Fast Takes with FastBreak: Toronto vs Chicago
By: Sol Alexander and Ashton Butler
The Cats Take on Canada
The Chicago Prowl travel north this weekend to battle Canada’s last remaining MLQ team, the Toronto Raiders. The Raiders forfeited their series against the Minneapolis Monarchs, making Saturday’s series their only official games before the Central Conference Championship. The team isn’t entirely untested, however, as they played three unofficial friendlies against the Detroit Innovators. That experience will prove to be invaluable in Toronto’s matchup against the Prowl this weekend.
Much is at stake for both teams: Chicago has never dropped a game to a Canadian team and the Prowl is always on the hunt for an undefeated regular season. For the Raiders to avoid last place in the Lakes Division, they’ll need to sweep Chicago and beat them by more than 195 points over three games. That’s a big ask against a team that has never failed to make the semi-finals. Still, even one win against the Prowl will go a long way in helping Toronto qualify for MLQ Champs.
Raccoons Rob the Black Bears
So how can the Raiders pull off the upset? They saw a lot of major departures from 2025 to 2026; Toronto needs to fill the hole left behind by three of their five top scorers from the 2025 season. Luckily, the Raiders stand to benefit most from the league's reorganization. They raided the Ottawa Black Bears’ roster and came away with many promising steals.
Two steals in particular bring much-needed offensive firepower to the Raiders: Alex Naftel and Hailey Yhap. Naftel and Yhap are both stars for the Canadian national team and will certainly be standouts for Toronto this weekend. Additionally, Yhap just won a silver medal with Boom Train in the USQ Club division with many of the Chicago roster. Her experience playing with and practicing against those club players might be the difference maker in the upcoming series.
Yhap’s Boom Train and Team Canada teammate JoAnn Lam adds a veteran presence and sharp shooting to the Raiders’ offense. Both Yhap and Lam are excellent ball-carriers and can make shots from seemingly impossible distances. The Prowl’s hoop defense will need to be highly disciplined if they want to stop Yhap and Lam from racking up goals.
Toronto has some formidable shooters, but what about their drivers? The Raiders have picked up MLQ rookie Evander Bentley, who already has a reputation for hard drives and smart passes. Expect Bentley to join Bryan Melchior and Lachlan Craig as one of Toronto’s main ball carriers. Both Melchior and Craig are familiar with Chicago’s hard-hitting tacklers, including Matt Troy and Ariana Zhang. Only time will tell how Bentley handles the pressure of some of the league's heaviest hitters.
While Yhap is perhaps better known for her offensive output, the Raiders gain a huge (metaphorically speaking) defensive presence with her on the other side of the ball. Prowl’s numerous rookies will either learn to respect Yhap’s tackling abilities or become familiar with the taste of Canadian turf. Fans can also expect big hits from Melchior, who was second only to Cleveland’s Peter Brechting in stops for the 2025 season. Chicago will have to keep their passes crisp and their feet active if they want to avoid Toronto’s highly skilled tacklers.
Additionally, any ill-advised shots or sloppy passes will find their way into the hands of Lam and Aya Tessier, two of the Raiders’ best hoop defenders. Can new Head Coach Tad Walters keep the young cats in line, or will they throw away possessions with risky drives and wild shots?
Bandit Beaters
Toronto gained a lot of offensive firepower and defensive skill with quadball pickups, but what about their beaters? Three of the Raiders’ top five beaters (by stops) did not return this season. If the Raiders want to have any chance against the Prowl, they’ll need to have an answer to Chicago’s historically excellent beating corps. While Prowl will have some big names missing from their roster this weekend, their deep bench may still prove difficult for Toronto to handle.
Will the Raiders play through their depth, or will they rely on one or two beater pairs throughout the series? Most notably, Toronto needs to replace beater Brittany Taylor, who was second only to Alex Scherger in terms of drives played in 2025. One of the beaters expected to step up to the plate is Brianne Howden, now in her sixth MLQ season. In 2025, Howden boasted the highest plus-minus among Toronto beaters with more than four drives. Fans can expect the Raiders to rely heavily on her throughout the series.
Two other beaters in particular can be expected to fill the holes left by departures: Levi Medieros and Scott Rousseau. Rousseau switched from chaser to beater this season and he brings a powerful arm to Toronto’s beating corps. The question is: how will his relative inexperience at beater hold up against Chicago? Luckily, Medieros brings extensive experience playing against American beaters to the Raiders. He has rejoined the team after a brief stint on the Detroit Innovators for the 2025 season. Medieros is the only beater on the 2026 Toronto roster who ended the 2025 season with a positive plus-minus.
Medieros and Scherger are both fast and dynamic beaters who add much-needed speed to the Raiders’ beating game. That speed will be especially important during FROP. Much of the seeking game is dependent on beaters and dodgeball control and Toronto needs to stay wary of Chicago’s four proven seekers: Nojus Ausra, Tad Walters, Liam Zach III, and Andrew Parchim. All four are liable to pull the flag if given even a small window.
