June 10, 2025
By Evan Lepler

When Austin and San Diego began to battle on Saturday night, that officially launched the second half of the 2025 regular season. 

Across the UFA, some teams have played nine games and others have experienced only three, but collectively, the 24 franchises have now competed in 74 regular season matchups over the past seven weeks. Looking forward, there are six weekends and 70 contests remaining in the sprint to the finish line, with playoff participation and positioning hanging in the balance for every single division. 

Week 7 gave us 13 more duels to digest, highlighted by the Shred stunning the Spiders out West, the Flyers humbling the Hustle in the South, and four more seismic yet relatively lopsided results adding even more intrigue to the ever-shifting six-team East Division race. 

Oh yeah, and the oft-overlooked Austin Sol narrowly won two road games in the same weekend for the first time in nine years, snatching two dramatic victories from the jaws of defeat in SoCal. 

Led by the 6-0 Sol, three teams are still unblemished, while two others remain winless. And then there’s the New York Empire, one of the league’s perennial powers, currently having dropped four of their last five to fall on the brink of the cellar in the crazy competitive East. For perspective, the Empire are now 10-10 in their last 20 games since going 61-4 in the previous 65. 

There’s clearly no shortage of storylines as we move into the middle of June and forge ahead into the suspenseful second half of the 2025 season, where several teams’ championship dreams will inevitably die even before the playoffs begin. 

The Full Field Layout

Salt Lake and Oakland delivered the game of the weekend late on Friday evening, as two tremendously talented teams traded punches back and forth throughout 53 thrilling minutes. In fact, for 34 of the first 36 minutes, the teams were either tied or within one goal of each other, and the action felt destined to go down to the wire.

But the Spiders’ D-line registered a huge break midway through the fourth, with Eli Kerns launching a booming huck for Sawyer Thompson, which gave Oakland a three-goal lead, the largest for either team all night, with just 6:16 left. Just over two minutes later, another Spiders' score made it 22-19 with four minutes remaining, and the Shred’s comeback chances seemed super slim. 

But Salt Lake ratcheted up the defensive pressure in the closing moments, getting two clutch blocks from Reed Browning, both of which led to breaks, as the Shred astonishingly tied the game on Chad Yorgason’s pass to Matt Russnogle with 13-seconds left.

“Oakland’s handler core is incredible at adjusting to beat your defensive scheme,” said Browning. “But we finally figured it out in the fourth quarter and started to make them look to their third and fourth options. So I saw our guys clamping the backfield and I knew if that inside flick went up, I was ready to layout.” 

In overtime, the Shred momentum continued, as blocks from Sam Pew and Alex Forsberg helped Salt Lake break on back-to-back points to begin the climactic five-minute period. Oakland finally held with 1:15 left to get back within one, but from there the Shred calmly completed passes, using an array of dumps, swings, and other creative resets to simply execute what the Spiders’ could not in the closing moments of regulation. With 16 passes in the final 75 seconds, the Shred secured the improbable 25-24 road win. 

“Special game,” said Browning, who finished the night with three blocks and one goal. “Haven’t been a part of a gritty team win that felt like that in a long time.”

With the victory, the Shred have now won five straight to surge into first place atop the West Division, but the road to hosting another playoff game is full of potential speed bumps, with four of their final six games against likely playoff teams. Meanwhile, the Oakland Spiders still have plenty of time and opportunity to get back on track too, but after opening the season with five consecutive wins, the Spiders dropped from first to third in the intense West Division race over the past two weeks. (Technically, at 5-2, Oakland’s still in second ahead of 3-2 Colorado, but thinking about it from a loss-column standpoint, while factoring in the Spiders’ Week 6 road loss against the Summit, compels me to currently think of them as a third-place squad.)

“Salt Lake played very physical handsy defense and bid frequently, which helped wear out our offense over time and turned into some key blocks at the end of the game,” said Oakland’s Leo Gordon, who went 49-for-50 with six assists and over 600 total yards. “Overall, the team is taking these losses to heart as a big growth opportunity moving into the second half of the season. These mountain teams have created a level of pressure that will push us to improve both our fundamentals and game management.” 

