Photo by Meghan White
Written By: Ryan Baker, Journalist
The Minnesota Wind Chill went into this past weekend with a doubleheader and clinched the one seed in the Central Division before the second game even took place.
With a 25-16 win Friday over Chicago, the Wind Chill locked up their bye week for the 2026 playoffs. They then traveled to Pittsburgh for their first matchup with the Thunderbirds this season and won 26-19.
It was a relatively easy weekend for the team as they improved to 10-0, standing as one of two undefeated squads in the league. Despite having a ton of core guys out for the weekend, the Wind Chill still delivered and dominated both games.
Photo by Ariana Golemis
Sea Foam Stadium was packed on Friday night, and the Wind Chill came out in the first quarter slower than some may have expected. They were able to open the game with a break on the heels of a Chicago drop, but the Union kept throwing punches back as Minnesota ended the first quarter with just a one-point lead.
By about the halfway mark of the second quarter, things started to get out of hand. Up to that point, Minnesota had already accumulated six turnovers, but they only had six more for the rest of the game.
A four-point run that exposed the drops and turfed throws by the Union put the Wind Chill up three. During the sequence, one of the night's best highlights came after Josh Klane fed Nathan De Morgan a goal in the back of the end zone. De Morgan ran up the stairs of the Chill Box to spike the disc from the second level. The theatrics got the crowd reeling.
Photo by Dart Weaver
Then, at the end of the half, another Chicago mishap gave Head Coach Ben Feldman an opportunity to call a timeout with six seconds left. A couple of throws later, the disc ended up in Kristian Johnson’s hands, who tossed a prayer to the end zone that Zach Morton came down with over multiple defenders and teammates. That score put Minnesota up 11-7 heading into halftime.
Play was a bit cleaner from both teams in the third quarter. Chicago briefly held on several occasions, but Minnesota produced a couple of blocks that turned into break points, stretching its lead to six by the end of the period.
The fourth quarter snowballed as Justin Burnett delivered a layout block and a foot block, both setting up scores to put the nail in the coffin for Chicago. Burnett finished with those two blocks, two assists, and a goal.
Photo by Ariana Golemis
While Burnett stood out, it was the guys who hadn't seen the field as often this year who made the biggest impact. Morton led the group with six goals and a team-high 313 receiving yards.
“It was amazing getting to play with the O group,” Morton said. “That's such a talented group of guys, so just trusting everybody to make plays, make throws, and they put me in great positions. It was just on me to go make the plays.”
The others included Peter Mans, who got his first action of 2026, with three goals and an assist, and finished just behind Morton with 297 yards. De Morgan continued his unreal production with three assists and four goals.
Photo by Ariana Golemis
“We have that level of competition every Tuesday, so it's no different out here on Sunday,” Mans said. “If anything, the defense is a little lighter, so I was able to come out and ball because I'm working hard against the Wind Chill defense in practice.”
Kristian Johnson was the main player in getting those guys the ball, finishing with four assists and nearly 500 total yards. He delivered the deep ball left and right, which helped Minnesota hit 87 percent on huck attempts.
“Zach [Morton] and Peter [Mans] both did a really nice job,” Feldman said. “It was exciting to see them impress in front of the home crowd.”
Photo by Ariana Golemis
There were definitely some points in the game where the Wind Chill were not playing up to their standard, and Feldman recognized that after the game.
“I'm still not super happy with some of the decisions we were making with the ball on defense,” Feldman stated. “We completed some passes that we are probably not going to complete against the best teams.”
On Sunday, it was more of the same from the younger group of guys. While Pittsburgh stayed within reach during the first quarter, much like Chicago, an 8-4 second quarter is what busted the game open.
Morton grabbed six more goals, bringing his total to 12 on the weekend. Other notable stats came from Mans, who had two goals, and Ellis Newhouse, who scored twice in his first-ever UFA action. Ethan Ode also made his UFA debut, earning his only goal on a layout.
Photo by Meghan White
“It's a different style of offense, a different type of flow, but they're all so good, so it’s easy to fit in with them,” Morton said about the adjustments to playing O-line. “It feels amazing being able to contribute to the best team in the league.”
This weekend underscored that Minnesota has one of the deepest teams in the league, if not the deepest. From top to bottom, the roster is filled with major threats.
“It means we got 40 guys that can earn a spot on this active 20 that would be on any active 20 in the league,” Mans said. “We got the depth like no other, and it means a lot.”
Johnson followed up his Friday night performance with four more assists and 400 total yards. Will Brandt and Gordon Larson, meanwhile, commanded most of the backfield in this one, combining for nine assists and nearly 1,000 total yards.
Photo by Meghan White
Overall, it was a solid weekend for the Wind Chill. They could have played cleaner and come out of the gates more polished, but they still clinched the bye week and the home game for the Central Division Championship. Now, they will shift their focus to the Boston Glory and next week’s championship rematch at Sea Foam Stadium.
“It feels good to clinch,” Feldman said. “It’s nice for business operations. We have a really big test next Saturday against a desperate team looking to win. It's going to be a good challenge, and we will learn a lot about ourselves. Our fans are going to be excited for that, and I think they're excited we wrapped up the one seed before the last game of the season.”
