June 11, 2026
By Charlie Hoppes

To paraphrase “Remember The Titans,” none of us are perfect. But if a team never loses, they have a perfect record. That team, in a sense, becomes a perfect team. The UFA has seen five perfect seasons–the 2013 Toronto Rush and the 2016 Dallas Roughnecks each swept their way to titles in their inaugural seasons, and the New York Empire had unblemished championship runs in 2019, 2022 and 2023. As fans, undefeated seasons capture our imaginations and help us define what greatness looks like in a given year and throughout history.

Right around the midway point of 2026, we have three undefeated teams remaining. The Austin Sol sit at 7-0, having survived two overtime games and a double-overtime game. And thanks to a cross-divisional clash, we will see a team take their first loss on “Friday Night Frisbee”, as the 5-0 Minnesota Wind Chill visit the Bay for their first ever meeting with the 7-0 Oakland Spiders. 

Any time you get a game between opponents in other divisions, it tells us a bit about how these teams could fare at Championship Weekend. Oakland and Minnesota have clearly been the best teams in the West and Central, respectively, thus far, but to match up with another championship contender is a test that is invaluable for these teams. 

The Wind Chill have been pushed for three points this season. In the season opener, the Chicago Union sprinted out to a 3-0 lead. Minnesota answered with a 9-0 run on their own and haven’t looked back. After smashing the Union and Indianapolis Alleycats to start the season, those rematches and a game against the Madison Radicals have been closer. But the Chill have controlled every game this season, and have looked extremely comfortable.

Part of that, of course, is that they have that legendary defense. I spilled some ink in the offseason about just how good the defense has been over the last three seasons, and that was before adding the 2024 Defensive Player Of The Year in Lukas Ambrose. Sure enough, the Wind Chill defense has been elite again in 2026. They are breaking on just over 41 percent of their defensive points, led by waves of excellent defenders. Both Ambrose (5 blocks) and Justin Burnett (nine blocks in just four games) have been nothing short of relentless ballhawks–any time there’s a throw to space with either of them nearby, you have to hold your breath as you watch them close the gap in a blink. Cameron Lacy has largely been regarded as the best puller in the league, and has taken on a bigger role on the counterattack, as he could well surpass his previous season career high in completions on Friday night. But it would be a fool’s errand to try to name all the significant pieces the defense has fielded this year, with six D-liners with four or more blocks in the five games Minnesota has played so far, and contributions to focused break attempts from players up and down the roster. 

And that D-line conversion rate has been the biggest thing for this Minnesota defense so far. The Wind Chill stand at only 10th in the league in blocks per game, after finishing in the top three in that category every season dating all the way back to 2019. But they are converting their break opportunities at a clip that the league has never seen. In the early going, they have a 69 percent D-line conversion percentage, up from their 55.7 percent last year. While D-lines have been converting far better than at any other point in history (only three teams had ever surpassed 60 percent D-line conversion percentage coming into this season, and now seven teams currently sit above that threshold in 2026), it’s clear that a patient approach on the turn has tremendously benefitted the Wind Chill.

In fact, Minnesota has the highest completion percentage in the league. You read that right. The Wind Chill–who finished 16th in completion percentage last year and 20th in their title season of 2024–are sitting at 96 percent right now, better than anyone in the UFA this season or any other. And for the first time in quite a while, they are doing it with their O-line as well. Of the seven players who have played at least 40 O-points, only Bryan Vohnoutka doesn’t currently have his career high in completion percentage. Import Noah Coolman is up five percentage points from his last season in Colorado, original Wind Chill player Josh Klane is almost up to 97 percent, and neither Leo Sovell-Fernandez nor Greg Cousins has so much as turned the disc over once all season. While completion percentage does not necessarily equate to good offense (Minnesota sits outside of the top five in the league for both hold percentage and O-line conversion percentage), it does speak to a new approach taken team-wide. They lead the league in completions per game, and only the New York Empire has fewer turnovers per game than the 12.2 Minnesota has averaged so far. Gone are the days when teams could wait around for the Wind Chill to give them the disc. In 2026, you are going to have to take it from them.

Taking the disc is a task that the Oakland Spiders have been more than up to all summer long.

