Fast Takes With Fast Break: Boston Forge vs New York Titans

Fueling the Fire

Authors: Isabel Roseth and Anonymous

Introduction

The next East Coast clash takes place in Boston this Saturday, June 28, between the Boston Forge and the New York Titans. No doubt, the Titans will look to clinch the series 3-0; their scores against the Washington Admirals indicate a continued strength, but it is not yet clear how the Forge will measure up. 

The Admirals struggled against New York, failing to win any of their three games. With final scores of 185-90, 155-90 and 205-60, the Titans dominated in the chaser, beater and seeker game. Alternatively, while Boston won their series against the Charlotte Aviators 3-0, their differentials varied; they won each game 175-60, 130-80 and 150-80. In the final two games, both the Aviators and Forge failed to catch the flag runner, and if New York comes out ahead in the seeker game, that might assure them a victory against Boston. 

Last summer, Boston took everyone by surprise and split the series, and while New York still came out ahead 2-1, they had been counting on a season without any losses as last season's Major League Quadball champions. As the heat rises in anticipation of Saturday’s series, Forge will be looking to take down Goliath, while New York must extinguish their flames. 

New York, New Year

The traditional powerhouse they are, the Titans are heading to Boston this weekend looking to make a statement. The Forge series is always one where the Titans are going to be challenged. Yet, New York’s comfortable wins against the Admirals in games one and three suggest that the Titans are at their best; they spell trouble for any opponent.

In the chaser game, this Titans roster is full of top level talent. On opening weekend we saw outstanding performances from Leo Fried and Molly Potter. Fried, in his return to the Titans, finished with five assists, five stops and 110 points, the only New York chaser to hit triple digits. Potter finished with four assists, five stops and 80 points. The two of them also found each other in transition game, fluidly passing the ball around the defense any time they saw an open field. Mike Li, Lindsay Marella and Frank Minson also played major roles in the Titan’s success. Li was a distributor throughout the series, leading the team in assists. Marella anchored the offense in the halfcourt and was the heartbeat of this team getting clean looks against Washington. Minson was a spark plug that always looked to push the pace whenever he got a chance. This group didn’t even include Byron Ng, who wasn’t rostered against Washington but is making his return to the Titans after spending last summer in Chicago; this weekend, however, Ng is rostered. When it comes to well-rounded and deep chaser corps, the Titans are at the top of the league.

The chasers are supplemented by veteran beaters who challenge any team in MLQ. The team usually starts reigning East MVP Tessa Cicco and Tate Kay. Cicco and Kay are consistently one of the top pairs in the league. Yet, the talent doesn’t just end there. Rachel Ayella-Silver and Devin Lee provide some of the best beating in the league, and opposing beaters always struggle to figure out how to find success against the pair. With Christian Barnes, Vincenzco Cicco, Isaac Serna-Diaz and Shreena Shah all rostered this weekend, there will be no easy matchup for the Forge beaters. That being said, the Forge were able to win the control game in 2024, dominating the stats sheets when it comes to average dodgeballs. The Titans beaters, despite their immense strength and experience, will need to play at their best against the veteran Forge corp. 

New York is also finding great success in the seeker game. Mo Haggag, the starting seeker for the Titans, is the only seeker so far this year to catch in every game he has played in. The seeker depth extends far beyond Haggag with both Fried and Vincent Iannucci rostered this weekend. No flag runner is safe from any New York player in a yellow headband.

Boston Breakdown

In their last series, Forge kept the Aviators at bay, winning  all three games by at least 50 points. While Boston presented to fans and foes alike many of their strengths, their weaknesses became clear as well. 

Perhaps one of Boston’s most notable assets were its younger players, many of whom still play at the collegiate level during the US Quadball season. In his MLQ debut, Zach Donofrio put up 70 points, second only to Assistant Coach Ethan Dillon, notably by recovering the quadball quickly and taking advantage of fastbreak opportunities. Boston’s scoring, however, is strongest as a team effort; screens and general physicality from Athena Mayor, among other players, largely enabled Boston’s fastbreaks. The Forge veterans were able to facilitate the Boston offense, with Mayor, Carsen Olazaba, and Emma Persons finishing with eight, eight and five assists respectively.

