Chicago upsets New York, roars back in instant classic semifinals series

Chicago Prowl keeper Nivash Jayaram scores the winning goal against the New York Titans in game three of the MLQ Championship semifinals.

In one of the most exciting series in MLQ history, the North Division champion Chicago Prowl upset the number one seed New York Titans on Sunday. They shocked the East Division champions in game one by a score of 145-120 before falling in game two by a narrow 175-150 margin. Yet in the do-or-die decider, Chicago roared back from a 30-point deficit with New York on match point and triumphed 135-120.

Chicago first scored a historic victory in game one to put New York on notice. It was the first time a North Division team had beaten an East or South Division team at the semifinal stage or later of an MLQ Championship. Only the prior incarnation of the Prowl, the Indianapolis Intensity, had ever claimed a semifinals game, when they defeated the Los Angeles Guardians in 2017.

Chicago secured the achievement behind a dominant beating performance led by US National Team beater Matt Brown and program veteran Jim Richert. The Prowl beating corps held dodgeball control for the lion’s share of the minutes against a deep New York roster. In the chaser game, Ally Manzella notched a pair of early goals and Chicago generally outmuscled the Titans around the hoops. The North Division champions went up 80-50 with possession after possession of unselfish team offense. 

In a sign of the seesaw to come however, New York responded to knot the game at the 20-minute mark and a couple of cards put a stunning three players in the box for Chicago. But coming out of the sin bin, clutch seeker Nojus Ausra caught the flag runner for the Prowl. The 35 points gave their team a much-needed cushion, as quadball carriers Zach Armantrading and Jon Jackson quickly contributed two goals each for the Titans. The last contribution tied the score at 120 and came after Chicago defensive chasing ace Liam Zach earned a red card for yellow card accumulation, which forced the Prowl to kill a two-minute penalty. 

With their backs against the wall, leading scorer Nathan Digmann stepped up to the plate for the Prowl and delivered a closing stretch to remember. Digmann, an Iowa native, had already opened the scoring with a beautiful long-range shot, drained a laser from downtown, and recorded three assists. Yet his most decisive plays included helping to kill the two-minute penalty and slotting home two goals in a pressure-packed situation to reach set score. 

New York fought back with a vengeance in game two, overcoming a defenseless receiver red card by chaser Leo Fried and surviving an inspired late rally by the Prowl after Titans seeker Eric Pagoada caught the flag runner. Fried had been New York’s leading scorer in the game and highest impact defensive player at the time of the red card. He tallied 40 points in the earlygoing, including a momentum-swinging pick six interception.

Without Fried for the rest of the game, the Titans answered the call. Beaters Tessa Mullins and Tate Kay had an outstanding game, blanketing the entire field and going toe-to-toe with their Chicago opponents. They continued their dominance in the seeking game, making aggressive plays for the third dodgeball and establishing a solid bubble with dodgeball control. Jackson scored two quick goals after the flag runner entered the fray and Pagoada caught quickly to pull within one goal of the victory.

Yet Chicago refused to quit. They were not able to complete the comeback in game two but they scored three consecutive goals as the New York half-court offense struggled to finish the job. The Prowl ultimately came within two goals of clinching the series in game two before the Titans drew a power play and converted.

The deciding game three, with a spot in the Benepe Cup finals on the line, was also the most thrilling. The Prowl caught a flag runner and scored a game-winning goal to leave New York stunned on match point. Both teams understandably exhibited signs of nerves to start the game, the season hanging in the balance. They traded goals until the 20-minute mark, when New York chaser Frank Minson denied a tall Digmann shot on the middle hoops.

The block seemed to energize New York, who went on a confident 50-20 run to start flag runner on pitch. Zach, the go-to defender for the Prowl, also picked up an early second yellow and took themselves out of the chaser game. Yet with the Titans only a single goal away from advancing, head coach Kennedy Murphy subbed Zach into the game at seeker and Zach caught the flag runner to give Chicago a chance. On the restart, speedy chaser Nivash Jayaram, who later said that he did not realize it was match point, took the quadball all the way to the hoops and sent Chicago to the finals with an emphatic dunk.

With the instant classic best-of-three victory, Chicago advances to face the two-time defending champion Austin Outlaws in the finals. The Prowl will attempt to become only the third franchise to hoist the Benepe Cup.