Photo by Chris Hurd
Written By: Ryan Baker, Journalist
It has happened! The reigning champs are set to make their return to championship weekend after knocking off the undefeated Chicago Union on Saturday night.
The storylines before the game were there, and the game itself did not disappoint. The Minnesota Wind Chill lost twice by wide margins to Chicago in the regular season. The Union were trying to complete an undefeated year. No 12-0 team had ever lost in this round of the playoffs, and historically, Minnesota has struggled against Chicago in division title games.
None of that mattered over the course of the 48 minutes at Martin Stadium. What does matter is that the final score was 19-17 in the Wind Chill’s favor, and they will now get their chance at defending their title at Breese Stevens Field in a couple of weeks.
Some people thought Chicago was going to run away with this matchup, but others who are close to Minnesota knew the Wind Chill were going to make it a dogfight. These two teams endured crazy changing winds, execution errors, and the heat to make it an absolute brawl.
Photo by Norman Timonera
“Winning the title last year was incredible, but with the struggles and pain we’ve had here in Chicago with division titles over the years, this one is right up there. We’re blessed to have another opportunity to continue our season and continue our underdog status,” said head coach Ben Feldman.
It was a rough start for Minnesota. After a couple of easy throwaways and drops right away, the Union broke the Wind Chill in the first two points of the game. Feldman’s squad was able to right the ship and went back and forth to keep that gap at two at the end of the first quarter.
“We’ve had offensive struggles early in games before, so it didn’t catch us off guard. It was happening on both sides. It was a swirly wind, it was hot, and people were tired. It’s tough to go the full field in the UFA against a talented defense,” said Feldman.
Minnesota was able to grind things out and flip the game on its head after a four-point run to begin the second quarter. The four breaks for the Wind Chill included a five-minute point to start the quarter, an unreal layout block in the open field by Justin Burnett on Daan De Marrée, and was concluded with an “everything left on the field” type of layout by Burnett.
However, the script flipped once again after Chicago went on a three-point run of their own to close out the first half. The wind was messing with nearly every throw in some fashion, which made it difficult to gather any type of momentum.
“I think we just had to get comfortable playing and figuring out the wind. The second half felt really good. Our defense balled out,” said Will Brandt.
Photo by Chris Hurd
The second half is where things start to connect for both squads as the scoring kept pouring on. The Wind Chill opened up the second half reeling, but the Union refused to lie down. A three-point run by both teams put the score at 11-10 in Chicago’s favor with about four and a half minutes left in the third.
A Bryan Vohnoutka to Thomas Shope goal with 41 seconds left in the quarter gave Minnesota a 13-12 lead that was held on to for the remainder of the quarter. The last 12 minutes of the game are where things got even crazier.
Chicago opened up the final frame with two scores of their own to take back the lead after a couple of miscues by Minnesota. What seemed to be an “aha” moment for the Wind Chill’s offense was a Brandt to Matthew Rehder cross-field hammer to tie the game with eight and a half minutes left in the game.
It was back and forth for the next couple of minutes, then with three minutes left, Chicago had an opportunity to essentially seal the game, but an easy drop by them in their red zone allowed Gordon Larson to feed Kristian Johnson a sliding goal to knot up the game at 17.
The very next point, a Cameron Lacy pull pinned the Union on their own back end zone line, and Noah Hanson made his play of the year. While trailing his defender, Hanson closed the space, left his feet, and went full extension for a near callahan with two minutes left to play. Minnesota cashed in on the unbelievable block by Hanson with a Rehder to Vohnoutka score.
Photo by Chris Hurd
“I knew he was going to throw it, and it was his only option. It was very similar to the one last year, just in reverse. I knew I was going to sell out. I got to catch that thing next time. I got to complete the clip. I’ll be back next year, and I’m looking forward to ending Chicago’s season for the third straight year with a layout block,” said Hanson
After a miscommunicated huck from Chicago to a blanketed De Marrée hit the ground, Minnesota had just over a minute until the buzzer. Tristan Van de Mooretele was double-teamed near the sideline, and the stall count was rising, so he put up a huck to left open Dylan DeClerck. About two yards outside of the end zone, DeClerck toed the line to make the catch and fed the goal to Shope to secure the hopes of Wind Chill fans.
The two-point lead with just 18 seconds left on the clock was too much for the Union to overcome, and a hand block by Blake Krapfl put the final nail in the coffin.
“That was the most back-and-forth game I think I’ve ever been a part of in this league. The Cam Lacy pull that goes out the back late in the fourth allowed us to get heavy pressure in the end zone. We needed that one block, and to no one’s surprise, Noah Hanson was ready for the moment,” said Feldman.
Looking at the stats, it was a rather sloppy game with both teams combining for 44 turnovers. Neither team had a hold percentage better than 53%, and break percentages were both lower than 43%. However, Minnesota had the edge in all of those categories, including having eleven blocks to Chicago’s ten.
“It’s very satisfying to beat them. I feel like we were the underdogs all year, especially after losing by 10 in that last game. I think they came into this game a little overconfident, and we shocked them. We played really well in the elements and really dialed in in the second half,” said Brandt.
The key for Minnesota was limiting De Marrée’s ability to stretch the field. While he did have five assists and more than 450 total yards, Burnett played him phenomenally in the deep space, with both of his blocks coming in that space on De Marrée.
Photo by Chris Hurd
“We game planned for him, and it all paid off. Daan is one of the best players in the world. I hope he continues to play in the UFA because he’s a tremendous talent,” said Feldman. “A lot of people were chirping that Justin [Burnett] couldn’t handle that assignment after our last game here. Justin came ready to make a statement today, and the result speaks volumes.”
Individually, Shope had a phenomenal game, continuing his offensive prowess with four goals. Meanwhile, Larson led the team in assists with three and added 400 total yards of offense. Defensively, Krapfl, DeClerck, Burnett, and Hanson all had two-block games.
Despite the narratives, despite the underdog status, despite their backs being against the wall, Minnesota walked out of this one victorious. Not only did they wipe away their woes versus Chicago in divisional title games, but they also eliminated the consensus favorite team to win the championship.
Now the focus shifts to a rematch with the Atlanta Hustle in two weeks. The semifinal matchup will take place in Madison, WI, when the final four teams gut it out for a chance at the 2025 title.
