Fast Takes with FastBreak: Cleveland v Rochester
Authors: Caleb Van Buren, Madeleine Fordham, & Joseph Lombardi
PC: Major League Quadball
To launch Week 8 of the Major League Quadball season, the Cleveland Riff will make the 4-hour trip up I-90 to take on a young Rochester Whiteout team, as both franchises look to earn their first wins of the season. Winning this series will be essential, as the winner will have the advantage of a second-place matchup at the North Division Championship, and a much easier path towards a MLQ Championship bid.
Matchup History
In recent history, this matchup has predominantly swung in the favor of the Whiteout. Last season, the Whiteout dismantled the Riff in a 3-game series sweep with a large average score difference of 110 points. This was a continued trend from 2018 when the Whiteout had also swept the Riff in their last encounter. Rochester leads this matchup with an all-time record of 12-3 against Cleveland, and perhaps most notably, the Riff have never taken a game from the Whiteout when playing in Rochester. However, this series between the Riff and Whiteout will feature new-look rosters and play styles that could disrupt what is normally a very one-sided affair.
Series Rosters
As you review the Cleveland Riff’s series roster, their beater depth stands out as a clear weakness. Flashing back to over a month ago to the Riff’s series against the Toronto Raiders, the Riff boasted a complete beater core of eight players (closer to 10 when you consider their two beater utility players). While that core had its fair share of struggles against a palpable Raiders beater core, they managed to hang around and give the Riff a shot to sneak out a win, particularly in Game 1 of the series. Now, that beater core has been more than halved for this series, with the top two beater lines missing their usual counterparts. Among the absentees are Austin Howe and Aaron Oehler. Howe has distinguished themself as one of Cleveland’s premier beaters over the past few seasons, and this season is no different. They lead the Riff in average dodgeballs per shift at 1.70 dodgeballs/shift, followed closely by Oehler at 1.67 dodgeballs/shift. After sustaining an ACL injury during practice, they will be sidelined for at least this series. Oehler has also been a bright spot for Cleveland over the past few seasons. Besides being highly versatile as a utility beater, Oehler was the only Riff beater to have a non-negative +/- ratio in their matchup against the Raiders. Both will be sorely missed in a battle against one of the division’s best beater pairs in Patrick Callanan and Josh Kramer. If the Riff are to succeed in the dodgeball game, it will come from the hands of Sam Beeler and Gabbie Benda. Beeler is a veteran beater with a proven MLQ pedigree. As a part of Cleveland’s top beater pair, they shined in a free beater role, providing a cool and collected presence both on and off the pitch. Despite lacking the MLQ background, Benda has demonstrated they belong as one of the Riff’s top beaters after a notably strong performance against the Raiders. Both players managed nearly 1.50 dodgeballs/shift average against the Raiders, a rare statistic considering the scoreline of the series. Cleveland will have to rely on these two beaters heavily to support their weakened beater core this weekend.
Rochester is not particularly deep at the beater position this season. However, they have an experienced and versatile beater corps capable of playing extremely technical or highly physical depending what the situation calls for. The five beaters that made the trip to Toronto earlier this month will be bolstered by the addition of Akshat Shah. Shah will provide Rochester with two full lines of experienced beaters sets to rotate through against a Cleveland Riff team that will be without their top beaters. As seen occasionally during the Toronto Series, both Patrick Callanan and Josh Kramer were aggressive and brought a level of physicality to the beater game normally seen by former Rochester chasing lines. Rochester will have Madeleine Fordham and to use as a change of pace player, and allow the Whiteout to have a traditional-looking set when they desire. Fordham is a capable free-beater with great hands and field awareness, and is strong enough to be left on their own if Rochester decides to maintain their physical play style, and run 1.5 sets on offense. If the Rochester Whiteout can establish beater dominance early and often during this series, it will reduce the pressure felt on a weakened chaser corps and create opportunities for easy goals that were hard to come by in the Toronto series.
In contrast to their beater core, this will be the best quadball squad that the Riff have rostered all season. The biggest addition to the group is the return of superstar Melinda Staup. Staup is a do-it-all, highly versatile utility player, capable of making a significant impact on any side of the ball. They will provide a much-needed opposite side cutting option that the Riff sorely missed against the Raiders. Staup is also a capable seeker who’d likely give the Riff their best opportunity to catch this weekend. Alongside Staup will be the ever reliable Peter Brechting. As predicted prior to the start of the season, Brechting has made their presence known as the premier offensive chaser in Cleveland. Capable of driving, distance shooting, and smart dishes, they racked up a team-leading four goals and three assists on a day where their fellow teammates had struggled. Defensively, Brechting had huge stops against Toronto, accounting for the second most stops on the team with three. Another player who stood out in the Toronto series was recent MLQ transfer, Joseph Lombardi. Lombardi was the lead offensive threat for the Riff first line, scoring two goals and dispatching a team-best seven assists. They were also the only Cleveland player to have a positive point-to-turnover ratio on the weekend. Lombardi posed a huge threat to the Raiders offense throughout the series, leading both teams in defensive stops. With several other viable chaser threats, expect the Riff to have an edge in the quadball game.
