Photo Credit: The Pro Photo Group

By Noam Gumerman

The Carolina Flyers secured another massive win in their chase for a South Division playoff spot against the Austin Sol, 26-21. They have stretched their winning streak to five games in a row and have pulled themselves back to just a half game out of third place in the South. The Sol meanwhile dropped their second game in two days, after losing to Atlanta on Friday night in a rain and flooding-delayed game. Their two losses have pulled the four teams in the South Division fighting for three playoff spots tighter than they’ve been since the first couple weeks of the season.

The Flyers continued their winning ways largely through their same formula that’s powered them through their first four wins on the year: increasing their defensive pressure and letting the stars settle in and power them through any rough stretches. The Flyers once again reached double-digit blocks this game, with 14, moving them to 4-1 when they have generated at least ten blocks. 

And the Carolina stars were out in full force, Jacob Fairfax finished with eight goals and 384 yards, while Allan Laviolette once again turned in an MVP-caliber performance with nine assists, three goals, 45/47 on completions, 711 yards of offense. 

The game was tightly contested from the opening pull, with both teams trading the first six points of the game, before the Flyers struck first with a break to take a 4-3 early lead. After creating two turnovers in Austin’s red zone offense, the Flyers d-line worked the disc 80 yards down the field to convert a break on their second possession of the point for the lead. But the Flyers let the Sol off the hook after they gave the Sol a short field to break back on the next Carolina O-point. The trades continued through the first quarter, but after ending at 7-7 and the Flyers holding to start the second quarter, one break gave Carolina a two-goal advantage at 9-7 over Austin early in the second that they eventually built into a 12-9 lead halfway through the quarter.

But once again it was not yet to be. Laviolette just missed on a crossfield hammer shot to take a four-goal lead, but Austin responded by scoring and roaring back to tie the game at 12s with a chance to break for a lead, before Carolina stabilized again. It was all tied at halftime at 13-13.

And in the second half, the Flyers put the Sol away for good. A layout block created a short field for Matthew Nightingale to score bookends as the second half began with a break. And from there, the Flyers held control of the game the rest of the way. No breaks allowed by their offense, and their defense slowly built their lead out to a five-goal cushion as they took control of the game from Austin for the win.

Carolina is back in action with a huge matchup against the Atlanta Hustle at home, July 12.