boston Glory.
Both these teams have built the 2026 season on new pieces, but New York has had far greater success with Alex Atkins leading the number one ranked offense in the league in his first season with the Empire. Atkins leads a quadfecta of new O-Line pieces that includes Kai Schniedergers, Braden Eberhard and Daan De Marree, who have put up a 76% hold rate, the highest for any team since 2022. This hyper-efficient offense has allowed the Empire defensive personnel to take big shots and play aggressively, a boon for a very young defensive unit. The classic Empire defense has been joined by key contributors in their first or second season with the team, including Nicholas Whitlock, who leads the D-Line in scores, and Drew Shnaudigel, who has played every game this season after only playing three games in 2025. Both are marked as out heading into Wednesday’s game.
Philadelphia has the opposite problem—a brutally inefficient offense creating difficult conditions for their young defense. Philly has a hold rate of just 48.57%, making them more likely to get broken than to score on any given O-Point. Dragging that number down is their outrageous opponent DLC%, which measures the number of times an opposing defense scores once they get the disc. The Phoenix have an opponent DLC% of 64.49%, good for second to last in league history. Their O-Line’s defense won’t get any breaks heading into Wednesday’s game, as they take on the Empire’s league leading 66% D-line conversion rate.
The Hotbird’s new pieces — unlike New York’s new O-Line players who have already made a name for themselves on different teams — are either rookies or brand new in their role with the Phoenix this season. Ezra Beidler-Shenk, who leads the team in completions per game, is a rookie. Owen Erdman, who leads the team in scores per game, is also in his rookie season. Chase Rawlins, who leads the team in offensive points played, is just in his second season with the team after playing almost all defense last year. Max Tran and Ethan Sarles, also major contributing factors on the Phoenix offense, are in their second season after playing primarily defense in 2025.
One area of attack for Philadelphia is in the deep game. The Phoenix are right in the middle of the league in terms of huck percentage, but attempt the second most deep shots in the league, with nine per game. At home, the Hotbird hucks have been even more effective, with a 69% completion rate, a home Hotbird huck rate that would be fourth best in the league. The Empire deep defense is elite, but Philly will continue to play to its strength, which has been its deep game, especially at Neumann University.
On the other side of the disc, the Phoenix offense has to figure out a way to apply pressure to the best offense in the league. Philly has gotten double digit break attempts in just three games this season: the two against Montreal and the overtime loss to Pittsburgh. Double digit break opportunities is a must if Philly wants to remain competitive, as the Hotbirds need as many bites at the apple as possible if they want to shave a few percentage points off an offense that converts more than three quarters of their points into goals. The Phoenix deep defense will be sorely tested, as New York has the firepower to put the frisbee far frequently. A lot of this game will hinge on how Sam Davies, Jimmy Bray, Spencer Whitcomb, Jack Whisner and Drew Loughnane hold up in deep coverage.
Philadelphia’s first matchup against New York in 2026 isn’t the only reason to come out to a rare Wednesday night UFA game, as Philadelphia are set to honor the UFA retirement of one of the all time greats: Eric Nardelli. After 10 seasons, Nardelli leads all-time Phoenix players with 81 blocks and nearly 1400 defensive points played, significantly more than those who come in second for those categories. At 112 games played, he is second behind only Sean Mott for game appearances in Phoenix history, and his 87 goals are seventh most in team history, by far the most for any player with such an extensive time on the defensive line. While his accomplishments may not resonate quite as far on a league level, he is top 50 all time in career blocks, and was one of the most feared defenders in the Eastern Division for a decade. Few players in the UFA have demonstrated the kind of year over year commitment Nardelli did to his team and friends, and the Phoenix couldn’t pick a more deserving human being to honor during a Wednesday night in July.
Get your tickets at the Hotbird Web Shop: phoenixulti.com, and if you purchase tickets for both July 1 and July 3 games this week you can get the new limited-run Philly Edition Tee free with your purchase when you use code FREETEE26. Offer applied with code at check out, expires 7/1/2026.
