May 5, 2026
By Evan Lepler

“Seven On The Line” is part two of The Tuesday Toss, highlighting seven more important storylines around the UFA. Read part one.

1. New York Confidently Cruises Past Toronto in Friday's Home Opener

Making their 2026 debut on "Friday Night Frisbee", the Empire won all four quarters, led wire-to-wire, and set a new franchise record for O-line conversion rate in their 24-15 victory over Toronto. The Empire offense, led by Ben Jagt’s seven goals and Matt LaBar’s six assists, scored on 16 of 18 possessions and surrendered just a single break to the Rush. Jacob Cowan paced the squad with 474 total yards, while Alex Atkins, in his Empire debut, went 27-for-27 with five assists, two scores, and 470 total yards. 

“Our offense is more multi-tooled than last year,” said John Randolph, who, after anchoring the New York offense down the stretch last season, switched back to D and finished the opener with three blocks. “We are full of hybrid guys who can get big yards, throw big yards, or operate in small spaces…Our O only had one turnover, which was an easy drop.” 

While Randolph seemed to enjoy his time racking up stats on the O-line in 2025, his presence guiding New York to breaks is a huge weapon for the Empire. 

“It’s a lot of fun being on D,” he said. “Lots more fun than being on O. We have a core of young guys on D that we’ve been shaping the past few years, and we are playing more and more as a unit. This year, it really felt like we were able to hit the ground running. O gets all the glory, but there is no better feeling in the world than getting a block and a quick break.”

2. Dynamic Tobe Decraene Leads Glory Over Royal

While New York still awaits the debut of its Belgian star Daan De Marrée, the Boston Glory are enjoying a historically efficient and productive start to the season from last year’s MVP, Belgium-native Tobe Decraene.

While no one else this decade has ever averaged more than nine scores per game, Decraene has 24 scores—14 assists and 10 goals—in Boston’s first two games. Even if this torrid pace feels unlikely to continue, he’s helped the Glory set an imposing tone for the season, accentuated by his 50-for-50 passing performance in Saturday’s 22-15 victory over Montreal. 

“It’s cool to see [Tobe] come out even hotter than last year,” said new Glory teammate Thomas Edmonds, who added four goals, three assists, and a team-high 549 total yards on 41-of-42 passing in Boston’s Week 2 win. “I’ve thoroughly enjoyed being his teammate and sharing the field with him. It’s easy to understand what he wants, where he would like to throw, and where he’s going [...] It all makes sense with his work ethic and how much time he dedicates to ultimate and himself as an athlete.” 

The Royal kept it competitive for the first three quarters, breaking to inch within one late in the third. But Boston closed the game with an 8-2 spurt, finishing with just eight total turnovers for the second week in a row. 

“The defense really ramped up and got a few blocks to bring it home for us,” said Edmonds. “Ivan Tran was massive for us with two blocks and running the ball on offense after the turn.” 

It certainly stung Montreal’s upset bid when star receiver Quentin Bonnaud suffered an injury, breaking a bone in his forearm, that took him out of action for the rest of the game and the Royal’s weekend. While Bonnaud does not expect to require surgery, he will remain on the sideline for several weeks. 

“We felt that, against Boston, we have the skills on offense and defense to win games against them,” said Christophe Tremblay-Joncas, who produced a game-high 557 total yards and six scores. “The thing is, they are a way more consistent team than we are right now, and their D-line offense is also very strong. Their double teams really hurt us too.” 

3. Freak Injury And Costly Mistakes Doom Montreal in DC

With the team’s leading goal-scorer in franchise history out with the injury suffered on Saturday, the Royal also encountered some travel turbulence that delayed arrival into DC on Sunday. And when they finally made it onto the field for warmups, even more unfortunate adversity struck Montreal.

DC’s Tanner Gesell had good intentions when he chased an overthrown huck that was headed toward Montreal players on their side of the field. But while he had hoped to prevent the disc from sailing into one of his opponents, something even worse happened. At full speed, he collided with Royal handler Jakob Brissette in the back, and the sudden and severe impact caused Brissette to miss the game. By Monday, Brissette shared that he was feeling much better and hoped to be back on the field soon, but the damage was certainly done. 

By all accounts, Gesell was apologetic and also a little shaken up by the incident himself, but the second-year Breeze defender still played in the game and set a new career-high with three blocks in DC’s 20-18 triumph. Charlie McCutcheon also had three blocks, denying Montreal star Malik Auger-Semmar on three separate occasions in the deep space. 

“Charlie was exceptional and really got everyone fired up,” said DC’s Andrew Roy. “With no Brissette or Bonnaud, it makes sense that a lot of touches would run through Malik, and having to run an offense through the guy Charlie’s guarding is always a risky proposition. Loved seeing him lock in and felt like he won us that game.”

Despite McCutcheon’s multiple big plays, the Royal looked like the better team for much of the second half. Montreal opened the third quarter with a 4-1 spurt to erase the 12-9 halftime deficit and then capitalized on a huge layout block from Melvyn Brichet early in the fourth to lead 16-15 with a little over nine minutes left. 

