July 7, 2026
By Evan Lepler
Technically, there are still four playoff spots up for grabs.
Swell. We shall see which teams can officially clinch a coveted postseason opportunity over the next couple weeks.
But realistically, anyone who’s watched the first 11 weeks of the season knows which 12 teams will be participating in the playoffs. With apologies to Pittsburgh, it seems pretty clear who will be in the bracket when the second season begins on July 24.
Now, this does not mean that we are completely devoid of big games these next two weeks. In fact, the league’s two remaining undefeated teams are set for absolutely huge showdowns this coming weekend.
On Friday, the 8-0 Austin Sol travel to 9-2 Carolina. If Austin wins, they clinch the top seed in the South. But if the Flyers soar over the Sol—as they’ve done in eight of the last nine meetings—then suddenly Austin will need to win in Atlanta on Saturday in order to avoid the opening round of the playoffs.
And on Saturday in St. Paul, we’ve got a rematch of last year’s championship, as 9-1 Boston meets 10-0 Minnesota in a game that any fringe frisbee fan absolutely must watch. Beyond the fascinating matchup, the pursuit of revenge, and the showcase of two great teams in front of a huge Twin Cities crowd, this matchup actually has significant ramifications for Boston.
The Glory likely need to knock off the undefeated Wind Chill on the road in order to remain the top seed in the East and earn the right to host the Division’s title game for the second straight season. On paper, the game doesn’t mean quite as much to the Wind Chill, who are already locked into first place in the Central, but I fully expect Minnesota to bring their A-game in this tussle between the league’s last two champions. While the Chill have already won over most fans in the respect department, if they get blasted on their home field this Saturday, there’s no doubt that the few lingering suspicious skeptics will suddenly reemerge.
There’s also something truly special about the opportunity to go undefeated, and the Wind Chill could reshape their dynastic four-year stretch if they can remain unblemished on their road back to Championship Weekend. If they finish the regular season 12-0 with wins at Oakland and over Boston, not even the biggest Minnesota hater—hashtag Janas comma Pawel—could still rationally call them frauds.
As for Pittsburgh, yes, the 2-6 Thunderbirds do reluctantly merit a mention. With a third of their season still to play over the final two weeks—including two games against the Indianapolis AlleyCats, whom they are pursuing for a playoff berth—the Steel City slingers remain in the mix, with a plausible path to the playoffs if they finish strong. But after this past weekend, where the AlleyCats finally looked like a contender rather than a pretender, it’s hard for me to envision Pittsburgh suddenly swooping in and overtaking Indy. Particularly when the Thunderbirds have treated the first game of their two previous doubleheader weekends like stoned pickup.
(Certainly, if Pittsburgh can prove me wrong, I’ll be right here articulating my mea culpa next Tuesday.)
The postseason starts in 17 days, and Championship Weekend begins seven weeks from Thursday. Yet perhaps the most riveting aspect of the summer is still the reality that the race for the title feels pretty wide open. Not super-duper wide open—like San Diego, who only led Vegas by one at halftime, and Madison, who Indy crushed like they were the Mechanix reincarnated, are not going to win the 2026 UFA championship—but there’s at least a half-dozen teams that all look worthy and capable of hoisting the trophy on August 28.
With four of those six teams going head-to-head this weekend, we’re on the verge of a magical, meaningful Week 12 slate.
The Full Field Layout
As for the recently completed Week 11, the biggest story of the holiday weekend involved a couple of teams that only won four games apiece in 2025. But one year later, Indianapolis and Seattle both looked poised to perhaps earn postseason victories. The AlleyCats and Cascades both created plenty of fireworks during their doubleheader sweeps this past weekend, reshaping perceptions and showing new glimpses of their ceilings.
Let’s start with Indy, who entered July with a disappointing 2-5 record. Even though they were tied for third place in the Central, the ‘Cats had done little to make fans believe they could seriously challenge the league’s elite.
