By: Brett Gombita
Pittsburgh, PA – Tonight, the Pittsburgh Thunderbirds (0-1) host the Madison Radicals (1-0) in their second game of the 2026 season. The Thunderbirds are coming off a 32-24 loss to the Montreal Royal this past Sunday in what was the highest-scoring Ultimate Frisbee Association (UFA) game since 2022.
Thunderbirds Head Coach David Berg shared some insight into what went well in the opener despite the loss.
“Our offense was good. Our intent was to space the field, and we gave ourselves deep looks,” said Berg. “Overall, we remained patient and kept finding space once deep looks were taken away. We came out with a lot of energy and executed our game plan very well in the first quarter despite failing to capitalize on a couple of things.”
The end of the first quarter was a key momentum shift in the game. After Pittsburgh missed a throw on the goal line that could have resulted in a break score, Montreal capitalized and tied the game at 6-6 as time expired in the quarter.
The Thunderbirds held multiple one-goal leads throughout the second quarter and briefly extended the advantage to 11-9. However, Montreal regained the lead with 46 seconds remaining in the first half and never gave it back.
Thunderbirds handler Ian Piper impressed in his professional debut, throwing for 582 yards while recording five assists and one goal. Berg gave his thoughts on Piper’s performance.
“You saw the throwing ability. That’s something we were very focused on building an O-line around. He had a lot of deep throws on the money. It was exciting and encouraging to see early on.”
Injury Issues
With six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, handler Will Hoffenkamp exited the game with an injury. According to Berg, Hoffenkamp is questionable for tomorrow’s matchup against Madison with only a five-day turnaround between games.
Note, as of publishing this article, Hoffenkamp is now expected to be listed as out due to the injury and will not play tonight’s game against the Radicals.
The Thunderbirds are currently dealing with a litany of injuries. Aidan Landis will not suit up tonight due to a hamstring issue, rookie Alex Stevenson suffered an oblique injury, Ian Piper, the star from the Thunderbirds opener won’t suit up due to a shoulder impingement, and Brendan Gessner is listed as questionable still with a quad injury.
After having only 2 out of the 36 rostered players with an injury designation, 8 of the 36 came in with an injury tag this week.
“Part of the reason we have such a deep roster to begin with is for situations like this,” says General Manager Andrew Gardner. “All 36 players are going to make an impact because the UFA season, despite being only twelve games long, is really really long.”
Harry Park is currently listed to make his UFA debut, and several others will be making their 2026 debuts after having not played in the opener.
What to expect from Madison
Berg also discussed what he expects from the Radicals heading into the match-up.
“I think we are going to see a more physical team. We’ll see a lot more junky defenses trying to disrupt our throw, a lot more double teams, and a lot more defenders trying to make plays. More organized chaos than the person-to-person matchups that we saw from Montreal.”
First pull tonight against Madison is set for 7:00PM at F.N.B. Field as the Thunderbirds host dollar beer night from 6-7pm. The first 100 fans will also receive a Thunderbirds scarf.
Tickets for tonight's game can be purchased here.
The next day at F.N.B. Stadium (formerly Highmark Stadium) at Noon, the Thunderbirds will be hosting the inaugural Premier Cup, presented by Two Frays Brewery. Pittsburgh’s amateur elite women and non-binary ultimate frisbee athletes take on the Professional Premier Ultimate League's (PUL) Indianapolis Red in a first of its kind historic event.
Tickets for that event can be purchased here.
Next Up for the Thunderbirds
On the Road: at New York Empire on Friday, May 29 at 7:30PM and at Philadelphia Phoenix on Saturday, May 30 at 6:00PM. Watch both contests here or by going to watchufa.tv
At Home: vs Carolina Flyers on Saturday, June 6 at 7:00PM. Superheroes Night at F.N.B. Stadium. Dollar Hot Dog Night. KDKA’S Mary Ours will sing the National Anthem. Tickets can be purchased here.
