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Three key matchups that will decide Chaos-Cannons quarterfinal

By Hayden Lewis | Sep 1, 2024

The Carolina Chaos and Boston Cannons are preparing to face each other in the quarterfinals of the Cash App Playoffs. If history between these teams remains consistent, it will be a war on Monday at Gillette Stadium. 

The last three matchups between these two squads were decided by one possession, and each game was filled with physical action. The reason for the tight scores and physicality is the excellent matchups across the field.

However, the Chaos defense will be without one of its biggest pieces in shutting down opposing offenses. Jack Rowlett was suspended on Thursday for a high hit against Alex Vardaro in Salt Lake City, leaving the league’s best defense without one of its shutdown close defenders. 

Here are three matchups that will make or break Monday’s game for both teams:

Josh Byrne vs. Garrett Epple

Byrne is the best player on the Chaos offense, and it will take a great performance from him to help guide Carolina past Boston. 

Luckily for the Chaos, Byrne always finds a way to create high-volume offense against the Cannons. In four games against the Boom Squad, Byrne has registered 17 points (10G, 7A).

In three of those games, Byrne wasn’t matched up against Epple, who joined Boston in the offseason. But in the most recent matchup between the two teams, the four-time All-Star produced four points (2G, 2A). 

Epple was the closest defender on zero of those points. 

Why does that matter?

It’s a tell on how Byrne wants to attack the 2023 Dave Pietramala Defensive Player of the Year. The crafty Canadian likes to work Epple into two-man games where the second defender is a short-stick defensive midfielder. 

Here’s a clip from 2023 when Epple was still on the Redwoods:

At 6-foot-1, 230 pounds, Epple is great at utilizing his large frame to stymie opposing attackmen when they try to dodge him one-on-one. Hence the reason why Byrne likes to use screens to his advantage when matched up against Epple. 

Byrne’s ability to create offense against Epple will be paramount for the struggling Chaos offense to put together a respectable performance. Expect to see Kyle Jackson and Byrne's two-man games become a staple in this contest. 

On the other side of the field, it will come down to who takes on Asher Nolting. 

Asher Nolting vs. Will Bowen/Jarrod Neumann

Nolting is one of the league’s hardest matchups because of his 6-foot-2, 230-pound frame. The three-time All-Star uses his body to his advantage, often drawing doubles or early slides from defenses, which leads to him dotting up defenses like Tom Brady in the clutch. 

In the first half of the Cannons-Chaos game in Salt Lake City, Rowlett was matched up against Nolting, who recorded three points (2G, 1A) in the half. 

After Rowlett got injured late in the second quarter, the Chaos had a few rotating pieces on Nolting. But come Monday, we’ll likely see Bowen or Neumann guarding the Eamon McEneaney Attackman of the Year finalist. 

Bowen took the most reps against Nolting after Rowlett’s injury and did a good job of holding him at bay. Nolting had three points in the second half, but two were powerplay assists when Bowen wasn’t guarding Nolting. Here’s the other second-half point Nolting produced:

Bowen does a good job one-on-one against Nolting, but Jack Posey slid expecting a rollback, resulting in the open look for Chris Aslanian. 

If Bowen or Neumann can shut down Nolting’s passing ability, the Cannons would lose a large piece of their offense. 

Zac Tucci vs. James Reilly

The faceoff matchup is massive in this contest because the struggling Carolina offense will crash and burn if it doesn’t get touches. The Chaos had a lower time of possession than their opponents in every game during the regular season except the team’s win over the Maryland Whipsnakes. 

Although Carolina is accustomed to not winning faceoff battles, preventing Tucci from using his wheels in open space is major. Tucci can flat-out fly, so preventing easy clamps and making it hard to exit when he does win clamps can shut down his ability to get out and run. 

Reilly went 50% against Tucci in the regular-season finale; another performance to that standard or better is necessary on Monday.

It will take more than three matchups across the field to decide the outcome of the quarterfinal matchup between Carolina and Boston, but these three will stand above the rest. The team that wins multiple of these battles will have a great chance to move on to the Cash App Playoff semifinals next week.

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