by Larry Snyder
Pittsburgh, PA – The fourth-place Pittsburgh Thunderbirds (4-4-0) are at a critical junction in their American Ultimate Disc League schedule. The Black and Gold face the third-place Chicago Union (5-3-0) in a back-to-back weekend series that could determine who claims a playoff spot in the AUDL Central Division.
For a full recap on the play-off scenarios, click here.
Chicago invades the South Side Friday, July 7, to face the T-birds at Highmark Stadium. This significant duel gets underway at 7:00 p.m. EDT. Pittsburgh heads to the Windy City Saturday, July 8, for a rematch with the Union at Parente Field, part of the De La Salle Institute. The opening pull in the Second City is 6:30 p.m. CDT.
Last week along the South Shore, coming out of halftime with a 13-9 lead, the Thunderbirds put up identical 6-3 runs in the third and fourth quarters in a 25-15 win over the Detroit Mechanix (0-8-0). Their 25 points were the most in a home contest this season.
I spoke with Pittsburgh head coach Max Barowski about the weekend high-stakes challenge. Chicago has twice this season won back-to-back games in one weekend. At the end of May, they beat Madison 20-18 on 05/27/2023 and Minnesota Wind Chill 16-12 on 05/28/2023. Their next sweep was Friday, 6/23/2023, and Saturday, 06/24/2023, against the Detroit Mechanix. Does it give them an edge this weekend?
Coach Barowski said, “I will say that Chicago has definitely had a funky schedule this year with all of their back-to-back games, and I do believe they will have the experience advantage with how to manage the two games in one weekend. Knowing the grind of travel in the AUDL, we are confident that we can use our home-field advantage and then have to travel the same distance they do to play again the next day, virtually eliminating taking away the home-field advantage for their players that are doubling up as well.”
The box score was rocking last week. Max Sheppard contributed five goals, seven assists, 453 throwing yards, and 329 receiving yards against Detroit. Mikey O’Brien supplied 453 total yards and Jonathan Mast 424 total yards. Carl Johnson delivered seven goals. Is this the offense you envisioned coming together?
Barowski replied, “Shep is our rock on this team. He means so much to this organization and has been our catalyst for success when we have it. The young players on this team are so valuable to our growth and those players have been valuable. Shout out to our Captains Jimmy Towle, Anson Reppermund, and Jon Mast for their veteran leadership and contributions on and off the field.”
Our conversation concluded around one of the T-birds’ advantages. Pittsburgh is fourth in the league in huck percentage at 67.48 this season. How much of a difference-maker could this be in this home-and-away series against the Union? Barowski commented, “Our offense is most effective when we are able to use the full width of the field and utilize the space advantage we can have by doing that, and when that happens, our hucks are effective. We need to value the disc and take what we are given, but hucks are always effective.”
Reviewing the clipboard, the Thunderbirds owned 14 blocks in the win against Detroit. It was the most in a home contest in 2023. The breakdown saw Pete Zaccardi (2), Sam VanDusen (2), Johnson (2), Joe Molder (2), Charlie Vukovic (2), Jacob Anthuvan (1), O’Brien (1), Noah Celuch (1), and John McMonigal (1). Approximately eight goals came from the D-line. I contacted assistant coach Nick Bozich and asked if this unit could contain the firepower of the Chicago Union.
Bozich told me, “I have full faith in our guys to take on the 2022 AUDL finalists. The Union is a great team, and we will have a full weekend playing them twice. With that said, I am excited to see how we perform in our first back-to-back weekend of the year. Your comment about blocks really shows that we have a lot of guys that can go and get blocks when we need them. The longer we can keep our D-lines out on the field, the better. A key to this game is challenging the Union offense into uncomfortable positions, and it is on us now to go out and execute with that in mind.”
Roster Move: Pittsburgh general manager Andrew Gardner announced on Twitter the signing of Walt Johnson, brother of T-birds’ player Carl Johnson, to a one-year contract. He last participated in the AUDL for the Colorado Summit in 2022, tallying four assists, two goals, and three blocks in six games played. His first eligible meeting is Friday.
Check Out: Can The Thunderbirds Still Make The Playoffs?
From YouTube – Pittsburgh Thunderbirds Vs Detroit Mechanix Facebook Live: Second Quarter Action…
Chicago has won three in a row, and they are 10th in the league in red zone conversion percentage at 80.52. The trio of Andrew Sjogren (25 goals), Jack Shanahan (15 goals, 17 assists), and Jake Steslicki (14 goals) keep the scoreboard operators busy.
Asher Lantz (eight blocks), Jace Bruner (eight blocks), and Steslicki (eight blocks) keep the defense primed to change the direction of the contest. A pair of contributors, Paul Arters (14 assists) and Ross Barker (eight goals, 11 assists), are listed as out for Friday.
GAMEDAY INFO
Giveaway: From 6:15p - 6:45p only, you can grab a pair of Thunderbirds sunglasses for FREE.
Tickets: Go after the best seat for Thunderbird games online. Kyle Archer is non-stop fun as your in-game host. The band Clay Coast performs 45 minutes before, at half-time, and after the match on Friday. Rebecca Kanar is making balloon animals for the kids.
Broadcast: Get inside every T-birds block and pull on the subscription streaming service AUDL.tv. Matt Weiss brings you every call at all home games.
Updates: Thunderbirds Twitter at @PGHThunderbirds – Facebook at pghthunderbirds – Instagram at pghthunderbirds
NEXT UP: The Black and Gold go to the Hoosier State to confront the Central Division leading Indianapolis AlleyCats (7-2-0) at Brebeuf High School. This clash starts at 7:00 p.m. EDT.
