April 29, 2013 by Charlie Eisenhood in Recap with 1 comments
With the third week in the AUDL now in the books, teams are starting to get their legs under them, feel comfortable with the game, and develop that elusive chemistry needed to succeed later in the season. Teams are beginning to distinguish themselves at the top of the league, and almost 25% of the games completed, standings are beginning to matter.
MIDWEST DIVISION
Detroit Mechanix 15 – Cincinnati Revolution 11
The Mechanix headed on the road for their first outdoor game in Cincinnati and handed the Revolution a loss in the low-scoring affair. The Mechanix have now won two straight with Ken Porter on the field and head back home for two straight, including an important upcoming game against the Wind Chill.
Detroit did a nice job containing the Cincinnati offense in this one, using the poor weather to their advantage to force CIncinnati into a record-low scoring performance.
Windy City Wildfire 25 – Indianapolis Alleycats 15
In Brodie Smith’s return to Indianapolis, the Wildfire rebounded nicely from last week’s loss against the Radicals to easily take down the Alleycats on the road. The game was close for most of the first half, but after being tied at 8-8, Windy City went on a 15-4 run to blow the game wide open.
Cameron Brock scored just five goals for the Alleycats, well below his usual output. Brock tweeted after the game, “I apologize to all AlleyCat fans for that performance tonight. I have no words to describe just how terrible that was.”
Rain caused a lot of execution errors for the Alleycats, who have now lost two straight at home.
Windy City Wildfire 23 – Cincinnati Revolution 16
The Wildfire continued their success at home against the Revolution on Sunday with a 23-16 win in Chicago. Windy City again showed their ability to close it out late, going on a 5-1 run in the fourth quarter. The Revolution have slipped to the bottom of the Midwestern Conference.
A bright spot for the Revolution: Ryan Sitler had two goals, two assists, a block, and a lot of touches, and earned player of the game honors from the Revolution.
Brodie Smith had 13 assists and just four turnovers for the Wildfire.
Madison Radicals 22 – Minnesota Wind Chill 20
The Madison Radicals came to Minnesota for their home opener and handed the Wind Chill their second straight loss. The players on these teams know each other well and this is a matchup we will continue to keep an eye on during the season.
Madison did just enough down the stretch to steal this game on the road and head into their home opener next weekend with a Wind Chill rematch on the calendar.
Madison has now spoiled two teams’ home openers — the Wildfire and the Wind Chill. The teams are considered their top opponents in the Midwest.
EASTERN DIVISION
Philadelphia Phoenix 26 – Rochester Dragons 14
The Phoenix continue to impress early in the season with a big blowout over the league’s worst team, the Rochester Dragons. The Esser brothers lit up the stats sheet and look to be one of the league’s most dynamic duos as they head into their rivalry game next week against the Breeze.
The Phoenix now sit in second place in the Eastern Division with a 1-1 record; their loss came to the 4-0 Toronto Rush, who beat them by just one point. Big games are coming up for Philadelphia, New York, and New Jersey, who all want to distinguish themselves as the division’s #2 team.
Toronto Rush 22 – New York Empire 14
Although the New York Empire kept it close in the first half, offensive mistakes and poor decision making let the Rush run away with the game in the second half. Toronto’s Mark Lloyd and Jeff Lindquist had big performances to lead the Rush to their third straight road victory.
The Empire lacked mental toughness and didn’t execute down the stretch, often throwing to receivers covered by tall Rush defenders. Their defense also failed to put much pressure on the Rush handlers, who were content to swing across the field until space opened up through the middle. Most of New York’s breaks came off of drops and other unforced errors.
DC Breeze 26 – Rochester Dragons 25
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The DC Breeze got their first W of the season with a thrilling double game point, double overtime victory over the Dragons, who fell to 0-4. Justin Solis had a big game for the Breeze, including the game-winning score.
The Breeze travel to Philadelphia this weekend for a showdown and an early test for DC.
Toronto Rush 29 – New Jersey Hammerheads 19
The Rush handled their business in New Jersey to move to 4-0 on the season. Albert Alarcon played well for the Hammerheads, despite having played at Metro East Regionals for his college team, Rutgers, earlier in the weekend.
The Rush got big performances from Isaiah Masek-Kelly (who also played very well against the Empire), Jeff Lindquist, and Cam Harris. They are set for their home opener next weekend after two grueling road trips down the East Coast.
With a quarter of their games in the books, it’s already looking difficult for anyone to catch the Rush for the #1 spot in the Eastern Division.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
Minnesota Wind Chill @ Madison Radicals – Friday, May 3
DC Breeze @ Philadelphia Phoenix – Sunday, May 5
