Kim Winheim
Jadon Scullion (center right) during the Radicals’ home opener win over the Chicago Wildfire.
The high-flying Madison Radicals ended last season on the lowest possible note, blowing a seven-point lead and losing, 26-25, to the Seattle Cascades in the semifinals of the American Ultimate Disc League’s Championship Weekend at Breese Stevens Field in August.
“Over the [final] 14 minutes of play, we would get outscored by eight goals in our home stadium in front of the largest crowd in AUDL history,” Radicals head coach Tim DeByl says. “It was the hardest loss that I have ever been a part of, and even now the team is struggling to overcome the weight of it. Every player, coach and staff member poured their hearts into last season. I think, right now, trying to replicate that again feels like a really big hill to climb.”
Such brutally honest words may explain why the Radicals, undefeated throughout the 2016 regular season, are off to a 3-1 start and in second place in the AUDL’s Midwest Division.
“We’ve come out flat and been down in the first half of … our first games,” DeByl adds. “It’s something we are not used to. We’ve been so good for so long. I think we are all struggling as a team to find a new identity for the season.” The team’s record (for the record) is 61-11 over its first four years and this year’s four games.
The Radicals return 23 players from last year’s squad and will rely heavily on all-purpose veterans Pat Shriwise and Kevin Pettit-Scantling, who are among the team leaders in blocks. Former UW-Madison Hodags Sterling Knoche and Ross Barker are among the newcomers, as is former Badger football wide receiver and Madison East standout Marquis Mason.
A three-game homestand begins May 20 against the Pittsburgh Thunderbirds. The Radicals play the Chicago Wild on May 27 and then face the defending AUDL champion Dallas Roughnecks on June 3 as part of the league’s new interdivisional play.
All Radicals home games are played at Breese Stevens Field, and most begin at 6 p.m. Tickets are $8 at the gate ($7 online), and kids 12 and under are free.
DeByl and his players are counting on more record crowds this season. “Home games with big crowds can get us re-energized and refocused,” the coach says. “Our goal is to be in the Final Four in August in Montreal [at AUDL Championship Weekend], and it’s something I am sure we are capable of accomplishing. This team has shown so much heart over the last four years; I have no doubt that we will find our way again.”
Editor's note: The photo caption has been edited to indicate the player is Jadon Scullion, not Jason.
