By Devin Ramey
After a close loss at home in week six, the Vixen headed down to Florida against the Tampa Bay Inferno for a first-ever matchup between the franchise in week seven, and came back victorious. On Saturday, June 6, Minnesota crushed the Inferno 55-21, with quarterback Erin Kelley leading the way with seven total touchdowns. With the win, the team’s fourth 50+ point game, ends the Women’s Football Alliance 2026 regular season with a record of 5-1. The lone loss was a three-point loss to the St. Louis Slam, the reigning national champions.
Erin Kelley once again showed why she is one the best quarterbacks in the WFA with another fiery performance against the Inferno, scoring five passing touchdowns and two more rushing touchdowns thanks to well timed goal-line QB sneaks. In total, Kelley tallied 264 passing yards and 14 on the ground. Wide receiver Solveig Lundberg led Minnesota’s receiving room with 111 yards on five receptions and two touchdown catches. Receiver Amanda Dvorak and tight end Edy Halverson both catch a touchdown pass as well.
The Vixen’s ground game leaned on new faces against Tampa Bay after running back Paige Kuplic was sidelined due to an injury sustained against St. Louis the week before. Wide receiver Jackie Radford was the Vixen’s leading rusher and totaled nearly 200 yards from scrimmage. In the running game, Radford had 89 yards and a rushing touchdown and another 94 yards receiving and a receiving touchdown catch. Nearly all of her yards on the ground came from a 68-yard touchdown run. Tight end Mackenzie Reed was also heavily featured in the running game, with ten carries for 35 yards. In total, the Vixen’s running game combined for 164 yards and three touchdowns.
“I don’t think anyone even touched me, which makes it really easy for me,” Radford said after the game. “It’s easy for me to do my job because all my teammates are blocking it up.”
In a season-long trend, the defense was dominant in the win, forcing Tampa Bay to be one-dimensional on offense and limiting the majority of their yardage to the second half. The Inferno had a total of negative six passing yards against the Vixen, with 164 yards rushing. Most of their yards on the ground came in the fourth quarter after they had moved starting quarterback Octavia Loll to running back, which gave the Inferno some life late in the game.
On the defensive side of the ball, linebacker Sophie Culhane led the team with seven total tackles, including two tackles for loss. Culhane was followed by free safety Britt Peterson, who continued to be a nightmare for opposing defenses, with five solo tackles. The defense also nabbed two turnovers; one interception by defensive back Ashley Waalen, her second of the season, and a fumble recovery by Paige Condie.
“I think it really helped us see some of our deficits, some things that we can work on going into the playoffs,” defensive end Ang Bennett said.
While the Inferno are celebrating 15 seasons since their founding, this was the first-ever match up between the two storied franchises. In addition to the on-field play, Minnesota had to contend with the Florida heat and humidity in the matchup.
“They’re a great team,” defensive end Anna Kimball said after the game. “They have a lot of quality players to give some real competition, we’re happy to be here.”
Minnesota will now host the first round of the WFA Pro playoffs at Klas Field on Saturday, June 27 at 7 p.m. against the St. Louis Slam. Tickets are now on sale, click here for more information. The team is pushing to break the all-time attendance for the franchise and needs fans in the stands at Hamline University on June 27. For the Vixen, they’re ready to play.
“I feel really confident heading into the playoffs with who we got, and I’m excited to see who we’re gonna play,” Radford said after the game.
The #RoadToCanton will lead to the 2026 National Championship Game on Saturday, July 25 at the Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio. Tickets are now available, click here for more information.