Madison Radicals are heading to the UFA playoffs for the first time since 2018

The Madison Radicals are on their way to the Ultimate Frisbee Association (UFA) playoffs for the first time since they won it all in 2018.

Coming out of the regular season with an 8-4 record and a number one ranked defense, the team has a shot at winning their second league championship.

“At the beginning of the year, I would have said, ‘If we made the playoffs, we’re happy,’ but the way we are playing right now, it feels like we have a real chance to do something in the postseason, or at least it's going to be really hard for someone to beat us,” says Tim Debyl, the head coach of the Madison Radicals.

The Radicals closed out the regular season with three wins at home. Not only did they win all three matches, the last two were blowouts — meaning they won by an eight or more point margin.

“Each game got progressively better for us,” Debyl says. “The Pittsburgh game was pretty close, and then the Chicago game was a blowout, and then the [Indianapolis] game was even a bigger blowout.”

In an upset, the Radicals beat Chicago Union by eight points on July 12. They'll face Chicago again in the first round of the playoffs this weekend at home.

While the team is riding the high of their winning streak, Debyl says it’s important for the team to keep confidence in check.

“We're trying to keep everybody from getting too excited on the team level. We have lost enough games over the last four or five years to know that overconfidence isn't great,” Debyl says. “I think it's more just a strong confidence that we're a good team and we should be able to move on this week.”

Once the Radicals make the division playoffs, statistically speaking, the odds are in their favor. The team is 7-0 in Central Division Championship wins.

“We've lost the championship against other divisions, but we're undefeated in the playoffs in our own division,” Debyl says. “So once we've made it, we've never actually lost.”

The Radicals will host Chicago Union at Breese Stevens Field for their first playoff game on Sunday, July 28, at 5 p.m. If the Radicals win, they'll play against Minnesota Wind Chill for the Division Championship on Saturday, Aug. 10.

The four UFA division champions — from the South, West, East and Central divisions — will go on to play in the 2024 UFA Championship Weekend for the league title. The championship will be held in Salt Lake City, Utah from Aug. 23-24.

Anna Kleiber is an editorial intern at Madison Magazine.

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