Fast Takes with Fast Break: Boston v New York
Author: Ben Mertens
PC: Major League Quadball
Once again, the East Division all comes down to New York vs Boston. While the Washington Admirals can still technically win the division, they would need Boston to sweep New York, then sweep Boston themselves, and win the division on point differential. In all likelihood, the East Division will be decided this weekend.
Only once before have the Titans won this series—in 2021, when they similarly entered the showdown with Boston a perfect 9-0. Last season, New York came in with all the momentum, only to be stonewalled by Boston and see the division crown return to the Forge. The biggest factor in that victory was Max Havlin and Lulu Xu, who used the weekend to re-establish themselves as the best beater pair in the sport. This year, neither will be on roster due to injuries that also held them out of the World Cup last weekend, and any path to victory for the Forge starts with figuring out how to win without the two greatest players in Boston’s illustrious Quadball history.
The World Cup hangs large over this weekend. The series will be played during MLQ World’s Weekend with a large international audience in attendance. A whopping nine players—five from New York and four from Boston—won gold medals together last weekend. But the relative pronounce of the two programs at World Cup was in sharp contrast. While the 2016 and 2018 versions of the US National Team relied heavily on Boston players as the core, this year saw Xu sidelined with injury, and Ian Scura and Athena Mayor inactive for multiple games as the coaching staff looked elsewhere for production. Taylor Crawford, playing on a line with his USQ teammates from New York, was the only Forge player who played a major role in the finals. In contrast, the USNT relied heavily on an all Warriors lineup of Jon Jackson, Janko Gvozedenovic, and Lindsay Marella, used Tate Kay extensively at beater, and got major production out of Leo Fried in a spark plug role. The imagery could not be more clear: New York, fresh off its first ever USQ championship, on the ascendancy, with Boston, now four years removed from their last championship, beginning to fade.
Of course, the narrative was similar heading into this series last year, only for the new-look Forge to beat the favored Titans and storm back to the Finals. That brings us back to this weekend. New York has only really been challenged once this year, in their season opener, which came down to a golden goal situation. New York dominated dodgeball control in that game, something I expect to happen again in this series with Havlin, Xu and Jess Lee all absent. However, Washington was able to hang in the game for three reasons. The first was that their beaters did not play scared. When they didn’t have control they were aggressive, but not foolish, about trying to win control back and make plays, and when they did have control they flipped the tables on New York by running a few successful presses of their own. I’m expecting Boston to be able to do the same in this series. Kieran Collier and Leeanne Dillman have never played scared in their lives. Serena Monteiro and Fiona Wisehart are both coming off excellent seasons with the Boston Pandas and a great first series this summer against the Aviators, and should be very ready to step into Havlin and Xu’s roles. Expect Boston’s beaters to still play like Boston’s beaters even if control swings New York’s way overall.
The second key to Washington staying close was their chasers matched New York’s physically. This will be a big test for Boston. New York is a smart team with excellent ball movement and top notch drivers. Through sheer force or through calculated passing, they will get multiple looks right at the hoops. In game 1 of the Washington series, the Admirals stood them up multiple times. Sometimes New York just missed, but on most occasions it was a big hit from the Admirals chasers that forced the miss. Boston is armed with top notch point defenders, but Scura as a hoops defender is more of a mid-range shot blocker than a Tyler Trudeau style brick wall. Can Boston get those hoops stops, either from Scura or from other big bodies like Zach Doyle and Peter Lawrence?
On the other side of the ball, Washington found success by successfully passing around New York’s press attempts and punishing them from behind the hoops. Boston is well-equipped to run this same attack. Scura’s long range shooting is a natural counter to presses, but so too is a rapid passing attack. Scura has really improved as a quick trigger passer in the last 12 months, and Mayor excels as a zone-beater, either with the ball in her hands as a facilitator or off the ball as a cutter. Crawford and Harry Greenhouse give the team veteran players who have seen every press in the book, and younger players like Andrew Steinberg give them a dose of speed and unpredictability. As on the other side of the ball, it might come down to how many of Boston’s good looks, whether they’re mid-range shots or dunks, actually find their mark.
Washington did all those things right in their near-upset, benefitted from a speed of light catch by TJ Generette, and still lost in the end. It will take a nearly perfect effort to beat this loaded New York team. In addition to all that USNT talent (and remember, Marella didn’t even play against Washington), they host stars like Tessa Mullins, Devin Lee and Christian Barnes at beater and Molly Potter, Jahved Cole, (who had an excellent set of scrimmages with the USNT Developmental Academy,) Mike Li and Annika Kim. This Titans team looks ready for a real run at the Benepe cup.
Boston is a proud, storied franchise that is going to come into this game looking to prove the division is and will always be theirs. I expect another close game 1. If Boston can take that first game, we’ll get to see New York have to respond to real adversity—a necessary test for any champion. Ultimately, I expect Boston will take at least one game, preventing New York from a perfect season, but I expect the Titans to still end Saturday night with the series win and division crown.
Prediction: New York 2-1.