But offensive inconsistency plagued the Royal for the second straight day, and the Breeze ran off four consecutive goals in a six-minute sequence down the stretch to snatch the team’s first win of the season.

“We felt we were the better team,” said Tremblay-Joncas. “Our defense was on fire, and it felt easy on offense. But again, we are still inconsistent with the disc [...] DC won the game because of their patience and their consistency in the end. I think we could’ve won by swinging the disc and reducing our risk-taking as they became more aggressive on defense, but we didn’t change our strategy to fit the moment.” 

The 1-1 Breeze head to New York this Sunday for a special Mother’s Day matinee edition of "Friday Night Frisbee", while the 0-2 Royal will search for their first victory of the new season this Saturday afternoon in Toronto.

“We always lose by like 10 to DC at their home,” said Tremblay-Joncas, acknowledging how the Royal had lost their last five games in DC by a combined margin of 49 goals. “It was a welcome change to lead during a big part of the game. We’re right there.” 

4. Rush Rebound in Philly, Spoiling Phoenix’s Opener At Home

Even in defeat on Friday in New York, Toronto felt encouraged by the way they competed. That confidence was vindicated by their performance on Saturday in Philadelphia, as the Rush never trailed in their 24-17 victory over the Phoenix on the second night of the team’s two-game trip to start their season.

“That road win felt great!” said Rush handler Ryan Poloz. “It’s no secret that New York is a talented team this year, but we thought it was a good game and didn’t feel that the score represented the pace of the game. We made a few defensive and offensive adjustments, but I think the mindset was to not completely overhaul our systems after just one game, especially with it being our first game together, and for some their first UFA game.” 

Indeed, six different players, including several starters, made their UFA debuts on Friday against New York. By Saturday, many of those guys played like seasoned vets, with Eric Zhuang tallying five blocks and three scores while Kelsi Mallany totaled five scores and a game-high 511 yards against Philly. 

“Eric ‘Ricky’ Zhuang showed up in Philly with five blocks and a huge layout goal,” said Poloz. “And Kelsi Mallany, who was a steady reliable connector on the O-line all weekend, put up some big yards and scores in the game against Philly. He’s also a really good defender, which is great to have if we do turn it.” 

Prior to Saturday’s victory, it had been more than eight years since the Rush had beaten an East Division team from the United States on the road. But after Saturday’s seven-goal victory on the second day of their trip, Toronto is eager to keep building and see what they can be in 2026. 

“Starting the season off 1-1 after a tough road weekend really feels like a big win,” said Poloz. “Every game is important, so we know that we need to keep this momentum going for the 10 remaining regular season games, and hopefully more!” 

5. Seattle’s Stirring Opening Statement

Could the Seattle Cascades be considerably closer to their 2024 Championship Weekend level than their disappointing 2025 campaign that produced just four wins? Saturday’s opening game rout over Colorado suggests that type of optimism is certainly possible.

The ‘Scades, fueled by a dozen breaks defensively and an offense that finished the day unbroken, clobbered Colorado 27-14. Zeppelin Raunig caught five goals and led the team with 436 yards, Spencer Lofink dished five assists and snagged a pair of goals too, and the Seattle defense pressured the Apex into 30 turnovers, the most giveaways in a game for Colorado since the team’s 2022 inception. 

“Our players were consistently giving away glory and sharing the moment with teammates, on and off the field,” said Seattle Coach Casey Ikeda. “We had two stalls in the first half and I believe two stalls in the second half. That is one example of how we stayed committed to team structures throughout the whole game.” 

Defensively, Ricky McLeod produced four blocks, two assists, and one goal in his UFA debut, while Ian Sweeney added three blocks, three assists, and two goals. 

The Cascades also won all four quarters, building a 14-8 advantage at half and then leading 21-10 by the end of the third. Undoubtedly, it was a convincing win, but we’ll start to find out exactly what this Seattle squad is made of when the Cascades host the 2-0 Oakland Spiders this Saturday. 

“The Spiders are a great team, and we are lucky to take on this challenge at home,” added Ikeda. “We love to compete and relish the opportunity to play the Spiders. Our program’s big words are Gratitude, Resilience, Competition, Growth, and Accountability. Next week’s challenge is another opportunity to exemplify these values.” 

6. Apex Bounce Back, Find First Win over Oregon

One day after getting pasted up in Seattle, Colorado looked like a different team on Sunday in Oregon. Playing most of the game with a lead, the Apex outscored the Steel 3-1 in the game’s final five minutes to prevail 20-18. 

“There was no locker room tantrums or cannibalism,” said Apex Coach Joe Durst, reflecting on the quick turnaround, “but there was also enough fire and grit to get us ready to bounce back on Sunday.” 

The super-young Apex definitely leaned on veterans Jay Froude and Sam VanDusen, and the pair of former Central Division standouts each carried their weight, with Froude finding four scores and two blocks, while VanDusen added five scores and one block. 

