Quad Quips: Week Two
Submissions undergo light copy editing for clarity.
MLQ athletes have a lot to say and now we’re giving them space to broadcast those opinions weekly. “Quad Quips” is a series consisting of player thoughts and feelings from around MLQ. Each week a randomly-selected batch of athletes are sent a number of questions and prompts for which to respond. The majority are open-ended though multiple choice surveys are sometimes included.
Week Two Survey Results: We’re a betting league.
Just kidding. It’s actually against our policies for MLQ affiliates to bet on games, but hey, DraftKings, hit us up?*
Miguel Esparza Total Goals - Over/Under
Over 15: 75 percent of votes
Under 15: 25 percent of votes
Who would you rather 1v1 in the open field and why? Miguel Esparza or Riley Usami
Sadly, no one will be 1v1ing Usami this weekend, but we still want to know!
Riley Usami: 56 percent
Miguel Esparza: 22 percent
Other: 22 percent
“Both of them, free stop either way.” - Josh Johnson, New York Titans
“I'll take my chances with Miguel. I'll probably get cooked but at least I'll get a front-row seat to the show.” - Jonathan Jackson, New York Titans
“Riley Usami, Esparza is just too fast.” - Bryan Melchior, Toronto Raiders
“Doesn’t matter, both are blowing by me.” - Mike Devine, Minneapolis Monarchs
Who is the player to watch this weekend and why?
We hate to break it to y’all but Sena Morimoto will not be making his Boston Forge debut this weekend.
“Aaron Oehler from Cleveland Riff. He really gave the Toronto Raiders beaters a tough time last year and I think he will be the biggest problem for us this weekend.” - Brittany Taylor, Toronto Raiders
“Miguel Esparza. He needs more than 15 goals this weekend to be on pace to break his own scoring record from last year–if I’m not mistaken.” - Josh Johnson, New York Titans
“Ryan Mehio is gonna be a fun watch on that young Kansas City team.” - Bryan Melchior, Toronto Raiders
“Ian Scura. Obviously he’s got all the talent in the world and he’s on Team USA, but this Boston Forge team is his best supporting cast of both chasers and beaters in a while. He’s going to have a lot more clean looks and opportunities to create.” - Louis Sanchez, Austin Outlaws
“DAVID AVILA for San Antonio Soldados. Avila has rebuilt the Texas State University program from the ground up. Without UTSA head coaching bias in the mix this year, expect big things from the long undervalued vet.” - John Alvarez, Austin Outlaws
“Ryan Davis for Charlotte Aviators. Gotta be the best seeker in the league. O/u on catches by them is 2.5 HML for bets.” - Mike Devine, Minneapolis Monarchs*
Which player matchup deserves all eyes this weekend? Why?
“Catherine Hay (SA) vs. Lauren Smith (KC). Both of these players aren’t talked about enough and are key components to whatever team they’re part of! Be ready for some physical matchups!” - David Avila, San Antonio Soldados
“Alyssa Villalba (SA) vs. Lauren Smith (KC). With a league-wide shift to three max, I see a huge opportunity for these two to make a difference for their respective teams.” - John Alvarez, Austin Outlaws
“Chanun Ong (KC) v. Daniel Williams (SA). If KC wants any chance of keeping a game close then they have to limit Daniel Williams from doing Daniel Williams things. Chanun is the same high-motor type of player and I think his style is best to match vs. Daniel’s.” - Louis Sanchez, Austin Outlaws
“Joanne Lam (TOR) vs. Fiona Gaffney (CLE). Both strong, talented leaders on their respective teams.” - Brittany Taylor, Toronto Raiders
This week’s Series of the Week is San Antonio Soldados vs. Kansas City Stampede. Give us your thoughts.
“Tough to make the prediction without seeing game day rosters but I'll run with SA 2-1. This is the longest commute in MLQ and it's compounded by Omaha [where a chunk of the team resides] being an extra 90 minutes north of KC.” - Mike Devine, Minneapolis Monarchs
“A pretty easy 3-0 sweep for SA which should give this team momentum going into the rest of the season.” - Louis Sanchez, Austin Outlaws
“Whoever voted KC #3 will need to have future votes revoked.” - Charlton Tramel, New Orleans Curse
“I feel like a lot of people are expecting a clean 3-0, and if we have seen anything from week one, this is going to be the season of game two upsets, but I do think most people are right. SA just has a deeper utility pool which is going to give them so much more flexibility than KC in this heat.” - Rose Mournighan, Cleveland Riff
“San Antonio takes all 3 but KC is gonna make them sweat for every single game.” - Bryan Melchior, Toronto Raiders
KCvsSA - Defend your BBQ choice.
