Ryan Baker

All UFA teams have their schedules for the 2026 regular season, and they come with some never-before-seen matchups across the league. The Central Division teams surged in the rankings for the strength of their schedule this season, with the Madison Radicals ranking fourth on the list. However, looking at that ranking can be deceitful as it only represents opponents’ records from 2025.

“I think it will be really good for us. There are no easy games on the schedule, so when playoffs come around, we will be more prepared,” said two-way player Mitchell McCarthy. “Having a few easier games every year has made it difficult for us when we do play the top teams in the league.”

“I think we are all excited to compete in a buffed-up division,” said Jack Nelson, who is hopeful to log a full season for the first time in his four-year career. “This Madison team loves the challenge, and getting the opportunity to play a team with a lot of potential is exciting. We expect to win, though, that’s always our expectation.”

The notable takeaways from the schedule at a glance are that the Radicals will have to wait until the end of May to play at their home field of Breese Stevens, they have a first-ever matchup with the Salt Lake Shred in the middle of a tough stretch, and they end the regular season playing the Wind Chill in Minnesota once again.

“Three games in seven days will obviously be a huge challenge, but every team in the league gets bit by their schedule at one time or another,” said Head Coach Jacob Spiro. “We will have to rely on our conditioning and our depth.”

Here is a more in-depth look at Madison’s schedule for 2026:

Saturday, May 9 at 6 p.m. EST: @ Indianapolis AlleyCats

The year starts off by drawing the first appearance of the revamped AlleyCats. 15 new signings and a new coaching staff will surely bring some kinks early in the season for Indy, and Madison should look to pounce on that vulnerability.

“Indy’s new roster includes some impactful college players who may not be in the lineup early, so their roster will change significantly over our matchups,” said Spiro. “Additionally, they have a new coaching staff, and I would think the style  of the team will change a lot.”

Friday, May 15 at 7 p.m. EST: @ Pittsburgh Thunderbirds

For the first time in two years, Madison will travel to Pittsburgh to play the Thunderbirds, delaying their first home game. This will be the Radicals’ easiest game on the schedule as Pittsburgh has a lost many steps throughout the last few years.

“Breese [Stevens] is the place to be and the place to play,” said Anthony Gutowsky, who led the league in goals in 2025. I feel like our team gets a lot of energy from Breese, so it kind of sucks that we have to start off with 2 away games..”

Sunday, May 31 at 5 p.m. CT: vs. Minnesota Wind Chill

The first home game at the iconic Breese Stevens Field will be against the 2025 runner-up champions. It will be a very tough game for the first one as Minnesota has won the last six of seven games in Madison. Not to mention that Madison hasn’t beaten the Wind Chill since July 2022.

“I think Minnesota has done a great job building their program the last few seasons,” said Nelson. “They bring in outside talent, and they work hard. With all that said, Madison is ready to cut the gap and compete against these strong teams. Iron sharpens iron. I’m excited for this season, and I know the team is too.”

Friday, June 5 at 7 p.m. CT: @ Chicago Union

One game at home and immediately back on the road, however, this won’t be a normal Chicago trip. The Union has moved venues for the 2026 season and will look very different from their 12-0 team last year.

“They lost some talented players, and I think the games will be competitive, but we should beat them,” said McCarthy. “We can't expect them to be bad because their roster looks different than last year.”

Veteran Victor Luo is returning to Madison, and this will be the first game against his former team that he spent just 2025 with. When asked if there was any love lost between the two parties, Luo only gave praise to the Union organization.

“Definitely not,” said Luo. “I’m appreciative of the way the Union coaching staff and captains let me ease into last season after my shoulder surgery. I’m especially grateful to coaches Charlie Furse and Delgado for getting me to a place where I was confident enough to get back on the field. It’s always fun playing against former teammates, and I know they’ll be itching to challenge us when we play.”

Sunday, June 14 at 5 p.m. CT: vs. Indianapolis AlleyCats

The second matchup with the AlleyCats will be tougher than the first. Indy will have more synergy and start to see some of its college players get added to the lineup. This will be the first game of the hardest stretch of the season for the Radicals.

“It is great to see teams in the league grow and add depth,” said Luke Marks, who led the team in blocks last season. “Indy is getting a lot of attention for their resumé—okay. The bigger they are, the harder they fall. I’m looking forward to the competition.”

