Fast takes with Fast Break: Monarchs at Raiders
Last week solidified how the top of each division would look with the Championship Bracket all set for MLQ Championships. This weekend, high stakes games in the South and North Divisions will determine who will see each other in the Play-In Bracket. The last week of the regular season kicks off at noon in Canada, where the Minneapolis Monarchs will fly to Toronto to take on the Raiders. For both these teams, postseason seeding is on the line. The winner of the series will get the three-seed in the division, earning themselves a bye in the first round of the play-in bracket. The loser of the series will get the four-seed, where they will have to play an extra game in the double elimination bracket, and square off against the Charlotte Aviators in their first game. With Maryland implications at stake, expect the Raider-Monarch matchup to be intense.
A Short History
For two teams that are in the same division, the Raiders and Monarchs are quite unfamiliar with each other. Despite both being in the North Division since 2019, these franchises have only played one series against each other, a record low for any two teams in the same division. The pandemic and the North Division split has kept Toronto and Minneapolis off the same field for over five years. Yet when these two teams met, their three games could not have been closer (literally for games two and three). The one series they played in Indianapolis, a neutral site, was the closest set of games for a series in MLQ history. Toronto came out on top by 15 points in the first game, Minneapolis took the next game by 5 points, and Toronto struck back with a 5 point win in game three. With all games between the two teams being golden-goal scenarios, the Raider-Monarch matchup is the historically-tightest between any teams in MLQ.
With the way the regular season has gone, we might expect to see another close series this weekend. Most MLQ followers likely had this matchup penciled-in for the Monarchs at the start of the season. Given the known talent on Minneapolis’ roster and the dominance from 2021 and 2022, the Monarchs looked to be the heavy favorite. Yet, the regular season thus far has suggested these teams might be evenly matched. Both teams are coming into the series 3-6. Both have had a devastating loss to Chicago, a dominant win against Cleveland, and a sizable loss to Detroit. By playing the same three opponents in similar fashion, the Monarchs and Raiders appear to be at a similar level. This series will prove if these teams are tightly contested, or if one is playing at a higher level.
A New Trashing
Toronto has been waiting eagerly for this matchup. For the entirety of the MLQ season, the Raiders have been ranked 13th in the league in our Fast Break News polls, consistently several spots below Minneapolis. Considering Toronto has asserted themselves to be playing at the same level of the Monarchs, they have been itching to trash Minneapolis all season, and prove to the league that they deserve to be outside the bottom three teams.
In order to trash the two time North Division Champions, the Raiders will need to rely on their consistent goal scorers. Leading the group all season has been Nathan Reid, who after coming over from Ottawa, has racked up 13 goals throughout the summer (10 more than last season with the Black Bears). The Raiders are also welcoming back Michael Wanless, who was not rostered for the Chicago series. After scoring a third of Toronto’s points last week against the Prowl, look for Sarah Dykstra to hit some big time shots against the Monarchs. Other than Dykstra, rookie Lachland Craig was the only other Toronto player to score multiple goals against the Prowl. Craig has been a consistent defensive presence in the green headband, and an assist maker for the Raiders. In order to stop the Monarch’s rule, expect these chasers to rise through the stat sheets on Saturday.
The Toronto beaters will also need to take on a veteran beater corp. With Alexander Scherger reunited with Emma Sherwood after missing the Chicago series, expect the starting pair to give the Monarchs some trouble. Brittany Taylor and Derek Taylor, the newly married couple, will likely also see the pitch together. This beater pair has led the Raiders in stops so far this season, and will likely need to rack up stops against Minneapolis’ strong drivers to stop the Monarchs. Piotr Makuch will also need to continue his solid control rate for Toronto. Makuch is the only Raider who averages higher than 1.5 dodgeballs through the first two series. Other beaters on the team will have to join him for success against Minneapolis, since the Monarchs’ beaters can create a lot of opportunities for their offense when they have control.
