FastTakes with FastBreak: Boston Forge

The 2024 Boston Forge: Is It Time to Bring the Hammer Down?

By: Riley Hodder

Last Season:

When the Austin Outlaws knocked the Boston Forge out of the championship bracket in the quarter-finals at MLQ Champs, some might’ve been asking themselves “What happened?” With a 2023 team coming off a deep finals run, the hype was there. And yet Forge found it hard to maintain that fire, with the New York Titans and the Washington Admirals pulling out the extinguishers. This forced Forge into a third-place finish in their division with a record of seven wins and five losses, the team’s worst record ever. While it may not be surprising that they were knocked out by the Outlaws, a team that has dominated Major League Quadball for most of its existence, it is surprising that Boston found themselves in that position in the first place. To add on, with a day one loss to the Minneapolis Monarchs, Boston found out that not only had they lost their domination in the East, they had lost their domination in the league. Can this be the year they reignite the fire?

Returning Players:

Abraham Beningson, Chaser (Boston Black Pandas)

Sierra Delk, Chaser (Boston Black Pandas)

Zach Doyle, Chaser (BosNYan Bearsharks)

Peter Lawrence, Chaser (BosNYan Bearsharks)

Athena Mayor, Chaser (Boston Black Pandas)

Luiza Nicolae, Chaser (Harvard University)

Ian Scura, Chaser (Boston Black Pandas)

Andrew Steinberg, Chaser (Harvard University)

Carsen Olazaba, Keeper (BosNYan Bearsharks)

Will Andrews, Beater (Boston Black Pandas)

Kieran Collier, Beater (BosNYan Bearsharks)

Leeanne Dillmann, Beater (BosNYan Bearsharks)

Max Havlin, Beater (Boston Black Pandas)

Erin McCrady, Beater (Boston Black Pandas)

Lulu Xu, Beater (Boston Black Pandas)

Will Richardson, Utility (Brown University)

Stephen Trempel, Utility (Boston Black Pandas)

New Players:

Anna Blanchfield, Chaser (Harvard University, Practice Squad 2023)

Tabatha Danyow, Chaser (Boston Red Pandas)

Ethan Dillon, Chaser (Boston University)

Emily Frollo, Chaser (Boston Black Pandas)

Samantha Magner, Chaser (Purdue University, Practice Squad 2023)

Kate Petty, Chaser (Middlebury College)

Jordan Smiley, Chaser (Boston Black Pandas, Practice Squad 2023)

Sena Morimoto, Keeper (The Warriors)

Tom DeMouth, Beater (Boston Black Pandas)

Ufuk Guner, Beater (BosNYan Bearsharks, Practice Squad 2023)

Eli Fighter, Utility (Brandeis University)

Emily Hickmott, Utility (BosNYan Bearsharks)

Ad Ojo, Utility (RPI)

Breakdown:

College: 9

Harvard University: 3

Brandeis University: 1

Brown University: 1

Boston University: 1

Middlebury College: 1

Purdue University: 1

RPI: 1

Club: 20

Boston Black Pandas: 12

BosNYan Bearsharks: 7

Boston Red Pandas: 1

The Warriors: 1

Notable Losses:

Morgan Bertram

Taylor Crawford 

Mason Duboef

David Fox

Harry Greenhouse (Now Head Coach Boston Forge)

Claire Olmstead 

Emma Polen

Andrew Bittles

Jess Lee

Serena Monteiro

Fiona Wisehart

Tyler Beckmann

Gregory Bento

The Season Ahead:

Boston’s season starts off with a light challenge: the Charlotte Aviators, at home on June 8. The Aviators are a team that the Forge has never had much trouble pounding, which lessens the pressure to coordinate a wide range of players from a variety of programs in the month before the series. But that doesn’t mean the pressure isn’t there. Forge is facing major losses, meaning the team might struggle to find an identity and build a strong foundation in a short amount of time. This might make it hard to bring the hammer down on the Aviators in June.

