August 28, 2026
By Ryan Baker
Last night, the Oakland Spiders and the Minnesota Wind Chill won their respective matchups in the semifinals for a shot at the title tonight. Here are some of sound bites from the championship presser.
Oakland Spiders
Head Coach Liam Kreiss
“It's something that we talked about over the last couple weeks,” Kreiss said on Adam Rees’ switch to D-line. “This was not a last second decision. We really considered it against Salt Lake. We recognize that Adam is one of the best players in the world. On an O-line like ours, I don't think he always makes his presence and the incredible way that he can impact a game quite as apparent. So, we've been looking for ways to feature his skill set all season.”
“In the Slack, he [Matt Crawford] sends us inspirational messages before every game, gets the team locked in, fired up, and brings that veteran mentality,” said Kreiss “We definitely feel the love. We are a product of the entire team, whether they're playing on the field or not.”
“We know we can't take this team lightly,” Kreiss said on Minnesota. “They beat us once already at our home field, and this is very much a Minnesota home field for anyone here listening to the stands yesterday. Minnesota's fans were raucous, so we're excited for the pressure. We're really glad to get a chance to avenge that early season loss. We have a couple of our guys back, and we hope that we'll be more prepared this night.”
“It felt special, honestly,” said Adkins on Oakland getting to play at full strength for the first time last night. “I was working hard before I came back to the team, and everyone who is currently here was working hard during the whole season. It's nice to get the whole combination of players together, working together. It takes a lot of sacrifice to do that.”
“For the younger players, we grew up in a system with Oakland ultimate,” Adkins said. “We were playing super quick offense, trying to create counter flow, open hands, and getting the right look. The young guys coming up into the program always played with that style, and the older guys were able to lean into that a little bit and watch that success.”
“We've built a championship DNA with each other,” Adkins said. “We've learned what it takes to perform under pressure at high level moments, individually and as a team. Coming into a game like this, most of the roster knows how to handle the nerves and handle the pressure moments where it's a tie ball game in the fourth and you have to execute.”
“The chemistry was there immediately,” Clyburn said. “I've also got to give a shout out to my guy Stefan [McCall], a younger player who slotted in so well at that Salt Lake home game, where initially we didn't think we'd have him on the playoff roster. He played so well, subbing in for the guys who got injured, and had a heck of a game. Once again, last night, made huge plays in big moments, and it's just great to have everyone healthy.”
“I knew going into this season that I would be here,” Clyburn said about rejoining the team after a two-year hiatus. “I have been thinking about it 100 percent since October, and even earlier. I was looking forward to giving back to a program, in the Spiders, that has given me so much opportunity and trust. Having the time, availability, and capacity to give the Spiders my 100 percent has been the biggest catalyst.”
“A lot of our play styles match in good ways,” Clyburn said about the chemistry of Oakland’s offense. “I think about like Walker [Frankenburg], Adkins, Dan [Ritthaler], just being so efficient in that dominator set, moving around the disc well. All of these guys can play that style of ball so well, and I feel like slotting into that is really easy.”
Minnesota Wind Chill
Head Coach Ben Feldman
“It's so hard to take the disc away,” Feldman said. “Oakland has an extremely talented roster. They got a ton of speed, athleticism, which I think we have as well. Taking the disc away isn't going to be any easier tonight than it was last night. I am thankful that we have a unit that we feel can match up with that because not all teams have that. That gives you some confidence, but it's going to be a grind.”
“In 2024, we started with the conversation of should Gordon handle? Maybe you should go touch the ball a little bit more,” Feldman said. “We just need to get more speed back there. Someone who could just run around and throw and go. All of a sudden he just started consuming touches and changed the look and feel of our backfield. We're a little more versatile. For us to win tonight, he's going to play a big role. We're excited for him to help lead us tonight.”
“The number of players and reserves that we have here supporting the team, there's a whole lot of people involved with our program that came to every practice, trained, and worked their butt off,” Feldman said. “Those guys come here and they support, they're loud, and they're cheering us on. A ton of our team and game day staff are here supporting. It's pretty incredible. It's part of the reason that I continue coaching. Those intangibles are big when you're talking about a point or two difference in the biggest game.”
“Last night it was fun game, but felt like we couldn't be as outwardly fun as we would usually like to be, because we're feeling for our teammate,” said Larson. “It really made us focus. We were fighting for Will [Brandt] out there.”
“They [Austin] dialed up the pressure as they figure out their matchups, and we ended up working it out, but it was really hard,” said Larson. “It felt like those guys were right on the hip of our cutters, and they're making us make two or three moves for a reset instead of just one. We're expecting that it's going to be more of that, and probably more of that earlier in the game. We're going to be ready. They are really fast, so it'll be a fun challenge.”
“It's never something we predetermine,” Larson said about his involvement on a game-to-game basis. “It's always a result of what type of matchups we are seeing and what is the other team making us do. One of our biggest strengths is that we can have Nate De Morgan go plus eight and throw four huck dimes, and I don't need to do that much. Or Will can take over the game, or BVon [Bryan Vohnoutka] can go crazy. We'll see what type of matchups and game plan Oakland has tonight. We're ready for whatever they throw at us. We can adapt.”
“It is going to be all hands on deck,” said Vohoutka. “We were really patient in Oakland when we were out there, for the most part. They apply a lot of pressure both in the reset space and downfield. I don't think it's going to take anything outside of what we normally do. But discipline is going to be a big factor here. Making sure we keep it off the sideline, especially when they go flat to stop the initial momentum, and then they trap you on the sideline. Resets have to respond to that appropriately, and making sure that we have people in the right spaces.”
“When I first started, I could barely throw,” said Vohnoutka. “I was just a pure receiver out there. Everyone who's coming into the program now feels like they have the entire toolkit. They can do it all. They have a higher understanding of the game at their age than I think anyone that I ever played with at that time. It's phenomenal to see those guys continue to be able to slot in and be able to contribute right away.”
“When we have the opportunity to punch in breaks, the idea is you got a friend and a plan,” said Vohnoutka on balancing Minnesota’s transition offense versus Oakland’s ability to get the disc back after a turn. “If you got both of those, you have the ability to go ahead and move it forward and keep attacking. If it doesn't make sense, if you're by yourself, reset, get the whole offense going, and get into the structure of what we want to see out there.”
