Ryan Baker

It was stated last before the game that it seemed like the biggest issue for the Madison Radicals was just an old habit with the way they had been playing of late. Old habits die hard, right? Well, that old habit reared its ugly head and came back this past Saturday night in the matchup against the Minnesota Wind Chill.

In the first round of the playoffs, the Radicals got knocked off 16-22 by the Wind Chill, ending their 2025 season in a disappointing fashion. Normally, we would see that breakdown happen in the third or fourth quarter for Madison, but this time it happened right out of the gate at Sea Foam Stadium.

Within the first three points, Madison accrued one drop, two throwaways, along with getting laid out blocked by Minnesota’s Noah Hanson. All of those things resulted in a three-point run in favor of the Wind Chill to start the game. The Radicals were never able to climb out of that hole. They still made things interesting, but never got back within one.

“It's kind of what's been happening all season. Minnesota is a very good team, but for the most part, it was us beating ourselves. They got a couple blocks here and there, but we just threw some away, we dropped some, and it was really unfortunate,” said Ted Schewe.

Towards the end of the first quarter, Minnesota was able to score with just nine seconds left, going up 6-3. Luckily, Madison’s Eric Sjostrom was able to rip a hail mary shot as time expired that was caught off the tip by Kai DeLorenzo.

While the first quarter ended with Madison scoring, it didn’t matter much after a drop and throwaway; the next two offensive points resulted in two more breaks for the Wind Chill. All of a sudden, the Radicals saw themselves down 8-4.

Halfway through the quarter, Madison was down by six but started to claw their way back. In the last minute of the half, the Radicals went on a three-point run to close the gap to two at the break.

The momentum started to trend in Madison’s favor, but that got stopped in its tracks very quickly. In the third quarter, Madison got outscored 6-1. It looked like the heat started to get to Madison. They were slow to seal off the break side, they were lagging on their person defense, and they weren’t running through the disc.

To add insult to injury, the last point scored of the third quarter was a Minnesota callahan. The callahan king, Jake Carrico (most callahans in UFA history), got a taste of his own medicine as he pumped faked, costing his receiver the space he had and left it in the air a bit too much, allowing Minnesota to come down with the callahan.

Staring down the barrel of a seven-point deficit with just twelve minutes to play against one of the best teams in the league, it was really bleak for Madison. Minnesota threw a zone defense at Madison towards the end of the game to make the Radicals kill time, and the next thing you knew, the clock was at zero.

You can’t win games against top teams in the league when you only get four breaks, hold half the time, and miss out on five red zone opportunities. Those were the numbers for the Radicals, and it effectively ended their season.

“I don't really know if it was nerves or pressure or what, but we just made a couple of mistakes. I thought we looked pretty good in the open field, but once we got close to that red zone, things got tough,” said Schewe.

Individually, the stat line looked solid for some of the guys. Eric Sjostrom and Schewe both had four assists. Kainoa Chun-Moy had two assists, one goal, and three blocks. Max Sample made up for a donut from Anthony Gutowsky, his first game without a goal, by corralling in five goals.

“I think my teammates opened up a lot of space for me. I’m just coming off an injury, and I feel like this is the first game where I really had all my juice back. A little bummed, I couldn't have done that earlier in the season, but ultimately, it’s all my guys out there making space for me,” said Sample.

Madison can be a better team than this. We’ve seen them hang in games with Chicago and Minnesota, but when it comes to the big moments, this team is still incredibly young. They don’t have that veteran core that has played in multiple championships. That was evident in this one.

“I’m sad it's over, but excited because we get to come back next year and build on that. It was just some silly mistakes, some drops, some throwaways, and against a team like Minnesota, you don't have space to make those mistakes. There’s a lot to learn, but I feel like we can play a lot better,” said Sample.

Looking at the conclusion of Madison’s 2025 season, it was a step back from last year. They lost in the Division Championship game in 2024, but lost in the first round this year. The difference is that the Radicals did show progress throughout the season and looked better this year than last. That development will need to keep happening throughout the offseason for the Radicals to be a true threat next year.

While the Radicals season is over the team is still hosting Championship Weekend at Breese August 22nd and 23rd!