If I sound like a broken record, please don’t stop reading: Rochester has a question mark once again as to who will be the primary ball handlers for this series against Cleveland. With Mitch Vargas being omitted from the roster due to injury, and Alyssa Giarosso reportedly questionable and a game time decision from a knock earlier in the week, it remains to be seen who will answer the call. Fortunately for the Whiteout, the return of veteran quadball player Cody Keefer should fill that playmaker role on at least one of the lines for this series. Keefer brings a physical dynamic that no player could replicate on either roster. Keefer’s size and strength make him a lethal driving threat that Cleveland can only counter by marking him with a beater. Keefer’s arm strength allows him to make deep pinpoint passes or shoot from range. This driving threat will open up drive-and-dish opportunities for cutters like Ben Stonish (6G), Zach Sobel-Pressman (2G:1A), and Viviania Estrada (1G). By combining Kit Powpour (7G:5A) and Keefer, the Whiteout might be able to replicate the magic we saw last season between Powpour and Basem Ashkar. Powpour’s nose for goals behind hoops, combined with the triple threat that Keefer poses, will force Riff’s defense into chaos on how to cover both of them. Expect either JD Hopton or Joe Glichowski, who had six assists against Toronto, to step up and lead the second line. That line will need to put points on the board to keep the Whiteout within striking distance of Cleveland before the twenty minute break.
Players to Watch For
Sam Beeler will be the X-factor for the Cleveland Riff’s success this weekend. As previously mentioned, their experience and ability are never in doubt, and they are more than capable of handling one the division’s best beater lines. However, they will have the added pressure of guiding far less experienced beaters this weekend than they would normally. Not to mention, they will need to adapt to a hard-hitting, physical Whiteout beater corp - far more athletic than the Toronto Raiders’ beater lines. Beeler will need to communicate effectively and lead by example if the Riff have any hope of hanging with Rochester in the beater game.
Cody Keefer will provide the Rochester Whiteout with a change of pace player that they were sorely missing in their series against the Toronto Raiders. Their ability to drive and draw attention from opposing defenses is unmatched, and is even comparable to the likes of USNT star, Tyler Trudeau. He might lack the agility he once showed only a few seasons ago, but outside of 2-3 Cleveland players, no one is coming close to stopping the full speed freight train known as Cody Keefer. He also is a menace on defense, serving as one of the league’s best open field tacklers. He has the ability to cover all three hoops by himself and stop any driver Cleveland throws at him, allowing Rochester to play a high spread, pressing defense when he is bearing the green headband.
Ad Ojo is coming off an incredible IQA World Cup performance for the African Nations only two weeks ago. Their seeking ability is rapidly growing, which they demonstrated by catching three flags for the African Nations, and even a fourth that had to be called off due to a foul. Against the Riff, who haven’t been unable to catch a flag yet this season, he could be the dynamic difference maker the Whiteout needs this series. The added bonus of Ojo leading off at seeker means that Kit Powpour can be left as an offensive threat in the quadball game, linking up with Cody Keefer to dominate in the second period. It’s important to note that Ojo can also be a dangerous off ball threat, as RPI fans have seen throughout the USQ season. Keep your eye on Ojo this weekend; something magical will happen.
Talk about an exciting matchup for former University of Rochester star Fiona Gaffney and MLQ Whiteout players Jack Moseley and Joseph Lombardi. It’s not every day you see three players leave their previous teams, only to return to face them as the opponent’s top quadball line. Last USQ season, Gaffney led the University of Rochester as their captain under current Whiteout head coach, Alyssa Giarasso. Moseley and Lombardi also played under the coaching guidance of Giarasso as members of the Whiteout in the last two MLQ seasons. All three players are familiar with Rochester’s personnel and play styles, giving the Riff a distinct tactical advantage in this series matchup. However, this knowledge comes as a double-edged sword as the Whiteout will know how to play the Riff’s top quadball line. How both teams use their knowledge of the opponents could determine the winner of this series.
Series Decider
When considering the strengths and weaknesses of these two shortened rosters, this series will be decided by the second period of the game in all likelihood. Both teams will approach the second period of this game extremely differently. Rochester will be aiming to catch quickly, and they have more than qualified personnel to do so. Behind the likes of red-hot Ad Ojo, Kit Powpour, and Viviana Estrada, the Whiteout have a clear advantage in the seeker department. Catching quickly would be beneficial for Rochester, as Cleveland will have an edge over the Whiteout in the quadball game. That being said, expect the Riff to prolong the flag runner period with defensive seeking in order to keep the Whiteout’s bludger advantage away from the quadball. These two opposing styles will clash throughout the series, and will ultimately determine who comes away with the series win this weekend.
Conclusion
On paper, this matchup could be one of the closest series we have seen all season. Neither team is coming into this series healthy, nor with their preferred rosters for a game of this magnitude. The Rochester Whiteout will have a slight edge on the beater side of the ball. Despite the Cleveland Riff having superiority in the quadball game, the Whiteout’s beater dominance could force the Riff’s quadball players to have their work cut-out for them without beater support. When you take this into account, along with the Whiteout’s palpable seeker game, expect the Flower City to come away with their first series win of the season.
Prediction: 2-1 Whiteout
