Fast Takes with Fast Break: Washington Admirals vs Charlotte Aviators
Fight or Flight
Authors: Ashton Butler and Brandon Borges
The Washington Admirals and Charlotte Aviators enter into their midseason battle with much at stake for both teams. The last matchup between these two saw a hard fought contest that saw multiple red cards fly and a come-from-behind victory for the Admirals at 2024 MLQ Championships, ultimately ending the Aviators’ season. This time around, the Admirals are looking to respond and not have any question marks on their victory. In the 2025 chapter of this developing rivalry, we see a tale of two different stories, and it will be interesting to see who gets to tell it.
The Admirals sail into their third series of the season after a disappointing loss to the New York Titans and a dominant win over the Ottawa Black Bears. This matchup will prove to be the first major test for this Washington team to see if they truly have improved and if they are ready to stay afloat in this race in the East division. Washington comes into this matchup needing a victory if they want to hold onto a top three seed in the East, but they are without many key pieces ultimately leading to a climb for the Admirals young folks to take.
The Aviators come in after a tough loss to the Boston Forge. The Aviators have a major opportunity to get their first series win against Washington in franchise history this weekend. The Aviators have effectively already made MLQ Championships with Ottawa’s forfeits this season, and this series could be their icing on the cake. Charlotte’s youth and growth seems to be taking flight at the right time, and it will be exciting to see if they can capitalize on a short handed Admirals squad.
Washington’s Roster
Washington comes into this series with major momentum after a blow-out victory against the Black Bears. The question for them now is how will they fare in a much closer matchup without their two chaser leaders. Bryan Mulcahy and Riley Starrs both are not rostered for this series. These two lead the team in every chaser statistic this season, and the two combine for 50 goal participation (31 goals and 19 assists). This accounts for 52% of all goals scored for the Admirals this season, so new faces will need to step in and create offenses in the same ways that these two have. This fire and ice combo will be dearly missed for this team for their defense as well. Mulcahy has 14 stops and Starrs has 13, so not only will someone need to step up on offense, but point chasing pressure and shot blockers will need to be ready to deal with the high flyers of the Aviators.
Washington will also be without much of their depth at beater for this series. Joey Beh is a major loss. In his rookie season so far, he is third on the team in drives played with 56 and third on the team in stops with six. Beh’s electric beating style and athletic ability will be missed especially when needing to handle Charlotte’s high powered beating core. Athilesh Thanigai is also going to be missing for Washington for the second series in a row. Thanigai will be missed for their versatility as they have shown to be effective at both chaser and beater, but especially for their aggression as a beater. Thanigai allows their beater core to have a change-of-pace beater and gives Adrian Koretsky and Colin Bourn a great option when either sub out of the game. Last but certainly not least, Diana Howard, who has been the team’s most consistent beater this season and has proven to be essential in working with the young beaters on this roster, will not be there.
Despite losing out on some major pieces, Washington will retain their top line of beaters in Koretsky and Bourn fresh off of their big week against Ottawa where Bourn broke Koretsky’s record of the highest plus/minus in a series with +28. This duo has continued to improve through playing together as the season has continued but the question for most is who will come in to relieve the duo when they need a substitute? Robert Rice is going to be an X-Factor for this team as they have been a consistent player despite only having 26 drives so far. Rice played 100 drives a season ago, amounting 14 stops, and they will look to Cat Sylvain and Claire Shuey to be the next person up to beat with Rice. Both Sylvain and Shuey made their season debuts against Ottawa, both having a 13 plus/minus, and will need to replicate their successes this weekend.
In the chasing game, Washington will lose a large load of their production, but this means that the newly instated USNTDA teammates of Shane McConaghie, Chantal Siodlarz, Nathan Jun and Zan Siddiqui will all need to step up in big ways. It is to be expected that Siodlarz, Jun, John Evans and Siqqidui will look to play major minutes together to bring their chemistry from the Virginia program over to the Admirals. Jun’s debut has been anxiously awaited after an eight goal performance in the Division 1 final against Creighton; this will be his first action since that game. In speaking of college allegiances, Gabe Templeton will be rostered with his teammates in college, Levan Tsikarishvili and McConaghie. This trio has plenty of chemistry, and it will be interesting to see what combination of these three will play together. If Washington is to win this series, the connections will need to come together, and veterans such as Liz Stone, John Gaffigan and Jeannette High will need to be looked upon to fill the major minutes that they are used to playing in key series.
