Photo by Paul Rutherford – UltiPhotos.com
APRIL 27, 2026
By Will Stuntz
The DC Breeze (0-1) kicked off their 2026 campaign with a trip up to Medford, Mass. for a duel with the reigning champions Boston Glory (1-0). Boston defeated DC 21-16 and looked poised to be even more dominant than they were in 2025. The DC O-line looked like it was experiencing some growing pains. With Rowan McDonnell, Tyler Monroe, and Thomas Edmonds all departing the Breeze this season, along with Cole Jurek being out with an injury, the DC O-line is building a new identity. Edmonds and McDonnell were not absent from this match, as they have both joined Glory for 2026, further adding to Boston’s already star-studded roster. DC struggled to maintain possession at the beginning of the game before settling in and only and giving up the disc a total of 15 times, but Boston was able to take advantage and convert seven breaks.
Leading Boston to victory was none other than the reigning MVP, Tobe Decraene. Decraene was making plays in the endzone and with his throws and quickness, racking up 13 total scores. His passing attack was ruthless, with 440 throwing yards and eight assists, four of which came from his devastating quick-release hammer throws. He also found his way into the endzone five times and collected 294 receiving yards. Simon Carapella was also a major factor for Glory’s offense, nocthing five assists, two goals and 435 total yards of offense. Jeff Babbitt and Ryan Dinger as well, with three goals apiece.
Boston’s D-line was also headlined by a Decraene: Tobe’s younger brother and Ultimate Frisbee Association (UFA) rookie Lander Decraene. In his UFA debut, Lander Decraene led the game in blocks with five, while no other player on either team collected more than one.
The Breeze’s offense saw one of Jacques Nissen’s career games and his second game surpassing the 700-yard mark. Of Nissen’s 703 yards, he threw for 519 of them, finding four assists and bringing in a goal. In the endzone, the sophomore offensive duo of Theo Shapinsky and Coby Loveranes found four goals each. Shapinsky’s four goals and one block are the first of his UFA career.
On the first point of the game and DC’s first possession, Boston’s Oscar Graff picked the disc off in DC’s backfield before McDonnell found Turner Allen for a goal-line score. DC responded quickly with AJ Merriman cutting deep to haul in a flick from Miles Grovic. A Glory hold followed to put Boston up 2-1, which was the start of a 4-0 run. After a drop from Christian Boxley, Tobe Decraene placed a hammer in the back of the endzone that found the hands of Carapella to increase Boston’s lead to two. Two more DC turnovers ensued, which both led to break conversions by Boston, extending the score to 5-1. Lander Decraene found his second block of the game in the next point, but DC was able to get the disc back, and Boxley found Shapinsky wide open in the back of the endzone for a redzone score and the first goal of Shapinsky’s career. Boston followed with a quick hold to end the quarter up 6-2.
DC’s offensive push began to take shape in the second stanza as they scored four goals but were still struggling defensively, giving up seven goals to glory. Boston started strong with a hold on the first point on a flick from Edmonds to Dinger. Maxwell Coe then laid out for a block on the Breeze’s first offensive point of the quarter that resulted in another break score for Glory. DC was forced to start their next point in the back of their own endzone, but DC was able to get down the field and into the endzone with Shapinsky in just four passes after Merriman completed a huck to Grovic near the goal line. This play and a layout catch in the endzone by Babbitt started a back-and-forth scoring surge by both teams that saw 12 alternating scores. Lander Decraene chalked up another block to give the Glory one last break chance before the half, which Glory punched in on another hammer assist from Tobe Decraene to Dinger to end the back-and-forth scoring. Despite Boxley getting a block to bring the break back to DC, a redzone turnover by the Breeze gave Glory another break chance, in which Carapella dished out a backhand to a wide-open Tobe Decraene to build their lead up to seven entering halftime.
In the first half, DC failed to convert all seven of their break chances and forced only three turnovers out of Boston while giving up 10. Boston’s D-line played with incredible poise, blocking eight passes in the half, with half of those coming from Lander Decraene. Boston’s O-line was also dominant, converting 7/7 possessions.
The Breeze really woke up in the second half, particularly in the third period when they outscored Boston 6-3. Merriman got the half going in under 15 seconds for DC with a huck from the 35-yard line that gave Loveranes an easy score. Boston responded quickly after a foul by Grovic, which put Tobe Decraene on the goal line with the disc, who shoveled a pass to Babbitt in the end zone. Loveranes answered back again, as Sean Mott uncorked a backhand huck down the right sideline to the speedy cutter. A Boston throwaway followed that led to Josh Lightner throwing his first UFA assist to Boxley for DC’s first break conversion of the game. A deep shot to Tobe Decraene found the grass on the next point, thanks to a contest from Breeze rookie Wiebe van den Brink. DC converted on this break, as well, with Nissen finding Andrew Roy in the endzone with a quick backhand at the goal line. Another break chance for the Breeze ensued as Tanner Gesell made an easy block in Boston’s backfield, who found Isaac Lee on the goal line to give a quick dish to Grovic in the endzone. The 4-0 run brought the deficit to just three for DC, but the run was quickly extinguished as Lander Decraene found Tyler Chan wide open with a flick to put Boston back in the endzone. DC and Boston traded another score each to end the third with Boston leading 16-12.
Glory turned the disc over four times in the third period after giving it up only three times in the entire first half.
Boston kicked the scoring off in the fourth quickly, as Tobe Decraene unleashed a hammer from just inside the fifty yard line that barely missed the fingertips of Lev Blumenfeld right into the palms of Edmonds. After DC called their final timeout, Merriman took a shot at the endzone that was thwarted by Ivan Tran. This break chance was quickly taken back by a diving block from Loveranes, who was later found in the endzone by Roy to bring Boston’s lead back down to four. Boston recovered and quickly restored their lead to five with a low flick huck from Carapella that Tobe Decraene chased down and laid out to grab just inches before it hit the turf. With under eight minutes to go, the five-point deficit proved to be insurmountable for the Breeze. With back-and-forth scoring throughout the closing minutes, Boston held their five-goal lead until the final buzzer, beating DC 21-16.
The latter half of the matchup saw the Breeze’s offense and defense improve significantly, with the Breeze outscoring Boston 10-8. However, the mistakes of the first half outweighed the improvements, and DC falls to 0-1.
The Breeze will look to get into the win column on this Sunday, May 3 in their first contest at Carlini Field against the Montreal Royal. First pull flies at 5:00 p.m. ET. Get tickets at thedcbreeze.com and watch live on watchUFA.tv.