For the Raiders to pull out the win, they will need to regain their dominance in the seeking game. Before last weekend, the Raiders had always won the flag runner battle, catching in five out of six games. Last weekend against the Prowl was the first weekend they lost that battle, with Chicago catching in all three games. The star seeker for the Raiders thus far has been Christos Kaldis, who has recorded four catches for Toronto this season alone. Last week, the Prowl were able to stop him from getting time with the flag runner. Considering how close the Raiders and Monarchs have looked all season, a catch might be the swing Toronto needs to win the series. If Kaldis can get some time with the runner, a pull would give the Raiders the edge and momentum they need to win.
The Restoration of the Migration
After a 3-6 season, the Monarchs are going to use their series against the Raiders as an opportunity to push for momentum heading into MLQ Championships. Last season, the Monarchs made a historic postseason run, being the first North Division team to come out undefeated. This year, they have a chance to repeat, and even go further, but they need to get on the right track. If they can’t fly out of Toronto with three wins, it seems unlikely the Monarchs will be able to make a postseason run. However, if they soar home with three dominant wins, this could put them on track to make the same kind of run they made last season. This weekend provides the perfect opportunity against Toronto to regroup and restore their reign before Maryland.
After missing key pieces against Detroit and Cleveland, the Monarch roster seems to be restored for their migration to Canada. They return critical goal scorers and facilitators Emma Persons and Max Meier. Chasers that needed to step up during the SuperSeries, such as Mike Devine, Alexander Obanor, and Ben Zimet, all did so against the Cleveland Riff where they all scored over eight or more goals. In addition, rookies Brady Charles, Bryn Gustafson, Maya Shrestha, Phoebe Thomas, and Cecelia Voth all took flight against the Riff with a combined twelve goals among them, each of them scoring multiple times throughout the series. Despite some solid performances against Cleveland, only one Monarchs chaser scored more than five goals against Detroit. Joe Goulet’s surgical shots and electric dunks lead to him putting up 90 points against the Innovators. Against the Raiders, Minneapolis will likely need another big performance from Goulet, and more of his teammates to help him out. The return of many of their star chasers could not come at a better time for the Monarchs who would like a dominant performance to lead them into Champs.
On the beater end, Minneapolis is hoping its veteran beater corp can establish their pace against Toronto. After missing the SuperSeries, Nicole Nelson is returning to the field, who will hopefully be able to fill some minutes from the Monarchs. Nelson’s return likely means she will beat with head coach Cody Narveson, so the Monarchs can reestablish the three pairs they ran against Chicago. A key player to look out for during the series is Nadja Melby, who was the only beater for Minneapolis to finish with a neutral plus/minus. The rest of the Monarch beaters all finished in the negative. Melby will likely beat with Nathan Podolsky against the Raiders; look for the pair to successfully lead the Monarch’s offensive attacks. The third pair we will likely see on the field is Meredith McDowell and Ben Schlueter, both who played a large role during the SuperSeries and will likely see big minutes against Toronto. The Raiders’ beater pairs will try to push the pace on the Monarch pairs, so if the Monarch pairs can reign it in and focus quadball, the beaters can slow down the Toronto offense.
The Monarchs will also look to challenge the Raiders in the seeker game. Even though Toronto has double the number of catches than Minneapolis, look for Devine to be a formidable opponent to the Raider’s ace Kaldis. After going the first series catchless, Devine was able to catch twice for the Monarchs during the SuperSeries. Getting Devine on a catching-streak can be lethal, not just for the Raiders but for any team they see in Maryland.
Prediction
While these teams have only met once in the past, they have a record of playing extremely tight games against each other. Given their similarities against common opponents so far this season, expect another close series between the Raiders and Monarchs. The return of Minneapolis’ chasing stars, means the Monarchs will rack up points against the Toronto defense. That being said, the Raiders have proven to be much more efficient after 20 minutes than Minneapolis. Three Toronto catches makes the series close, but the Monarchs migrate home happy with their best chaser performance of the year with multiple scorers recording over 50 points.
Monarchs 3-0
