Matt Messina
The Radicals’ Nate Bosscher plays defense against the Minnesota Wind Chill earlier this summer.
The Madison Radicals are no strangers to the American Ultimate Disc League’s Championship Weekend. They’ve competed in the sport’s Final Four-style playoff every year since their inaugural season in 2013, yet have never won a national title. Madison also is the only AUDL city to host Championship Weekend twice, first in 2016 and now on Aug. 11-12.
The No. 2 seed Radicals (13-2) will play the Los Angeles Aviators (12-3) on Aug. 11 at 7 p.m. at Breese Stevens Field in what will no doubt be a festive environment. The first semifinal game between the No. 1 seed Dallas Roughnecks (14-1) and the New York Empire (10-6) begins at 4 p.m. The championship is scheduled for Aug. 12 at noon.
Tickets for all three games are available for $20 at shop.radicalsultimate.com, and games will be streamed live on WatchStadium.com. Tickets for individual games also are available.
The fact that the other Championship Weekend teams hail from some of the largest cities in the United States is not lost on Radicals head coach Tim DeByl, who says Madison — among the smallest cities in the 23-team league established in 2012 — boasts one of the AUDL’s most engaged and educated fan bases. Last season, the Radicals became the first franchise in league history to average more than 1,000 fans per game.
The roughly 4,000 seats at Breese Stevens make the intimate, historic stadium the perfect size for professional ultimate, and the expansion to 5,000 seats by next year to accommodate Madison’s new professional soccer team will benefit the Radicals, too.
“Breese Stevens is the most professional stadium for ultimate in the league right now,” DeByl says. “So the expansion will give us the opportunity to host more Championship Weekends.”
The last time Championship Weekend came to Madison, the Radicals fell to the Seattle Cascades by one goal in front of a near-sellout crowd. Last year, at Championship Weekend in Montreal, Madison dropped a semifinal game to the San Francisco Flamethrowers. All told, the Radicals have been eliminated in the semis three times and lost two title games.
Now, DeByl and the Radicals hope the sixth time’s the charm. Madison has never played Los Angeles, and both teams average 25 points per game. The Radicals hold the edge in fewer points allowed (17.9 vs. 22.1), and both teams run a spread offense with a roster of strong throwers.
“It’s definitely the matchup I wanted,” DeByl says. “I feel as confident coming into a Championship Weekend as I ever have.”