“As for the messaging on Saturday evening, I basically used the skidding car analogy and explained that we’re not going to overcorrect or make sweeping changes,” said Durst. “We spent a whole preseason getting our systems ready. Then we got smacked in the face, and that Sunday was going to be a test of our ability to absorb that type of impact and see if we could come out with some maturity on Sunday. And that was well received.”

With three daunting matchups on tap in the next two weeks—vs. Salt Lake this Saturday, then at DC and New York in Week 4—Colorado is bracing for the battles ahead, fueled by the beatdown they endured in their opener. 

“When you catch a beatdown and are not on the level of your opponent, you can’t hide the work you have to do,” said Durst. “You can’t explain it away. The lads are very aware that Seattle is likely not the best team we will face this season and that we’ve got a mountain to climb. That’s in our name, and hopefully we’re weaving that type of uphill approach into our DNA.”

7. Another Fast Start For Salt Lake At Home

Although it was certainly overshadowed by their 10-point loss on Saturday at Oakland, the Shred—like Colorado and Toronto—managed a 1-1 weekend thanks to their 23-14 victory over the Steel on Friday evening. It was the fourth time in five years that Salt Lake won its season opener. 

“Friday was pretty straightforward,” commented Jordan Kerr, who led the Shred with 389 total yards in the victory. “It felt great to be in front of the Zions Bank fans once again. I think our main takeaway was our legs and conditioning by the end of the game. [Head Coach] Bryce [Merrill] let us know that our fourth quarter speed wasn’t at the standard he wants us to hold ourselves accountable to. So we’ve got some work there to build up the endurance throughout the rest of the season.”

One other note on Salt Lake’s weekend: Ben Ashton, who only played three O-points all of last season and just 30 in his career over the past four seasons, took the field for 37 O-points across the Shred’s two games, scoring 10 goals. After seeing Matt Russnogle’s breakout 45-goal campaign in 2025, it certainly feels possible that Ashton, who snagged just 25 goals over the past four seasons, could potentially crack the 50-goal barrier in 2026 if he stays on offense throughout the summer. 

The Hammer

The UFA features a somewhat quirky, but still very intriguing schedule this coming weekend. 

The lone Friday game—Atlanta at Vegas—looks mighty lopsided on paper. Hence, “Friday Night Frisbee” is shifting to Sunday’s highly-anticipated DC-New York showdown. But the rest of Saturday and Sunday also pack plenty of subplots, starting with the Hustle’s South Division showdown at San Diego. A season ago, the Hustle-Growlers matchups were all incredibly competitive, exemplified by Dean Ramsey’s heroics in Atlanta’s thrilling buzzer-beating victory on the road.

Atlanta, along with Oakland and Montreal all have doubleheader weekends, while Madison and Indianapolis also make their 2026 debuts against one another. Both the Radicals and the AlleyCats have plenty to prove, and it’ll be fascinating to see which of these two Central squads can land the first punch. Remember, this is just the first of four meetings on the schedule between Madison and Indy.

Elsewhere, Week 3 features the first couple interdivisional matchups of the season, with Philadelphia traveling to Carolina and Montreal venturing to Pittsburgh on the second day of the Royal’s second straight back-to-back. If you missed the preseason breakdown, the 2026 schedule is the first in UFA history to put every single team in at least one interdivisional situation.

Here’s the full slate of interdivisional ultimate that’s coming up the rest of the regular season: 

• Saturday, May 9 — Philadelphia @ Carolina
• Sunday, May 10 — Montreal @ Pittsburgh 
• Friday, May 15 — Colorado @ DC
• Saturday, May 16 — Colorado @ New York
• Sunday, May 17 — San Diego @ Oakland
• Friday, May 29 — Pittsburgh @ New York
• Saturday, May 30 — Pittsburgh @ Philadelphia
• Saturday, May 30 — San Diego @ Oakland
• Saturday, May 30 — Seattle @ Houston
• Sunday, May 31 — Seattle @ Austin
• Friday, June 5 — Carolina @ DC
• Saturday, June 6 — Carolina @ Pittsburgh
• Friday, June 12 — Minnesota @ Oakland
• Saturday, June 13 — Minnesota @ Vegas
• Saturday, June 13 — Pittsburgh @ Toronto
• Saturday, June 13 — San Diego @ Colorado
• Thursday, June 18 — Salt Lake @ Madison
• Friday, June 19 — Salt Lake @ Minnesota
• Friday, June 19 — Toronto @ Oregon
• Saturday, June 20 — Toronto @ Seattle
• Friday, July 10 — New York @ Chicago
• Saturday, July 11 — Boston @ Minnesota
• Saturday, July 18 — DC @ Atlanta
• Saturday, July 18 — Indianapolis @ Toronto

With 11 games on the docket in both Week 3 and Week 4, we should certainly learn a whole lot more about the 2026 UFA landscape very, very soon. 

And Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there, but especially to the moms that read all the way to the end of this article! You are the best!