Thursday, June 18 at 7 p.m. CT: vs. Salt Lake Shred

There are a lot of firsts in the matchup. This will be the first time these two teams ever square off, and it is the first ever Thursday night game in the UFA. The Shred have been one of the best teams in the league since joining in 2022. Given the circumstances of little prep, unfamiliarity, and caliber of opponent, this will be the hardest game for Madison in 2026.

“I'm really excited,” exclaimed McCarthy. “Win or lose, it will be a great opportunity for us to see another champ weekend team, use that experience to improve, and see what we need to do to get to champ weekend.”

“It’s awesome to get to compete with a team like Salt Lake,” said Marks. “They have been at the top of their division year in and year out. They move the disc quickly and look for deep shots often, two subjects that we will look forward to interrupting.”

Sunday, June 21 at 6 p.m. CT: @ Chicago Union

The difficult stretch ends here, but the Radicals will be coming off their hardest game of the season, traveling just three days later.

“I’m looking forward to it, it’s going to be a fitness challenge, and we’ve already started building our fitness for it,” said Luo. “Mentally, it’s going to be difficult, but our coaching staff has always done a good job of preparing us on a game-by-game basis.”

Saturday, June 27 at 6 p.m. EST: @ Indianapolis AlleyCats

The AlleyCats are the most common team on this schedule. The third time these two see each other in 2026 will be another battle. Madison will be fine-tuned at this point in the season, but the AlleyCats’ chemistry could be peaking at this point, too.

“Indy's going to get progressively better over the course of the year,” said Gutowsky. “They have a lot of new players. They're going to have different lines every game you play them. Every defensive line is going to look different every time we're out there on offense. It’s going to be tough, but they're definitely beatable. They’re not someone that we should be afraid of all season long.”

Friday, July 3 at 7 p.m. CT: vs. Indianapolis AlleyCats

The final and fourth game between these two will be a dogfight. Surely there will be major playoff implications in the Central, but also with the tiebreakers between these two.

“Playing a team four times in a season is a mental challenge,” said Nelson. “It’s a battle of fortitude, and who can make the changes necessary to win each game. I think we have had to fight through a lot of adversity in the past, and we are mentally tougher because of it. We are ready for the challenge.”

Friday, July 10 at 7 p.m. CT: vs. Pittsburgh Thunderbirds

After dealing with their loaded week and seeing Indy in back-to-back weeks, the Radicals get the easiest opponent on their schedule at home, which should be a relatively easy win. Despite those optics, this will be the trap game of the year for Madison.

Friday, July 17 at 7 p.m. CT: vs. Chicago Union

With all of the rumors and change in the Union, there has been a lot of talk of them taking a major back seat in 2026, but Spiro begs to differ and warns those who are underestimating them.

“I think Chicago’s demise has been overblown,” said Spiro. “They should look a lot like the team that they had two seasons ago. That team was ahead of us at home in the playoffs, and it took a big comeback for us to win in double overtime. I’m not looking past that team for a second, and I think if people do, they will regret it.”

Sunday, July 19 at 5 p.m. CT: @ Minnesota Wind Chill

Another year, another regular-season finale in a place where Madison struggles. These two have played at Minnesota’s Sea Foam Stadium nine times, and the Radicals have yet to win.

“Minnesota does a good job peaking at the right time of year,” said Spiro. “We need to match their end of year intensity better than in the past, but this is an area that I think our extremely challenging schedule will help prepare us better.”

Even though Minnesota is heavily favored right now, this could be a game that decides how the playoffs will look on the Central side of things.

“I feel like we're just getting better every year,” said Gutowsky. “We've taken a lot more time to consider our matchups this year, and a lot of our players have taken a lot better care of their bodies than in previous years. The final game of the season against Minnesota will be a game that decides who gets the advantage in the first round of the playoffs.”

Final Thoughts

It will be a tough go for Madison this year. Their schedule is incredibly tough. Their only breaks come against Pittsburgh, and that’s still a team the Radicals could give one up to.

“We know this season will be a grind and we are preparing for it early,” said Nelson. “Staying on top of our health physically and staying engaged mentally is taking priority. We want to win every game we play, so there will be no games where we take it easy. No rest for the wicked, as they say.”