“If San Antonio could play quadball as well as they do BBQ I might actually be worried this weekend.” - Brian McClannahan, Kansas City Stampede
“I don’t think any Canadians are qualified to answer this question. 😅” - Brittany Taylor, Toronto Raiders
“San Antonio, everything's bigger in Texas.” - Peter Lawrence, Boston Forge
“The state of Texas had two good things going for it and one of them moved to New Jersey this summer. The brisket is all they have left.” - Jonathan Jackson, New York Titans
“The normal South standings are actually the BBQ rankings as well.” - Charlton Tramel, New Orleans Curse
“As a Native Texan BBQ is not it. Maybe it’s better up there in KC.” - John Alvarez, Austin Outlaws
We've got rookie coaches all around in SAvsKC. This is Brenna Duncan (HC, KC) and Milena Sousa and David Avila's (HCs, SA) first MLQ match in the lead role. Give us your thoughts.
“It’s a lot to balance when you’re also getting heavy minutes. Luckily, both teams have to try to manage this. Y'all are gonna do great though.” - Josh Johnson, New York Titans
‘Both squads will come out extra motivated, but it'll take a coaching masterclass from Duncan to pull out the win.” - Charlton Tramel, New Orleans Curse
“I think both sets of rookie coaches are going to struggle to manage in-game adjustments as well as being on the field. The veteran presence of the SA players will be the difference.” - Louis Sanchez, Austin Outlaws
“I am all in on the SA hype train here. Avila has the chops and Milena is great wherever she is needed on the field, let's just hope their knowledge on field translates to the sidelines.” - Rose Mournighan, Cleveland Riff
“Brenna Buckets about to show up!” - Brian McClannahan, Kansas City Stampede
“Working with Milena has been fantastic, she’s super organized and is always looking ahead. We have a good balance in our decision making and ideas. I’m really looking forward to how Brenna Duncan shapes this youthful yet impressive Kansas City team and I can’t wait to see which coaching staff will come out on top 👀” - David Avila, San Antonio Soldados
Whip out the magic 8 ball and give us your Week Two predictions that you have not already provided.
“Cleveland takes a game off of Toronto.” - Peter Lawrence, Boston Forge
“If Ryan Davis gets 30 seconds on a flag runner in a game, they pull. If they pull 2-3 times, at least one W for CLT.” - Josh Johnson, New York Titans
“JD carried Rochester Whiteout in its death throes, giving it all while he was on an empty tank. Now that he is on a team (Kansas City) that can support him better, he'll do great this weekend.” - Rose Mournighan, Cleveland Riff
“Boston 2 - 1 , Toronto 🧹” - David Avila, San Antonio Soldados
“Ian Scura looks to be in top form as Boston goes 3-0 against CLT (all three catches go to CLT though). KC vs SA holds to its Series of the Week title being the spiciest of all three.” - Mike Devine, Minneapolis Monarchs
“BOSvsCLT 2-1. TORvsCLE 2-1.” - Louis Sanchez, Austin Outlaws
Taunting is Legal
Y’all really need to up your taunting game.
“The likelihood of Cleveland pulling out a win this weekend is less than the Maple Leafs winning the Stanley Cup.” - Brittany Taylor, Toronto Raiders
“Louis Sanchez might as well be a traffic cone on defense. I don’t know why he thinks he can guard me.” - Josh Johnson, New York Titans
Grab Bag
“After finishing second in the North Division last season, it seems the Raiders still have a lot to prove. It’s put a fire under us and we are so ready and excited to take on this MLQ season. #EatTrash” - Brittany Taylor, Toronto Raiders
“All of the media and MLQ content to this point has been phenomenal, particularly T Time with Teddy Costa and Tyler Trudeau. Big shout out to everyone who is putting in time and effort to create coverage for us all. Subscribe to the MLQ YouTube.” - Louis Sanchez, Austin Outlaws
“Someone please take one game off NY. I want to break a sweat.” - Josh Johnson, New York Titans
“Both Chicago Prowl and Detroit Innovators look very vulnerable. Roll ‘Narchs” - Mike Devine, Minneapolis Monarchs
“Let’s not forget rookie coaches Sinan Keyder and Joanne Lam for the Toronto Raiders. I’m super pumped to see them step up in these roles and take on this amazing team ❤️🖤” - Brittany Taylor, Toronto Raiders
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