Photo by Leo Troconis

JULY 24, 2025
By Kyle Turnbaugh

For the third time in four seasons, the DC Breeze (7-5) will meet their arch rivals, the New York Empire (7-5) in the playoffs. The two squads split their season series with the Breeze dominating the Empire the last time they met at Carlini Field and the Breeze falling on the road in controversial fashion, as it was questionable whether the second overtime in Mt. Vernon, in which the Empire won, should have even been played. The last two times the Breeze met the Empire in the playoffs were in New York, and the Breeze fell both times. In 2022, DC lost despite a five-goal performance from Tyler Monroe, and a near comeback in the fourth quarter fell just short after a slow start. In 2023, the Empire only turned the disc four times through the whole game, and Ben Jagt scored eight goals, as New York never even cracked the door open for the Breeze. The Empire eventually went on to win the UFA Championship following both of these matchups. 

The Breeze have not beaten New York in the playoffs since 2016; conveniently, that was also the last time the two teams met in DC during the playoffs. The Breeze took a four-goal win over the Empire, led by five goals from two-time MVP Jonathan "Goose" Helton. The only remaining active members from that Breeze team are Rowan McDonnell, Jeff Wodatch and Monroe, who will all hope to etch their names in Breeze history by leading the team to a long-overdue win against New York in the playoffs.

History aside, both teams will go into this game feeling confident. The Breeze had a very strong second half of the season, winning four of six games. including two wins over Boston. It’s worth noting that the two losses were the aforementioned controversial loss to New York and a shorthanded defeat to Philadelphia after DC had clinched their playoff slot. The Empire have won their last four games after losing on the road to DC with their last win over a Jeff Babbitt-less Boston after clinching their playoff bid by comfortably defeating Philadelphia. Both teams are probably breathing a sigh of relief after making the playoffs, considering the somewhat rocky starts for both sides and scares at certain points of the season that Philadelphia or even Montreal may have crept up and earned a playoff slot ahead of one of the traditional East Division leaders. Both teams have stepped up on defense in the second half of the season and have reled on their stars on offense to get the job done and lead them to the playoffs.

For the Breeze, defensive performances by Jasper Tom, AJ Merriman, and Miles Grovic have elevated the team's defense after a lack of blocks plagued the team early on. Grovic leads the team in blocks, Tom has posted five blocks of his own over the last four games, and Merriman has started contributing on both sides of the disc, throwing four assists, scoring four goals, and blocking two passes over the last four games. Merriman will likely have the responsibility of dealing with Jagt, who has scored an Empire-leading 45 goals over the course of the season. But, he'll have plenty of support over the top in the form of veteran defender Moussa Dia and Frederick Farah, who has had good production over his limited opportunity. Farah, currently listed as "questionable," showed off his defensive ability by beating Boston’s Tobe Decraene, arguably the UFA’s deadliest receiver, in the air when the Breeze faced off against Boston. The Breeze defense will be without Micah Wagner, who went off for three blocks last time the Empire came to Carlini, but besides that, we will see a full-strength Breeze defense that will look to silence an Empire offense that has surged late in the season, despite missing Calvin Brown due to injury. New York has relied on the remains of their Championship-winning corps, including John Randolph and Jack Williams. But, while Jagt, Randolph and Williams may draw all the attention, Matt LaBar has had an incredible breakout season, scoring more goals this season than he had in the first four seasons of his career combined, since moving over to the O-line.

While the Empire’s offense may be intimidating, there is a lot to be excited about on the Breeze side of the disc. The Breeze offense is finally looking healthy, right in time for the playoffs. Christian Boxley is active for the match, and Cole Jurek is "questionable." If both of the dynamic duo of DC cutters end up playing, it'll be a tough day for any New York defender and will especially be a boon for DC in the redzone, as Jurek is still the team's leading goal scorer with 27 goals, despite only playing eight games. Jurek’s status as the team's leading scorer also speaks to DC’s commitment to spreading the disc and their slower style of play, which usually leads to lower scoring games that are more focused on possession and field position, rather than running up the score and throwing hucks.

Another offensive option who's been lighting up the scoreboard for the Breeze recently is Aidan Downey. Downey has been dominant since he joined the Breeze in June and has scored 12 goals and thrown 12 assists in just six games. With Downey exclusively playing defense in one of those games, that means he has averaged two assists and more than two goals per game when he is on offense. Downey has profited on offense by filling in as a redzone threat in the absence of some of DC’s other cutting options and has shown excellent versatility as a cutter, handler and on defense, as well. One concern for DC’s offense has been Jacques Nissen’s turnovers. While Nissen’s ability is clear, and he has largely continued to quarterback DC’s offense, his 27 throwaways lead the team and is the highest mark he’s ever hit in his UFA career by a large margin. That being said, Nissen has also posted a career high in assists and is being asked to do significantly more than he has done in the past, throwing and completing more passes than any other season in his career by an equally-large margin.

The Empire also come into this matchup at nearly full strength, despite the obvious absence of key handler Brown, who has been out since the Empire’s week nine victory over Toronto. Interestingly, the Empire will also be without Ben Dameron, the Callahan finalist who just made his highly-anticipated Empire debut one week ago against Boston.

The Breeze and the Empire are statistically similar, although the Empire are slightly more aggressive on offense and far more effective at converting in the redzone. Meanwhile, the Breeze have been slightly more efficient on their break chances and have surrendered fewer goals to their opponents. This game has all the trappings of a great playoff matchup between perennial rivals, who are ready to settle the score after tying the regular season series and the controversy of the last showdown between the two squads. It is also interesting that this may be the last matchup between Jagt and McDonnell, two greats and former MVPs, who have battled for control of the East for the last decade.

It's Win-or-Go-Home for the DC Breeze, as they battle the New York Empire for the right to play against the Boston Glory in the East Division Championship. Both teams will feel that if they win this game, they have a shot at beating Boston and making a deep run in the playoffs. Catch the DC Breeze as they take on the New York Empire in a UFA playoff matchup at Carlini Field at the Catholic University of America in Washington DC this Saturday, July 26. First pull goes up at 7:00 PM ET. Tickets available at thedcbreeze.com and streaming live on watchUFA.tv.