South Division soars into play-in bracket finals
Chaser Veronica Spicer distributes for the New Orleans Curse against the Charlotte Aviators in the play-in bracket.
The South Division won both of its matchups in the second round of the play-in bracket on Saturday morning, guaranteeing that at least one South team will advance to the quarterfinals. The Kansas City Stampede stayed hot and knocked off the North Division’s third seed, the Minneapolis Monarchs, 135-90 and the New Orleans Curse defeated the Charlotte Aviators 155-40.
The Stampede, who started the season 1-8, won their fifth consecutive game and second matchup of the day thanks to another flag runner catch from seeker J.D. Hopton and a monster offensive performance from rookie keeper Ryan Mehio. Mehio opened the game by trading early hat tricks with Minneapolis Monarchs keeper Max Meier. After a long scoring drought, Minneapolis took a slight lead, with Meier and second-string Monarchs keeper Joe Goulet helping to create some distance. A hyperactive shift from Stampede beater Chanun Ong and the flag runner catch from Hopton, his second of the day, flipped the script however and put Kansas City back on top. Mehio added the final three goals for Kansas City, including a stylish alley oop, to give himself seven goals and the Stampede the win.
New Orleans’ victory, only its second at an MLQ Championship since 2016, was much more comfortable, as the Curse controlled the game from start to finish. Chaser Shelby Cascio, the leading scorer among women during the regular season, got New Orleans on the scoreboard first and beaters Josh Mansfield and Sarah Yanofsky played a standout shift to kick off their tournament. Charlotte Aviators beaters Kody LaBauve and Celine Richard were able to get a stretch of dodgeball control back during the middle portion of the contest, but the Aviators offense was not able to capitalize. The New Orleans chaser defense stood tall around the hoops, with keeper P.J. Mitchell forcing turnovers and stuffing shots. In a matchup of two of the best seekers in the league, the Curse’s Carson Running, the regular season leader in flag runner catches with seven, prevailed over Charlotte’s Ryan Davis.
Kansas City and New Orleans will meet each other in the finals of the winner’s half of the play-in bracket at 11 am, with a spot in the Benepe Cup quarterfinals on the line. The Minneapolis Monarchs and the Charlotte Aviators will play their division rivals the Toronto Raiders and the Washington Admirals, respectively, in elimination games at noon.