Forge’s superiority in the beater game in their series against the Aviators was unsurprising but worth mentioning. Lulu Xu, who won MLQ Player of the Week, waged war beside her long-time beater partner Max Havlin. Jessica Lee, who played for Harvard in 2024 when they won the USQ college championship, returned to the field after being out on injury for much of the 2024-2025 season. In maintaining control, Boston’s beaters ensured the Aviators could not break through their defense, which largely contributed to the sizable score differentials.

Their match-up with Charlotte, however, was merely Boston’s first of the season, and while certainly a diagnostic of their shortcomings, they had plenty of time to adapt to future threats. That said, while Forge positively dominated in the first game of the series, Charlotte played them uncomfortably close at the top of the second game and even led them in goals for the first nine minutes. Given their prowess against the Aviators in the 2024 season — they won all three games 235-60, 255-40 and 220-105 respectively — this year’s score differentials were significantly smaller, indicating Forge is weaker than they were in the 2024 season where they finished with a semifinals appearance at the Benepe Cup. 

Blazing Ahead

While Charlotte pushed Boston more than Forge perhaps expected them to, the Titans will almost assuredly be a much bigger challenge for Boston. Forge needs to maintain their momentum and rebound from their low points quicker; their struggle at the beginning of their second Charlotte game was a result of an inability to break through Charlotte’s defense, something they did with ease much of game one. 

This begs the question: how can Forge refresh their lineup mid-game? Against teams that are perhaps more of a match, Boston injected energy with a more youthful lineup — last season’s fans may recall the chaser crew of Andrew Steinberg, Ethan Dillon, Samantha Magner and Luiza Nicolae — but the Titans are tough, and simply putting in a new line may not be enough. Forge will likely be playing a limited number of their players, as their first couple lines are much stronger than the rest. Those players, however, must be able to adapt. Boston occasionally struggles to change their game plan while still on the field, and with a limited number of timeouts, they cannot rely on breaks to reset themselves. 

Forge boasts plenty of reliable individuals, but we will not know how they will compare to the Titans’ best until this weekend. Their younger chasers who excelled against Charlotte may falter more against the Titans’ best players. New York provides much more of a challenge in the beater game than Charlotte did with names like Cicco and Kay. That said, Boston still has Xu, Havlin, Tom DeMouth and Erin McCrady, and may be able to overwhelm New York’s beaters. Their pairs are perhaps better known, while New York has plenty of stars. 

While still dominant on the pitch, the Titans have one very significant loss from the roster release: Jon Jackson, who led the Titans with 22 goals, 20 assists, and 24 stops last summer. Jackson has been a staple for the Titans in this series. Boston may be able to take advantage of the loss, but should not anticipate New York to look significantly weaker, given their plethora of superstars. 

Boston's strongest chasers face perhaps their biggest challenge of the regular season this weekend, including Marella, who won the number one spot in MLQ’s Best 24 of 2024; and Fried, who placed third. While this list was voted by the community and should not be taken as gospel, it still provides a general idea of who dominates on the pitch. 

Yet, the two of them are hardly the only chasers the Forge should be worried about. The Titans roster is overflowing with some of the greatest players in the sport. That said, Boston has taken a game off the Titans before — although in that game, Titans played much of their newer players, including a number of MLQ rookies, who, while good, are not yet at the level of the Titans’ veterans.  

The seeker game plays a vital role in this weekend’s series. If the score is close, a catch from New York could clinch the game. The Titans’ seeking is strong, and while Boston's is not poor, it New York’s seeking game is the best in the league right now.

Ultimately, Boston’s goal should be to play New York close rather than to win. This series will tell them how they hold up against last season's champions, and if not a winning opportunity, it is at the very least a diagnostic of their strengths and key weaknesses. 

Prediction

This series could very well feel closer than the score reflects. Even if New York sweeps, that would not be a death sentence for Forge. Until then, we can only wonder: will Boston rise to the challenge, or will the Titans crush their rivals? Will New York remain the “strongest @MLQuadball Franchise” as they purport to be, or will Boston split the series once more? Only time will tell. 

Prediction: 3-0 New York