Minneapolis and Boston advance to first quarterfinals play-in game

Minneapolis Monarchs keeper Cole Lachmiller drives with the quadball against the Kansas City Stampede in the play-in bracket.

The Minneapolis Monarchs and the Boston Forge advanced to the first play-in bracket finals Saturday morning, where the winner will clinch a spot in the quarterfinals. The Monarchs defeated the Kansas City Stampede by a score of 145-90 in a closely contested match, with seeker Mike Devine collecting his second flag runner catch of the day. The Forge ran away from the New Orleans Curse, winning 145-30 with a convincing 80-0 stretch in the middle of the game.

Outside on Pitch Two, Minneapolis and Kansas City traded goals in the early going. Expected to be very evenly matched heading into the tournament, the Monarchs and the Stampede proved to have little separation off brooms up. With the score knotted up at 40-40 however, the second line for the Monarchs led by keeper Cole Lachmiller raced out to a 30-0 run. Chaser Ben Zimet also made key contributions with their well-timed cuts around the hoops and tenacity fighting for loose balls.

Yet Kansas City quickly answered with a 40-0 run of their own. Chaser Riley Usami, one of the rising stars in the sport, stuffed the statsheet with his usual repertoire of highlight reel plays, including a slaloming drive through traffic before the 20-minute mark. The Stampede did not manage to complete the comeback though, as the Monarchs pulled away with the flag runner on pitch. Minneapolis beater Gracie Johnson and Cody Narveson expertly switched between the flag runner game to guide their team to a 40-10 run in the quadball game and Devine caught to seal the deal.

Minneapolis and Boston will play next on Pitch One at 11 am. New Orleans will meet the Charlotte Aviators and Kansas City will face the Detroit Innovators in a pair of elimination games at noon.