Fast forward to today, after a historic rout over the Radicals and a solid Sunday victory over the Union, and the AlleyCats are suddenly the hottest 4-5 team in UFA history.
“This proves that when we play to our ceiling, I think we can beat any team in the league,” said Indy’s William Wettengel, who erupted for seven blocks and four goals in the team’s 31-18 evisceration of Madison.
The AlleyCats were completely dominant on Friday night at Breese Stevens Field, winning all four quarters by multiple goals and handing the Radicals—who had won the first three meetings against Indy earlier in the season—their worst loss in franchise history.
“We never let up,” said AlleyCats Coach Nathan Bussberg, who credited some hard pregame conversations as helpful in setting the tone for his team. “Every point reflected that commitment, and it was one of the clearest examples all season of our actions matching our standards. Even on the final point, there wasn’t real ‘winning or losing’ pressure because of the score. However, the pressure to remain unbroken was prevalent.”
Bussberg also praised the defensive game plan from his assistant coach, Jalyn Baumgartner, which led to the AlleyCats D-line erupting for 12 breaks. Meanwhile, the Indy O-line only gave the Radicals a few break chances, and Madison failed to convert any of them.
“I know seven blocks is crazy, but our O-line [was] truly the MVP of the night,” said Wettengel. “18-for-18 on holds is so insane [...] Jake Felton played out of this world. Elliot Hawkins always plays out of this world. Everyone else, Sofiene Bontemps, Cameron Brock, Jon Mast, Carter Hawkins, I gotta name everyone. They played really well.”
Hawkins and Felton, in particular, combined for another otherworldly passing performance. Together, they became just the second duo this decade to both have at least eight assists in a game. Hawkins had nine dimes, caught four goals, and compiled 749 total yards, while Felton finished with eight assists and went 5-for-6 on his hucks.
Prior to the 2026 season, no two AlleyCats throwers had ever combined for more than 15 assists in a single game. But Hawkins and Felton have now combined for 17 assists in a game twice—though Hawkins did most of the distributing when he dazzled with 15 dimes against Chicago on May 29.
But without a doubt, the AlleyCats looked like a very different team on Friday compared to the night in late May when the team got their first win.
“The biggest difference for this game was that we were all on the same page,” said Felton. “Hit open hands and backed each other. Played some stellar defense. Felt good.”
On Sunday in Chicago, Indianapolis experienced some early adversity, falling behind 3-0 in the opening four minutes. But the AlleyCats quickly responded with a 10-2 onslaught and never trailed again in their 24-20 triumph. Even though the Union tied the game in the fourth quarter, Indy remained poised and—even without Wettengel, who suffered a hamstring injury early in the second half and did not return—ran off three straight breaks in the last six minutes to put the game away.
“Sunday started slowly,” said Bussberg. “Defensively, we allowed too many comfortable goals. The one real positive is that the game had real winning/losing pressures. We were able to get punched and truly punched back. We haven’t done that much this season, so it was a nice change of pace.”
Bontemps followed up his five-goal, two-assist Friday with another five-goal, three-assist, and one-block performance on Sunday. Pawel Janas threw seven assists and churned for a game-high 739 yards for Chicago, but the Union D-line went just 7-for-12 on break chances. Considering that Indy went 10-for-12 and most other statistical categories were relatively even, it’s easy to point at these missed opportunities as being especially costly for Chicago.
“The whole weekend had a really great undertone from start to finish,” said Bussberg, whose team improved to 4-5 with two Week 11 wins. “We stayed in a great hotel in Madison, visited the zoo, and rented out a ballroom for the team there, so it really felt like a clubhouse for MLB teams. We just had a lot of time to grow, play silly games, and enjoy each other’s company.”
As for the road ahead—Indy’s final three games are vs. Pittsburgh, at Pittsburgh, and at Toronto—the AlleyCats still have work to do, but their ‘Frisbee on the Fourth’ fiesta showed a ceiling that we had not previously seen.
