Ryan Baker

The theme that Madison can’t seem to escape, one-point losses. The Madison Radicals took their fourth loss in 2023 by one point.

On June 23, the Indianapolis AlleyCats traveled to Breese Stevens Field in an attempt to extend their five-game win streak. Squeaking out a win by a score of 23-22, put Indy at 6-2 record. Meanwhile, the Radicals dropped their third-straight loss bringing them to 1-6.

It was a hot one. Temperatures were sitting in the mid-to-high 80’s all game with barely any wind, it was building up to be a phenomenal night to play ultimate frisbee. Josh Wilson decided to start the game off with a bang. On the first point, running through a block led him to snagging a layout toe-tap goal for a break.

However, Travis Carpenter and the AlleyCats didn’t let Madison soak in the hot start for even a second. Indy began to throw roller pulls to trap Madison on the sideline with a double team. The Radicals have been practicing countering those tough pulls all season, but seemed to be taken by surprise in this one.

“We looked like we've never seen one before. We practice that every week. A lot of these tactics we're seeing are stuff that we started years ago. The fact that we're getting beat by them and look like we've never seen them, it's frustrating,” said head coach Tim DeByl.

In the first four points, the Radicals had four throwing attempts that all were incomplete besides the first point score. That led to four point runs for Indy, putting the game at 4-1. Both teams refused to lay down as DeByl’s crew went on a run of their own.

The first quarter ended tied at five, and the second matchup between Indy and Madison was building up to be just as exciting as their first game. The AlleyCats tacked on another four-point run in the second quarter as the Radicals saw a 10-13 deficit on the scoreboard heading into halftime. 

The third quarter didn’t change much, as the lead stayed stagnant for Indy at three. Walking into the final quarter of play, the score was 15-18. Madison was looking to do some damage to mount a comeback. The Radicals came out with some heat as they put two points up immediately. 

Another adjustment by the AlleyCats that put them into a zone defense fooled the Radicals at first glance which forced a turn and gave them their three point lead back at 17-20. Debyl decided to tell his defensive line to break out their own roller pulls, which put them back within one. However, Madison failed to get that last break they needed to tie the game.

It was back and forth the last five points of the game that kept Indy’s lead at one. It was another heartbreak loss for DeByl and company. A loss that puts the team in jeopardy at finishing under .500 for the first time in the team’s history. 

The struggle for Madison this game was them getting antsy on offense after getting a block. There were a few unforced errors that ended up with the Radicals going 7-9 on D-line conversions. The issue at the beginning of the season was Madison not getting enough blocks, well it was punching those blocks into the end zone that hindered them this time. 

“One takeaway I could definitely go with is just a little more patience off the turn. If we can just walk that in and have one less turn, that's the difference in the game,” said Wilson.

Wilson, Nico Ranabhat both had two blocks, along with Sterling Knoche adding two more of his own in his return from injury. Victor Luo stayed consistent as ever, amassing 421 throwing yards and throwing three assists throughout the night. Ted Schewe and Henry Goldenberg threw three assists a piece as well.

Rookie Anthony Gutowsky continued his success in the end zone, scoring three times in the fourth quarter giving him five for the game. The five goal game pushed Gutowksy in the top-ten for scores in the league, sitting at a tie for ninth with 26.

Despite the success of Gutowsky, the Radicals stay just above the bottom in the Central Division, where they have been sitting for most of 2023. The win for Indy, put them in a tie for first place in the division with the Minnesota Wind Chill. 

A rematch is in order next week for these two teams, but this time Madison returns to the confines of an indoor facility in Indianapolis. The third and final game between the two will take place on Saturday, July 1 at 7 p.m. CDT.  This game can be watched on AUDL.tv. 

The following Friday (July 7th) the Radicals get a third shot at rival Minnesota. Get Tickets.