If Minnesota has controlled their games so far this year, the Spiders have outright dominated all of theirs. Through the first five games, no team kept the game within single-digits of the Spiders, including last season’s West Division champ Salt Lake Shred. They are already plus-78 on their opponents, which would have been the third-best point differential any team had in all of 2025. 

If Oakland doesn’t take the disc from Minnesota, it will be the first time the team lined up across from them has been able to protect the plastic. They have averaged 14.7 blocks per game, a number that belongs alongside the more free-wheeling, pre-pandemic era of the league. Carter Langford is building on his excellent 2025, with 15 blocks already in five games played. He factors into a D-line that features eight players with more than a block per game and multiple games played. And Evan Magsig, a critical part of the Spiders O-line in each of the last three seasons, has flipped to defense and seems poised to both repeat his All-UFA performance and add an All-Defense nod to his trophy case too. Magsig is eighth in the league in assists; needless to say, no one else in the top ten is primarily a D-line player, and he’s a huge part of why Oakland leads the league in break percentage, currently second-best of all time, with 46.6 percent of Spider D points turning into a break. 

And as mind-bending as the defense has been, the offense has been even better. Their 78.3 hold percentage and 62.5 O-line conversion percentage would be flirting with established records, if not for the Empire offense remarkably outpacing them. Daniel Ritthaler moved to offense this season and is second in the league in goals, but the fact is, it’s nearly impossible to effectively guard everyone on the Spiders O-line. If you choose to key in on First Team All-UFA star Walker Frankenberg, Ritthaler will take advantage. Or maybe it’ll be Leo Gordon, or Adam Rees. Dillon Whited is breaking out in his second pro season, and Chander Boyd-Fliegel has been outstanding in his rookie year. And 2025 Callahan winner Dexter Clyburn is back with the team and active for Friday, giving them another top tier playmaker to work with on offense. The depth of talent creates matchup nightmares, even for a team with as many top individual defenders as Minnesota.

Both O- and D-lines for Oakland might appear patient on paper, settling in at 20th in hucks per game. But there is nothing patient about watching the Spiders spin every possession into a track meet. A short pass leads to a big swing, and then suddenly they are burning down the field with defenses left in their dust. As rarely as they huck, they take their looks in rhythm and almost never miss, completing a record-challenging 81.6 percent of their deep shots. This style is electric, and a little dangerous–they are only 10th in red zone conversion percentage, 6th in D-line conversion percentage despite the dominant break percentage, and even their superb offense has a 16 point gap between their hold percentage and their O-line conversion percentage–earlier this week, Shown Space reported that the Spiders lead the league in “dirty” holds, where they had to win the disc back after a turnover, with over 22 percent of their holds coming after turning it on the first try. 

This is where Minnesota’s path to victory lies. Oakland’s O-line won’t turn the disc over much, but as great as they are at getting the disc back, they haven’t faced a team with the Wind Chill’s ability to possess and convert on the turn. If the Wind Chill can punch in a few long, grinding break attempts early, we could see them push for an upset on the road. 

And make no mistake, a win in Oakland would be an upset for perhaps the best Minnesota team to date. Because though the Wind Chill’s hopes for a second title are very real, the Spiders right now are on track to be one of the great teams the league has ever seen. A win on Friday will give them an enormous win, some data points to build on against a fellow title contender, and would keep their perfect season intact, 8-0 and more than half way to joining the Empire as the only teams with three championships. And if they keep their run going, they may join those New York teams, 2013 Toronto, and 2016 Dallas as undefeated champs. It’s not hard to imagine.

Either way, this game is going to tell us a lot about where a couple of the top teams stand beyond their own divisions, and will give us a clash of styles that should be thrilling to ultimate fans and ultimate Xs-and-Os sickos like myself alike. For much of the season, “Friday Night Frisbee” has been can’t-miss television, and this Friday might be the best chapter yet.

ABOUT CHARLIE HOPPES

Charlie Hoppes has coached ultimate for 20 years, including several stints in the UFA. He was co-head coach of the New York Empire–helping to lead them to undefeated championship seasons in 2022 and 2023–and is currently a coaching consultant for the Indianapolis Alleycats. Hoppes provides individualized coaching services to players, coaches, and teams at all levels through Charlie Hoppes Ultimate Coaching & Consulting (CHUCC). Learn more at charliehoppes.com