Photo by Rich Moll
Written By: Ryan Baker, Journalist
There may be some déjà vu for the Minnesota Wind Chill after their home opener loss this past Saturday to the Chicago Union.
Last year, the Wind Chill lost to the Pittsburgh Thunderbirds during their home opener, and this year, the cause of the loss was much of the same. Minnesota came out slow, and execution was an issue that saw them down 4-0 right out of the gate. That deficit was too great for the reigning champs to close, losing the game 16-11.
The Wind Chill had an immediate opportunity as Chicago turned the disc on the first undercut they tried to connect on, but a quick deep shot to James Pollard gave the disc right back. The first two points lasted over seven minutes, and Minnesota turned the disc over five times in that span.
Throughout the first quarter, it seemed as if the 20+ mph winds were favoring Chicago with second chances and floaty discs always ending in the hands of a Union player. Finally, with five seconds left in the quarter, Leo Sovell-Fernandez rifled the disc to Matt Rehder for the Wind Chill’s first goal of the night.
The beginning of the second quarter was eerily similar to the first. Long points, drops, and miscues all troubled Minnesota, putting them down 7-1. After being stifled by Chicago’s defense and being forced to move the disc around midfield, Gordon Larson was able to find Josh Klane for the team’s second score of the game.
“I think we were just out of rhythm as an O-line. We let the mistakes compound, and you just can’t do that against a talented opponent. We’ll learn from this and come back stronger next week. It’s a long season and our goals are much greater than winning a home opener against Chicago,” said Klane.
Photo by Rich Moll
This is where Minnesota started to look like the team we saw in late August last year during their title run. Blake Krapfl laid out for a massive block that led to Noah Hanson punching into the endzone to Justin Burnett. A point later, Klane hit Rehder for their second break and closed the gap to three.
With momentum trending toward the Wind Chill, the Union did a good job of keeping them at arm’s length after an easy hold. With little time left in the first half, Sovell-Fernandez and Rehder weren’t able to get on the same page when they saw an easy throw hit the ground that led to Chicago’s easiest break of the night.
Minnesota was able to grab one more score after a Bret Bergmeier layout with five seconds left in the half put the score at 9-5.
The third quarter was long for both teams. There were only four points scored throughout the next twelve minutes. Max Hanscom caught his first career goal out of the gate for a break score. Hanscom now has four blocks and one goal through his first two UFA games of his career.
Photo by Rich Moll
“Suiting up for the home opener in front of this crowd has been a goal of mine since I signed this winter. The atmosphere is just amazing, and the ultimate community in Minnesota shows out. I couldn’t stop smiling,” said Hanscom. “Huge shoutout to some of the veterans on the team like Berg, Dylan, and Matis, who have been helping me adjust to the pace and physicality of the league. I think our defense has a great “go get it” mentality, and it’s just contagious.”
Down three, veteran Dylan DeClerck produced a layout block that tied the franchise record for blocks in a career. It looked as if Minnesota was getting fully back into the game, but things got antsy as Pollard tried a deep shot that gave the disc back to the Union. More back and forth for the following points occurred, with the score being 11-7 heading into the final quarter.
Halfway through the fourth, Minnesota needed a spark. Captain Tristan Van de Moortele gave the Sea Foam crowd just that with a hand block that led to a break. They carried that over to the next point for a Burnett to Hanscom goal that put the game at 13-10 with three minutes left.
Photo by Rich Moll
That is where the momentum ended for the Wind Chill. Chicago managed to score an easy hold, and then break Minnesota on back-to-back points.
“Certainly not the way we want to kick the season off. When you’re playing against talented opponents, you can’t have a subpar game and think that you are going to win by default. All we can do from here is learn from our mistakes, review the film, and figure out how to get better heading into next weekend,” said head coach Ben Feldman.
It was a tough day for the Wind Chill. Sovell-Fernandez, Van de Moortele, Klane, and Rehder combined for 13 turns, having at least three apiece. Not to mention, Minnesota had five drops that all happened in key spots during the game.
The long game was not working for either team in the windy conditions as the two powerhouses combined for just four huck completions on 19 attempts. Chicago had their short game working and stayed patient, which gave them the advantage in the end. Minnesota saw themselves have a lot of success by pushing the tempo after a turn against Indianapolis, but that wasn’t the case in the home opener.
Chicago did a good job of playing transition defense, which resulted in Minnesota getting stuck at midfield or forcing them to take a bit too early of a shot. The Wind Chill also struggled with how much Chicago was able to spread the disc around, giving up the first five goals to five different Union players.
“Chicago is certainly a very talented team on paper, and we’re excited to have that challenge in front of us this year. They deserved to win that game. They earned it, and we’re excited to have another opportunity in July to face off against them,” said Feldman.
The optics and stats may not look the best for the reigning champs, but this happened against a high-caliber team early in the season. Changes can and will be made. We will get to see those changes implemented when Minnesota travels to Pittsburgh this upcoming weekend.