Boston faces minor scheduling challenges as well, facing the Titans at home the very next weekend on June 15th. While Forge gets to stay home, there is no doubt that back-to-back series turns the heat on. Forge doesn’t have much time to prepare to beat the two teams. This proves especially difficult for New York, a team that has consistently been Forge’s biggest challenge each season. It doesn’t help that the Titans seem to be at their strongest point in years, with major additions to their lineup. But, if Forge manages to find their foothold against Charlotte in the first week and takes home the series, the momentum might be enough to give them the edge against New York. However, if Forge struggles to bring the heat against the Aviators, and they head into their series against New York on unsure footing, that could mean a three-peat of last year.

After facing the Titans, Forge takes a long break, with their next series July 20 against the Washington Admirals. This schedule is generally a good thing for Forge. Not only do they face a weakened Admirals at home in Boston, they have a very long time to fix any issues they might have come across in their two opening series, and to prepare for the Admirals in hand. Washington will be coming off the East Superseries June 22-23, meaning that Boston will have more recent film of their opponents, while the Admirals will be working on info that’ll be nearly two months old. This means that, if Forge needs to reinvent themselves mid-season to take home a series against the Admirals, they’ll have ample time to do so and Washington most likely won’t see it coming.

Boston rounds out their regular season by packing up and hitting the road: traveling to Ottawa to face the Black Bears on August 3. Last season, Forge held the Black Bears to only 40 points a game, meanwhile they were scoring over 200. A light challenge so late in the season means that Forge will be well-rested heading into MLQ Champs August 17-19. But Forge will have to be sure to prepare well for the revamped Black Bears.

Season Potentials:

Whether this season will be defined as a success for Forge will mostly depend on their goals. The team faces significant challenges, but not unlike any other team. With the amount of talent they have, not many are worried about whether or not we’ll be seeing them at the Benepe Cup in August. If their goal is to forge a new era for the team with a young cast of players and their new coaching staff, then 3-0 wins against Charlotte, Washington, and Ottawa will be their main goals, and if they walk into MLQ Champs third in the East, it’ll be a successful season.

But if Forge is looking to aim higher, and is searching for the grandeur they’ve had in the past, they face a steeper hill to climb. Not only will they have to 3-0 Charlotte, Washington, and Ottawa, they’ll have to take down the reigning divisional champs in New York. The Titans will be the heavy favorites to win the division. However, it seems unfair to count out a team brimming with young talent from taking down the Titans. Remember, the Titans have to create an identity for themselves this season too, and the Boston-New York series might just be a race to who gets there first. If Forge can beat New York in the identity game, prepare well for Washington, and use their talent to take out the easier targets in the league, there is no one who will be surprised to find them at the top of the East at the end of the regular season.

Overall Prediction: 9-3

Why They Will:

Despite major losses, there is no denying the fact that Forge gained a lot of talent in their roster this season.

On the quadball side, Forge sees major additions to their team in the form of Sena Morimoto and Eli Fighter. Morimoto is moving to Forge from the Kansas City Stampede, bringing in valuable MLQ experience to a young team. Combined with Fighter, it's safe to say that Forge has plenty of options on the drive. Some Embers, such as Jordan Smiley, are also ready to bring the heat after being called from the practice squad last season. Another major addition comes in the form of Samantha Manger, from Purdue in the USQ season. While she is fresh-faced in MLQ, those who have paid attention to the small, midwest team know that it’s just a matter of time until she’s a household name. Perhaps this summer is that time.

Forge also saw some huge utility additions, with Emily Hickmott and Ad Ojo. Hickmott moved to Forge from the Titans last season, adding more necessary MLQ experience. Ojo is a steal from the defunct Rochester Whiteout, and brings a level of talent to the seeker side that Forge desperately needs.

Forge also maintained key players from last season that will help them find plenty of success. On the beater side, Max Havlin and Lulu Xu are returning for another season on Forge, presenting a solid and incredibly intimidating pair for the team. Leeanne Dillmann and Kieran Collier both are returning after a successful final four run with the BosNYan Bearsharks, and Erin McCrady is another fundamental beater that brings experience on the International level, with her time spent on the Canadian National Team.

Forge is also seeing a ton of talent from the young National Champions at Harvard University. Anna Blanchfield and Luiza Nicolae were two huge components of Harvard’s championship, and it’ll be exciting to see them bring that talent to Forge’s chaser line. Andrew Steinberg is also returning, this time after a season where he finally found himself standing on equal footing with all-star teammate Leo Fried.

