Ryan Baker, Journalist

The rain came down, and so did the mistakes in the Madison Radicals and Detroit Mechanix third matchup off the season this past Saturday on June 8. 

Madison traveled up to Detroit, and took home their fourth win of the year by a score of 19-12. The rain seemed to start right as the game did, along with some rough winds. The climate provided issues for both teams as there were 69 total turnovers throughout the course of the game. 

Additionally, percentages were not where normal league averages have been per game. Neither team had better than a 31% O-line conversion rate, no more than an 86% completion rate, and there were nine total drops on the rainy night. 

“I don’t think we handled the weather very well. We definitely took a while to adjust to the rain and wind. By the fourth quarter, we were playing pretty good ultimate, but I feel like we let the weather get in the way of us playing well. It was difficult. Those conditions are difficult,” said head coach Tim DeByl. 

The game started out with Madison letting up a break on a five minute point, but bounced back incredibly quickly by going on a five-point run. The rain kept coming down harder and harder throughout the game, and the game got sloppier on both ends. 

The second quarter proved that, by only having four scores throughout the twelve minutes. The Radicals had let the Mechanix slightly back into the game, only leading by three going into the halftime break. The third quarter picked up in terms of scoring, despite the weather getting worse and worse. The game stayed close as the two teams split the third quarter, scoring five a piece. 

The fourth quarter was where the Radicals created some distance. They came out with four straight breaks, putting them up 16-9. It was back and forth the remaining five minutes, giving the Radicals a hard fought seven-point victory. 

All season DeByl has been preaching that their offense needs to be just a tad better than last year, and that his team needs to stay locked in for the entire game to prevent runs being given up. Playing four solid quarters of ultimate frisbee, but that wasn’t accomplished in this win. The conditions make it tough to truly work through those knots. 

“I don't think we accomplished what we wanted to from a consistency standpoint. We accomplished our goal of winning the game, which is always the priority, but definitely didn't feel like we got as much out of it as we could have. Those games are always hard. When it's pouring rain and windy. It's hard to work on your offensive sets. It's hard to work on the things that you want to do when the weather's difficult,” said DeByl.

Not only does the weather make it tough, but so does not having a ton of key playmakers. The Radicals sent an incredibly young team up to the city of Detroit. Including a player in Charlie Benforado making his UFA debut. Benforado played well on the defensive end by getting two blocks, including a huge layout block in the endzone in the first quarter. 

Normal workhorse Anthony Gutowsky added on to his solid season thus far by getting four goals and three blocks. Both stats of which he is ranked tied for fourth in the league across the whole UFA. Arguably, the best player on the field, however, was Mitchell McCarthy, who has been showing off incredible potential all season. McCarthy accrued four assists, one goal, five blocks, and 289 total yards throughout the game. 

“It definitely feels good to be playing well, but there is a lot of season left. I can’t get complacent. I haven’t been in the league for very long, and still have a lot to prove, but I feel confident in my ability to get it done. I couldn’t do it without my teammates and coaches trusting me,” said McCarthy. 

There’s going to be a need for a lot of that trust, and not settling in the complacency throughout the entire team going forward. The Radicals stand at 4-2 and third in the Central Division at the halfway point in their season. However, they are seeing a ton of injuries right now, which hopefully the week off for those guys allowed for some rejuvenation. 

The games that will determine how the season ends for Madison is right in front of them. They will have games with the Colorado Summit, Minnesota Wind Chill, and Indianapolis AlleyCats, in that order. Despite the tough few weeks ahead of them, there is only one game that matters right now for DeByl and his squad.

 “We’re starting at 0-0. We did what we needed to do in the first half of the season, and now we just want to take it one game at a time. These games get much harder. We're just going to focus on the first one. That one being Colorado. It doesn't matter what else is happening. That's our focus,” said DeByl.

Get Tickets to our next home game vs Colorado Friday night!