Three Keys To Success for Washington
Control the Flag Runner. Despite being without their superstar seeker Ryan Davis, Charlotte still has elite seekers in Austin Cruz and Tony Bonadio who accounted for three out of four of Charlotte’s flag catches in 2024. Washington was able to see a bit of a resurgence in their flag catching as Tsikarishvili was able to put a catch on the board against Ottawa, but there is still work to do. With high level seekers of their own in Siddiqui and Tsikarishvili, Washington will need to capitalize on their opportunities to put three on the board.
Control the Tempo. Washington has a lot of dynamic athletes, most of which are very young. Charlotte can be a team that will put a lot of beater pressure into their game and force the young Admirals into covered shots and passes leading to the ball heading the other way. Washington will need to slow the game down for their chasers on offense to control the game and keep themselves alive on potentially drawn out plays.
Strong Chaser and Beater Connection. In their loss to New York, when the beaters would initiate offense seemed out of sync with what the chasers were trying to do. The lines out there need to work on communicating through what they are trying to do and make sure that there is consistently a beater protecting ball carriers in order to avoid turnovers.
Charlotte: Fireworks or Fizzle?
The Aviators head into their second road test of the season with a familiar core, but two major absences loom large: Ryan Davis and M.Y. Monawar. Davis, a US National Team-caliber talent, has long been the Aviators’ stabilizing force — controlling tempo, delivering in clutch moments and driving scoring runs in both the chaser and seeker game. Monawar, a physically imposing chaser with breakaway speed and underrated vision, has often stepped into that engine role when Davis is unavailable. With both out, the onus falls on a new group to carry Charlotte’s offensive and emotional spark. Sophomore standout Caleb Brooks is a name to watch. Already proving himself as a scoring and tackling threat, this series offers a chance to see what he can do when the spotlight is fully on him. If Brooks rises to the occasion, it could be a coming-of-age moment in his young MLQ career.
Even without Davis and Monawar, Charlotte’s game plan remains clear: run early, run often. The Aviators’ transition offense is built around defensive pressure and rapid conversion, and few teams have the personnel to execute that as effectively. Kody LaBauve and Celine Richard thrive when allowed to set the tone as early-engaging beaters, while point defenders Olivier Hodge and Braxton Hale relentlessly hound ball carriers, seeking to generate chaos before plays can even form. Behind them, Zachary Thompson has stepped up his hoop defense significantly, as seen against Boston, and remains a lethal scoring threat on transition offenses. Add Austin Cruz’s physical presence and open-field explosiveness to that mix, and Charlotte’s intent becomes unmistakable: run the offense fast and punish any team slow to recover.
However, that high-octane style only goes so far when the game slows down, and Charlotte’s halfcourt offense continues to lag behind. The Forge series exposed this vulnerability in full, as no Aviator registered more than two assists across the three games. Too often, Charlotte’s sets stalled out with forced shots or missed opportunities to reward off-ball movement. This isn’t a matter of talent; wing threats like Melissa Ross and Carynne White consistently create space with their cutting and movement. But until Charlotte improves its ball rotation and patience on offense, those efforts will go unrewarded. Against a well-coached, organized Washington defense, this lack of cohesion could prove costly if the transition game stalls.
The beater game, meanwhile, was a tale of extremes in Charlotte’s last outing. As a unit, the Aviators were dismantled by Boston’s elite pairs, with Max Havlin and Lulu Xu dictating pace and clearing paths at will. But amid that struggle, Josh Peck stood tall. Fearless and composed, Peck repeatedly challenged Havlin with poise and patience, disrupting Boston’s rhythm and forcing stops. Alongside Hannah Reese, he gives Charlotte a scrappy, high-motor pairing that can disrupt even experienced beater units. If they can replicate that effort and inspire a more cohesive team response, Charlotte could claw back the control that eluded them last week. On the defensive front, adjustments may be coming. Their hoop zone was exploited by straight-line drives from Boston’s chasers, and Washington’s young ball handlers are equally capable of punishing passive coverage. A switch to a more aggressive version of the 3-1 zone or even implementing a 2-2 zone could better contain that pressure.
Perhaps most worrying is Charlotte’s seeker game, or lack thereof. For a team that prides itself on late-game grit, being shut out on flag catches against Boston is an alarming development. Davis’s absence leaves a gaping hole in that phase, and without a clear replacement, the Aviators face real risk during seeker play. Washington is particularly dangerous in this window; if they’re able to play a quadball game without beaters stopping their downhill chaser threats, they can push pace and create scoring surges before Charlotte can respond. The Aviators will need a plan, whether it’s identifying a new primary seeker or shifting their dodgeball control strategies late, to avoid being outpaced in crunch time. Because in a series that promises to come down to the wire, every possession, every pull, and every decision will matter.
Prediction
2-1 Charlotte (Ashton)
2-1 Washington (Brandon)
