Indy slams Chicago
The most goals and largest margin of victory during the opening weekend of the 2023 playoffs belonged to the Indianapolis AlleyCats, who clobbered the Union 23-15 to advance to the Central Division title game at Minnesota. It was a pretty all-encompassing beatdown, as the Cats broke Chicago’s O-line 67 seconds in, led 6-2 after one, and built a double-digit lead by the late stages of the third quarter.
“The AlleyCats played a very clean game offensively,” said Chicago’s Andrew Sjogren. “We only got one break chance in the first 35 minutes of the game and did not convert. It wasn’t for lack of trying though; it felt like we forced them into tough looks, but they made the plays. [Rick] Gross and [Jeremy] Keusch both made several incredible plays in the game to save possession. It felt like the AlleyCats controlled the pace of the game throughout, on both sides of the disc.” The AlleyCats only had eight turns in the first three quarters and 12 for the game, while Chicago finished with 21 turnovers, 11 of which were caused by AlleyCat blocks. Asked to share his general thoughts after the game, Indianapolis Coach Drew Shepherd said simply, “our offense held, and defense generated double-digit blocks. A recipe as simple as peanut butter and jelly.” Xavier Payne threw six assists to lead the AlleyCats offense, while Nick Hutton and Will Quigley each tallied two blocks apiece, as Indianapolis advanced to their first division title game since 2019. “They did a good job of applying pressure with their D-line off of the pull, and that forced pressure on our resets and ultimately resulted in some errant throws and drops,” said Chicago Coach Dave Woods. “I feel that we just turned the disc over. I can’t even say they were uncharacteristic turnovers or mistakes. It kind of has been characteristic of our year.” While the Union were plagued by simple errors, the AlleyCats authored numerous high-degree-of-difficulty grabs, the type of plays that prolong a season. “I am super proud of us coming down with the shots even when contested and even more proud of our team for having the winning mentality and keeping it,” said Payne. “For us staying in a game for four quarters isn’t difficult […] We are happy to mentally and physically grind for a whole game.”
Originally posted on theaudl.com