There is no talking about Forge’s talent without talking about returners like Carsen Olazaba, who brings a much-needed defensive threat to Forge’s chaser line. Alongside him is Peter Lawrence, an all-around threat that would make any team, even ones at the top level of quadball, shiver in their boots. The team also brings back Ian Scura, the league leader in assists and top ten scorer from last season.

Even on the coaching level Forge brings in a lot of talent. They have head coach Harry Greenhouse, who is now non-playing and devoting all of his attention to coaching. Forge also will be able to use Athena Mayor’s talent on and off the field, with her excellent shots and her position as an Assistant Coach this season.

Why They Won’t:

While there is no question that Forge has all the makings of a great team, there is one question in the mind of all those with their eyes on Boston: how are they going to make that great team?

Boston is at the youngest it's been in a long time. While only a third of Boston’s team comes from the college game, these are players they will have to depend on if they want to see success. And while some of their college players have MLQ experience, many of them don’t, which could spell dangerous things for Forge when they hit the ground running in their back-to-back series to start the season.

The large amount of new talent also presents a challenge for Forge, in that they have a lot of legacy players playing with a lot of fresh-faced players. Will Forge be able to incorporate new ideas to their offense from their wealth of young talent, or will they stick to old traditions and strategies from their older players? Will the college players be able to keep up with the pace of a club-heavy team, or will they fall under the hammer?

The older and more experienced players represent a question in and of themselves. With most of their club players coming from two prominent teams — the Boston Pandas and the BosNY Bearsharks — Forge will have to find a way to blend the unique styles and characteristics of both teams in their lines. The players will have to learn to work with new people, something that doesn’t always come naturally to those who have been playing with the same teammates for years.

And while Forge does have a wealth of talent, there is no doubt that their losses are also great. Boston’s losses have presented two areas of vulnerability for the team: beating and seeking. Forge lost Jess Lee from Harvard, presumably to injury, Fiona Wisehart, and Serena Monterio. These are three major losses in the beating game that will severely limit Forge’s depth. While they have plenty of scoring threats on the chasing side, will they be as successful as other teams if their beaters aren’t able to create opportunities for them on the same scale?

In the seeking game, Forge lost Tyler Beckmann, their primary seeker last year. While they gained seeking talent in Ojo, there is no saying how Ojo’s talent is going to mesh with the rest of the Forge team when the flag runner comes out onto the pitch.

Another notable loss comes in the form of Taylor Crawford, a foundational chaser option for Forge. Last year Crawford was the leading scorer during the regular season, making his loss a big hit to Boston’s identity as an offensive threat. While Harry Greenhouse is still on as Head Coach, there is no doubt that losing him as a player will open up a major hole in Forge’s chaser line that he will have to fill with new talent.

And, once more, Boston faces a challenge on the physical side. While they have many scoring threats on offense, they don’t have a ton of defensive talent. In combination with a lack of beater depth, this could spell big problems for Forge on the defensive side. A major, physical defensive option for the team last season was Morgan Bertram, who has since retired, and it doesn’t seem like Boston has a big answer to the question her departure leaves. Olazaba has proved he can provide big stops for the Forge in the green headband, but will he see an increased role or will Boston tap into their new depth of new players?

Series Preview:

It’s not surprising that Boston’s first series of the season is not the series of the week. Going head-to-head against the Aviators this weekend shouldn’t be too much of a challenge for Forge. No one is holding their breath in anticipation of an upset. And, most viewers will probably tune into the Kansas City Stampede vs. the San Antonio Soldados instead.

But for those who do tune into Boston vs. Charlotte this weekend, there are a few crucial things to keep in mind. With a roster that looks slightly different than previous years, Boston will have to forge a new identity for themselves, and the time to do it is against an opponent like Charlotte. If they choose to play it safe and play only their older core players that we’re familiar with, Forge will win in hand. But, this move might be dangerous for Forge, when they can’t depend on a small group of people to take on the Titans next week. If Forge plays through their depth, and incorporate their younger, newer players into their lines, it’ll be interesting to see what kind of identity comes out of the embers. And even more interesting, we’ll get a glimpse of the firepower that Forge plans to bring into their week three series against New York.