Oakland should bounce back with home dates against 3-4 Oregon and 0-6 Vegas on tap these next couple weeks, but the Spiders will close their regular season with three defining challenges, including a rematch with Salt Lake in Utah and a pair of interdivisional tests against San Diego.

*****

Elsewhere in California, two other Week 7 showdowns had virtually no coherent script. 

Despite trailing by multiple goals in the fourth quarter on both nights in SoCal, the Austin Sol rallied back twice to somehow stay both undefeated and very likely make the South Division title race go through Texas. 

How did this happen? To explain it simply: inconsistent offense; clutch, relentless defense. 

“You’ve gotta give our D-line the bulk of the credit this weekend,” said Kyle Henke. “They brought us back in the fourth quarter in both those games. Connor Deluna had a foot block to tie versus LA late, and another foot block with like seven minutes left in the San Diego game. Both of those sparked the eventual wins.”

On Friday in LA, the Sol used a frenetic 4-1 run in the game’s final three and a half minutes to prevail 18-17, with Henke launching a blading dagger to the back corner of the end zone, hitting Jackson Potts with just two seconds left for the go-ahead score. 

“LA’s defense did a great job switching and shutting down my first two or three options at the front of the end zone,” remembered Henke. “Around stall four, I saw Potts, but was still hoping for something easier. By stall six, he was still open, and I let it rip.”

It was yet another game-winning moment for Henke against the Aviators, reminiscent of his unforgettable buzzer-beating grab to cap an epic interdivisional matchup when he was still just 19 years old back in 2018. 

“If you want to win the game, Kyle is either going to throw or catch the goal,” said Potts, who’s been Henke’s teammate since 2022. “ That’s just the way it is. He had the ball and looked me in the eyes. I gave him the look, ‘whatever you throw, I will catch it.’ Luckily, he made it easy on me by throwing it perfectly.”

When the Aviators’ last-second prayer came up empty, the Sol had risen to 5-0 even though their offense had converted just 38 percent (10-of-26) of its possessions, well below their season average. Thankfully, Austin’s D-line went 80 percent (8-for-10) on break chances, which tied for the second-best break conversion rate in the franchise’s 113-game history. 

One night later at San Diego, the Sol offense again got off to a rough start, surrendering four breaks in the first 10 minutes and falling behind 8-3. But the Austin O-line regrouped and gradually found a rhythm, only giving up two more breaks throughout the final three quarters. Meanwhile, the Sol’s D-line kept on grinding, bringing Austin back into the game and tying things up 11-all at halftime. 

“Saturday was a roller coaster of emotions,” said Potts, who led the Sol with four goals and four assists against the Growlers. “I’ll keep saying it: defense, defense, defense. Our defense is insane. They continue to make play after play. We have so many talented athletes and playmakers that deserve so much more credit than they are getting. Statistically, I had a good game. So what? The big plays are coming from the guys that are grinding every point for four quarters to finally get that block to seal the win. Clutch blocks and brilliant offense to punch in breaks. That’s what has got our team this far.” 

The Sol trailed 18-16 after San Diego’s offense held on the opening point of the fourth. At that point, the Growlers had only been broken four times on the night. That was before the Sol D-line created four more breaks in a six-minute stretch in the final quarter, part of Austin’s 7-2 surge that transformed a two-goal deficit into a three-score lead.

Throughout the thrilling comeback against a very good Growlers team in the Sol’s eighth quarter in about 26 hours, there were a handful of 50/50 plays. Looking back, in the game’s most important moments, it felt like Austin came down with the contested sky or block every single time. 

“There were a few 50/50s that went their way,” said San Diego Captain Kyle Rubin, “but that’s just the nature of the game. “There were a few plays where we nearly had a block that somehow they came up with and it resulted in a goal. Those are the ones that stick out more to me than the 50/50 balls in the end zone they were able to pull down. At the end of every close game, it comes down to which team is going to make the few plays that are needed to give you a chance. And equally as important, avoid the key mistakes that open the door for your opponent. On Saturday, Austin did both those things better than we did.” 

