Buzzer Beater: Weathered Results [UFA Week 2, 2025]

While some games were not completed in full, Week 2 provided plenty of intrigue as the UFA season really gets underway.

May 5, 2025 by Alex Rubin in Rankings, Recap

Hi everyone, welcome back to my weekly Buzzer Beater column. Here I will focus on one major storyline each week. The column will also share some news and notes beyond that big story and will be the place to share our most up-to-date power rankings. If you have questions about the UFA, you can also write in to fill up the mailbag. If you missed any UFA offseason coverage, you can catch up with my season preview here.

While weather shortened two marquee games this weekend, fans were still treated to a barnburner in Seattle, several teams making their debut, and the first look at the rookie-filled Toronto Rush.

Rushing to Judgment

The new-look Toronto Rush were down by as many as five goals early in their season opener against the Breeze in DC, but they chipped away at DC’s lead and tied the game at 16 midway through the fourth quarter. The Rush dominated the headlines this offseason with their additions of Arvīds Kārkliņš, Toms Ābeltiņš, Tom Blasman, Connor McHale, and Simone Gasperini of European fame and returning Canadian stars like Mark Lloyd, Ty Barbieri, Mike Mackenzie, James Lewis, and Wilkie Lewis. The offseason additions made an instant impact, with Blasman’s four assists and Barbieri’s five goals leading the way. As with any talented team coming together for the first time, though, questions about the team’s chemistry persisted, and in this game a few late throwaways helped the Breeze regain their advantage and hang on for a 19-18 win.

A well-adjusted team would then be able to turn around and play just as competitively against a resurgent Philadelphia team, but the Rush lost there too, 19-16. In addition to getting used to playing with each other, many of the Rush newcomers are adapting to playing on the bigger UFA field and in longer UFA games. Players often say that a UFA game is comparable to an entire tournament day in the college or club divisions, which typically features 3-4 games played. Toronto showed signs of wear and tear in their second game of a back-to-back, with all of their efficiency numbers dropping compared to a day earlier except their redzone percentage, which was perfect against Philadelphia. The Rush had fewer blocks and more turnovers on the second day as well.

Marty Gallant¹ emerged from this road trip as a key driver of the Rush offense to add another player to the list of opponents’ game plans, and the Rush clearly have the tools to be competitive in the league’s toughest division. However, with an 0-2 start Toronto has dug itself a decent hole to climb out of in order to get back in the playoff picture, especially with Philadelphia now entering the competitive tier in the division.

While it is only two games, and Toronto was really playing together for the first time, the team will need to get used to UFA quirks like the wider field and moving the disc out of double teams in order to reach success. Early impressions often do not tell the entire story, but they can provide warning signs indicating whether or not new teams are ready to take their next competitive step. The Rush have another shot at the Phoenix this weekend—this time on home turf—and it will be especially interesting to see what adjustments they make so soon after their first matchup with Philadelphia.

News and Notes

• Pittsburgh beat Indianapolis 25-21, giving some shape to the Central Division standings. Seth Gudeman’s five goals and two blocks kept Indy in the game. Marcel Oliart matched his five goal performance for Pittsburgh.
• Noa Chun-Moy led a gritty defensive effort for Madison, as they took down Houston in a weather-shortened Friday Night Frisbee game. The fourth quarter was not played, so both teams’ counting stats will look diminished. The game also was not exactly an offensive showcase–neither team cracked 40% O-line conversion (scores divided by total offensive possessions).
• In the second game of their road trip, Madison found themselves down 5-1 early against Austin and could not complete a comeback. Jackson Potts had perhaps the game of his career with five assists and four goals for Austin.
• Carolina and Atlanta made it midway through the second quarter before their game was postponed due to weather. Atlanta led 8-7 when the game was stopped. These division rivals are scheduled to play each other three more times this season, so it is possible that the completion of this game will be tacked on to one of those matchups.

• Oakland held off a furious Seattle comeback to leave the Emerald City with a 22-21 win. The Cascades scored nine fourth quarter goals to close a four-goal deficit, but the Spiders still managed to pull out the important win to set early positioning in the West Division playoff race. Seattle’s Zeppelin Raunig scored an astonishing ten goals, while Leo Gordon continued his Rookie of the Year case with four goals and four assists for Oakland.
• The Spiders then went down to Portland and crushed the Steel. Oakland notched 16 blocks, including four from Morgan Sommer, as a team in the 28-13 win. Oakland closed the game on a 15-2 run.
• The Salt Lake Shred beat the Las Vegas Bighorns 22-12. Reed Browning’s four assists from the D-line led Salt Lake. Las Vegas’s Joel Clutton added three goals to his season total, but impressively does not yet have a turnover for a team that is among the league leaders in throwaways.
• The San Diego Growlers won both games in their home-and-home set against fellow South Division newcomers the Los Angeles Aviators. Growlers cutter Khalif El-Salaam notched three goals and two assists in his return to San Diego during the first game (a 19-12 win). In the second game (a 25-16 Growlers win) Travis Dunn dropped eight assists and two goals.

Mailbag

Have a question about the UFA? Send it in to [email protected] with UFA Mailbag in the subject line. Subscribers can also DM me in the Ultiworld Discord or post questions in the UFA channel so others can chime in.

UFA Power Rankings Week 2

• Philadelphia enters the top ten with their 2-0 start to the season including wins over the Breeze and Rush.
• Oregon’s turnover-filled first few games drop them below Indianapolis and Los Angeles, who looked stronger in their losses.
• Minnesota makes their debut next week; it’s been a quiet week towards the top of the power rankings, but that could all change soon.

1. Who has now played for all three eastern Canadian teams in league history ↩