“I’m anxious, as always,” said Bussberg. “But I’m glad we restored a bit of confidence.”
*****
While Indy’s victories helped the AlleyCats take a couple big steps toward the playoffs, Seattle’s impressive sweep through Colorado and Salt Lake helped the Cascades lock up the second seed out West. With two games left against Oregon, Seattle could finish the regular season with up to nine wins—a remarkable rise from last year’s 4-8 doldrums—and the ‘Scades know they’ll be hosting Salt Lake in the opening round of the playoffs later this month.
“Both games I was incredibly proud of how our team responded to adversity and challenges,” said Seattle Coach Casey Ikeda. “In Colorado, they had a break run in the third that could have bled into the fourth, but the team responded with calm focus. In the Salt Lake game, our D-line got the break to win the game, but our O-line’s ability to stay composed after a huge swing of emotion at the end of regulation was so important and grounding for our team.”
Indeed, with 30 seconds left in the fourth quarter on Saturday night, the Cascades had the disc, a one-goal lead, and the sweep in clear sight. But after Seattle’s Emmet Shipway delivered a spectacular layout catch to keep possession alive, the infamous conservation-of-greatness gods struck the ‘Scades, as Shipway’s pass toward Garrett Martin got blocked by Salt Lake’s Chad Yorgason.
“I had started to clear my cut after [Shipway] didn’t hit me right away, and then the throw came later than I expected, and Chad was able to make a big play,” explained Martin. “Chad is incredible, and that’s what good players do.”
Yorgason immediately launched a game-tying huck to Tony Mounga, and just like that, the Shred had dramatically forced overtime as Salt Lake fans deliriously celebrated the magical moment.
One might have envisioned the Cascades crumbling in the aftermath, but on the contrary, Seattle regrouped quickly.
“I think it would have been easy to go into overtime feeling like we blew it, but honestly, everyone was just so excited in the huddle. The energy was palpable, and I haven’t felt confidence like that come from this team yet, so that was pretty special.”
In overtime, Seattle’s offense converted a dirty hold to regain the lead, and then Langley Fitzpatrick took over from there, getting a big block and a sensational skying score to double the Cascades’ advantage.
“Langley Fitzpatrick continues to make so many highlight plays," marveled Salt Lake Coach Bryce Merrill. “He orchestrated the clutch sequence in OT and sealed the win for Seattle.”
The Shred inched back within one, but Seattle—unlike at the end of regulation—successfully completed passes to maintain possession as time expired on the Cascades’ 23-22 overtime victory. It was a super satisfying road result for Seattle, but team leaders also fully understood that the most important game against the Shred was still ahead.
“Winning two games in a weekend is hard and helped us position ourself for playoffs, but sitting in the Salt Lake locker room reminded me of two years ago when we lost that regular season game and how focused our team was to beat Salt Lake in the playoffs,” said Ikeda. “We had no doubt Salt Lake will be working hard and chomping at the bit to get another chance. We are happy to make the playoffs, but doing well in the regular season isn’t our goal.”
As for the Shred, Salt Lake suffered its sixth loss of the season, matching the team’s total six setbacks from the last four regular seasons COMBINED. But Merrill’s message at the end of the night tried to instill belief within his third-place team.
“We’ve qualified for playoffs and we’re approaching the win-or-go-home portion of the season,” said Merrill. “Whether you enter this point at 12-0 or somehow qualify with a record at/under .500, you still just have to win the next one to advance. So in that way, it’s a simple message and hopefully remarkably similar to our message at this point in previous years.”
Coming up later today in “Seven On The Line,” Minnesota’s Two-Win Weekend, San Diego’s Brief Flirtation with Catastrophe, Madison Regrouping after the Radicals’ Worst Game Ever, and the rest of the Week 11 fireworks across the UFA.
