Fast Takes With Fast Break: Kansas City Stampede vs San Antonio Soldados

Author: Whitney Ho

Introduction

After a long break for the South, MLQ is back in the Cattledome as the Kansas City Stampede take on the San Antonio Soldados. Both of the teams come into the series undefeated, with the Stampede taking down the Houston Legends opening weekend and the Soldados beating the Legends in week four. But now, four weeks later, the South will be crowning a champion of its division.

After the official season forfeits of the Austin Outlaws, all three of the remaining South teams have qualified for the Benepe Cup in August. However, neither Kansas City or San Antonio are satisfied with just making it to Buffalo — both of these teams want to do so as South  Division Champions. Which team’s perfect record will fall and which team will emerge from the South as number one?

The History

The Soldados and the Stampede have a long history of tight games, with last year’s regular season matchup no exception. Although the Soldados won the series 3-0, two of the games were in range for the Stampede, with one coming down to golden goal. However, during the Benepe Cup quarterfinals rematch, the Soldados were again victorious, beating the Stampede 145-90 and 160-105. But a new season brings a new Kansas City, and this edition comes into the weekend off of a strong sweep of the Legends. San Antonio, the favorites, also handled the Legends in June, and are ready to continue to strengthen their team ahead of the Benepe Cup.

This season, things look a little different for the South. The Soldados, who started their season nearly a month after the rest of MLQ, had another month-long break in between their first series and the upcoming one. The Stampede have waited even longer to play, with their season beginning opening weekend and not having another series since. Both these teams are hungry, and ready to take their skills off the practice field and onto the pitch.

San Antonio Preview

The Soldados are fresh off of three decisive wins against Houston and look to better their record to 6-0 and claim the Southern crown. Being the favorites, the Soldados had a lot to prove in their opening weekend, and they certainly made a statement.

The roster this weekend will include top San Antonio’s scorer of the series against Houston, David Avila, along with beater Baldemar Nuñez, who averaged 1.84 dodgeballs and tallied seven stops. Additionally, USNT players returning from the IQA World Cup in Brussels, Belgium such as Miguel Esparza, Jay Stewart, Alyssa Villalba and Daniel Williams will be suiting up for the Soldados.

The Chasing core of the Soldados is one of the strongest in the league, built up by Avila, Hayden Boyes, Izzy Ramirez, Stewart and more. Head coach Boyes will also be a part of the squad, coming off of a six goal and 10 assist series vs Houston. On offense, these players are dynamic and athletic, using their fast pace to gain early control of the game and run away with it. On defense, expect to see high pressure with little wiggle room as the chasers work together with the beaters to meet their opponents head on.

The Soldados also boast an incredibly talented Beater repertoire, with key players like Nuñez, Williams, Javi Tijerina and Kristopher De La Fuente returning to this series. All of the beaters rostered for the series against Houston had a positive plus/minus, with 17 for Nuñez and 13 for De La Fuente. These beaters are experienced and confident, causing chaos and playing crucial roles on both offense and defense to give their opponents no room to breathe.

Along with a strong beater team on seeker floor, the Soldados also have numerous seeking assets such as Christian Cortez, John Alvarez and Terra Robinson. Cortez caught twice in the series against Houston, securing the win for the Soldados in Game One and securing Game Two within two goals. These technical and experienced seekers will force Kansas City to pick and choose their battles during SOP, allowing their chasers and beaters to turn up the heat in the quadball game.

Kansas City Preview

We haven’t seen the Stampede since week one of the season, but don’t forget that this team has the same record as the Soldados. After beating the Legends, including a golden-goal win in Game Two, they are ready to take on the reigning divisional champs.

Leading the chasers in Kansas City is Vincent Reyes. Reyes put up 170 points against the Legends on opening weekend, and no chaser has been able to score more than that in a series so far. If the Stampede are looking to win this weekend, they will need another big performance from Reyes. 

Outside of Reyes, the Stampede coaching staff have been playing extremely well this season, all finishing in the top four in scoring on the team. Assistant Coach Jackson Herdade is leading the franchise in assists and stops, on top of being second in goals. Both with 50 points on the season are Lauren Smith and Nivash Jayaram. Head Coach Smith ran the offense against the Legends, playing in a variety of spots. Assistant Coach Jayaram on top of being a consistent contributor on offense is also seeing more and more reps in the yellow headband. He caught twice against the Legends, in extremely tight games.

On the beating side, Kansas City is meshing club veterans with college rookies. One of the top beaters in their matchup against Houston was Chanun Ong, who currently leads the team in stops. Ong is always ready to push the pace when he needs to. The Stampede also have Purvi Mujumdar, who has done an excellent job keeping control for the beater squad this season. Mujumdar has an average dodgeballs of 1.81, not only leading her team but placing top ten in the league. Leading the group in plus/minus is rookie Alex Tidler, who is making his home field debut this weekend. Look for him to continue building on his performance.

The beating corp is also bolstered by returners Keighlyn Johnson and Justin Dewick. Both have been staples in the program for the past couple seasons and will make their impact known on Saturday. Another major benefit to the roster this weekend is the addition of Lauren Curry. Curry was unable to make the first series of the season, but her 2025 debut could not come at a better time. Curry has consistently been one of the best beaters in the league, and her return for the series against the Soldados is huge. 

Predictions

There’s no easier way to put it — the Soldados are the clear favorites to take this series. Already proven as a daunting threat, the talented roster that is heading to the Cattledome knows how to win and is ready to win again. San Antonio’s athleticism, experience and rock solid systems will see matchups leaning heavily in their favor, and all signs point to the Soldados improving their record to 6-0. Additionally, San Antonio have had less time in between series, only having a four week break from competition compared to the Stampede’s eight.

However, the Stampede are also undefeated coming into this series, and the games between the two teams have historically been tight. After being knocked out of the 2024 Benepe Cup by the Soldados, the Stampede will be looking for revenge, and their home field advantage will certainly be an asset. Their time off from MLQ has certainly been spent preparing for this series in its entirety, and their goal for this weekend will be to prove everyone wrong. 

The threat that San Antonio poses is a daunting one, and despite preparation on Kansas City’s end, the Soldado speed, team chemistry and talent will make taking them down a difficult task. Unless the Stampede can take control of the games from the beginning and force the Soldados to play their way, the South will be crowning San Antonio as its 2025 regional champion.

Final Prediction: San Antonio 3-0