While we won’t understand the full and exact consequences of this result for some time, the Sol’s incredible fourth quarter comeback at San Diego will resonate significantly in the final South standings. The Growlers could have pulled to within a game of the Sol and gotten the tiebreaker against them; instead, San Diego now sits three games out of first place, making a home playoff game for the Growlers far less likely. On the flip-side, the Sol, barring a disastrous collapse, are poised to welcome someone into their uncomfortable summer sauna for a postseason date either this July or August. 

While Austin’s pair of Week 7 wins, especially Friday’s great escape against the 1-5 Aviators, may not have overwhelmingly swayed public opinion regarding the Sol’s true championship chances, they remain one of just three teams in the league, along with 5-0 Boston and 3-0 Chicago, that have won every game they’ve played so far. 

“I understand why people might doubt pour postseason potential,” acknowledged Henke. “But we’ve shown that we can grind out wins when it matters, and that’s something we’re proud of.”

*****

Whereas Austin was able to create some separation at the top of the South standings, the race for second and third place heated up thanks to Carolina’s 21-19 triumph over Atlanta on Saturday night. The rivalry game was marred by weather delays for the second time this season, but unlike the previous two matchups, the Flyers got off to a superb start and led wire-to-wire, withstanding the Hustle’s late rally in another entertaining, physical, and high-level battle between these two elite contenders. 

“Getting two important road wins in Philly and Pittsburgh the week prior only added to our confidence and unity as a group, and the results showed during this game, I think,” said Carolina’s Rutledge Smith, who led all players with six goals in the Flyer’s two-score win. “Fourth quarter UFA frisbee is always interesting, and I would be lying if I said I wasn’t at all nervous coming down the stretch, especially with their high-pressure zone and a wet disc making breaking double teams quite tricky. However, we felt confident in our ability to solve a few more puzzles, and all it took were a couple more throws and catches and we could break the field wide open.”

Early in the fourth quarter, it looked like Carolina might run away with it.

Suhas Madiraju snagged his first career Callahan with 9:51 left, capping a 3-0 burst to begin the fourth that gave the Flyers an 18-13 lead, their largest advantage of the night. It could’ve been the knockout punch on an evening when the Flyers’ offense had been exceptionally crisp, but the Hustle kept on coming. In fact, three of Atlanta’s four breaks for the entire game came in the next nine and a half minutes, in which the Hustle outscored the Flyers 6-2 to inch within one with just 20 seconds left. 

But with the game on the line, the Carolina O-line finally solved Atlanta’s sideline double-team trap, with John McDonnell, Dylan Hawkins, Allan Laviolette, Grayson Sanner, and Jacob Fairfax all collaborating on the final necessary pressure-packed completions to close out the victory. 

It was another huge night for Laviolette, who earned "Honor Roll" status for the second straight week with seven assists, almost 500 yards, and just one throwaway on 45 passes. 

“[Laviolette’s] ability to create leverage just by having the disc and threatening space with his throws opens up huge lanes for our cutters, making offense feel smooth,” said Smith. “When Allan is on a roll, and he certainly has been on a tear these last few games, we all just feel more confident and comfortable with our system, and I think we’ve been able to play super solidly as an O group during this few-game win streak.” 

Although the Hustle are still above the Flyers in the South standings, they are currently two teams trending in opposite directions. Carolina’s on a three-game heater after starting the season 0-4, while Atlanta has dropped three straight following their 6-0 start. 

Have recent results impacted the Hustle’s long-term confidence at all? 

“No, I don’t think so,” said Atlanta’s Hayden Austin-Knab, who finished Saturday night with six assists, one goal, one block, and a game-high 618 total yards with no turnovers. “We still know who we are as a team and have built a strong culture that can’t be broken down after a couple losses against other playoff-caliber teams. It could be easy to be result-oriented after a skid like this and maybe question our ability, but we understand the context. We played three close games that could have gone either way, and we ended up on the losing end. Many great teams across the league have multiple losses right now, but that doesn’t mean they won’t do well in the playoffs [...] At the end of the day, we know what the goal is, and that’s winning in August [...]and we don’t see these three losses as something that has drastically affected our ability to reach that goal.”

Coming up later today in “Seven On The Line", the East Division continues to confound, the Central feels like a two-team race, and the winless stay winless.