The True Predators
The Chicago Prowl enters this weekend following an emphatic sweep victory at home against Minneapolis. Chicago won this series without their superstar, Nathan Digmann, but they received many contributions from the depth of their roster. Going into a series against Toronto with a roster containing a lot of young pieces, Chicago will look to continue their development and youth movement as they inch closer to Conference Championships.
Chicago found themselves with a very impressive weekend as they were able to find statistics for all 21 players on the roster as they had 14 different players record a chaser statistic and 8 different players record a beater stat, meaning they were able to find contribution from their full 21 which is a testament to Tad Walters and the coaching staff to get the most out of their full roster.
The team was led in scoring by Liam Zach III and rookie Kevin Fantozzi, with seven apiece. Both players looked impressive in their own ways,, as Fantozzi is already leading the roster in scoring in the absence of Digmann and multiple other stars, and has improved since the exhibition match in week one. Zach III played incredibly as well and looked like the best chaser on the pitch. They seem to have a whole different feel to the game, as there is a definite trust they have in their teammates, both offensively and defensively.
From a beating perspective, Chicago was able to level out the drives across the board and did a great job of leaving in fresh legs as no beater played more than 26 drives, and the average across all eight beaters was just 18.5 drives. While you knew what players such as Matthew Brown and Nojus Ausra would do for this roster, the contributions of young players such as Jason Anderson and Veronica Hoffman were eye-opening. The duo is atop the league in average dodgeballs, as Anderson is second with 1.93 and Hoffman is fifth with 1.82 across 23 drives.
Overall, the Prowl looks extremely dangerous, and we haven't seen them at full strength just yet, and that will continue into this weekend against the Raiders. We will need to see a full attack with their depth once again, with many key players not playing.
The Claws Clash
Chicago makes their way to Toronto the week after the USNT took their trek across the border to take on Team Canada, so players such as Ally Peachey and Hoffman will get another chance to play against many of their opponents from a week ago. This is a series that Chicago has historically dominated. Still, despite that history, many of the players who made that history will not be on the roster this weekend.
Digmann will miss his second consecutive season for the Prowl, and this comes as a major loss, as two major beaters will also be out for Chicago: Brown and Ausra. However, the biggest loss for this Chicago team is Kennedy Murphy, who, despite being on the roster, will not play in this series or for the rest of the season due to an injury. This is heartbreaking news for Prowl supporters, as we unfortunately find ourselves without another season to see the Prowl at their full strength.
Murphy’s absence from the Prowl means someone needs to step into the star's big shoes. Outside of Murphy and Peachey, the Prowl was unable to find a goal against Minneapolis from any of their female chasers, and it will be important for them in this series to continue developing their chaser depth. Without chasers Anna Holmes and Ariana Zhang this weekend, Melanie Rolfe is the next body up for this Prowl team. Rolfe is a smart player who is great at keeping offenses moving and making the right plays. She has 7 goals and 4 assists across her career, and with potentially big minutes this weekend, I expect the veteran to make an impact.
There are definitely key veterans on this roster who will make an impact. Still, the story will be the impact of the young pieces from the Illini, as 7/21 of the roster played for the Ridgebacks in USQ, and nine of the 21 are additions to the roster from a season ago. Fantozzi will definitely be a player to watch this weekend, especially on the lines when he gets the opportunity to lead his Ridgeback teammates. Still, another player to watch will be Erik Rothenberger. Rothenberger was the second-leading scorer for the Illini at the USQ Cup, behind Fantozzi. Rothenberger is a tall but quick defensive stopper who plays much smarter than his tenure would suggest, and he will be a problem for Toronto, especially if they get too shot-happy.
Chicago’s Keys to Success
Dominate the Flag Runner. Last weekend, Team Canada found some success in the matchup against Team USA, catching the flag in two of the three games. While three points may not change the result of the series, getting valuable reps in FROP will be valuable when that flag may decide a game at the MLQ Championships. Andrew Parchim and Tad Walters each caught a flag against Minneapolis, but look for big minutes at seeker from veteran Matt Melton and rookie Boris Jukic, who caught 4 flags for Illini at USQ Cup 2026.
No Fly Zone! Toronto has a lot of players who are capable of making mid-range shots. It is important to shut down all long passes during a pressured moment, as well as shots from drivers on this roster, such as Melchior. If they can shut down the shots, force them to drive, and force turnovers, Chicago will find success.
Don’t underestimate your opponent. Toronto has multiple savvy veterans on their roster, such as Yhap, Lam, and Naftel. The added depth will create promise for them against a younger squad, and it is important to ensure the series is won rather than focus on individual success. This is a series about growth for the name on the front of the jersey, not the name on the back.
